Centers of Excellence at 1890 Institutions | USDA NIFA 1890COE 008561

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NIFA 1890COE 008561

The Centers of Excellence at 1890 Institutions opportunity (USDA NIFA 1890COE 008561; CFDA 10.523) is a discretionary grant program run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). It is designed to strengthen and support the network of 1890 Centers of Excellence (COEs) that were originally established in 2015 to mark the 125th anniversary of the Second Morrill Act of 1890. These Centers are housed at the 1890 Land-Grant Institutions and are meant to serve as high-impact hubs for research, education, extension, and community engagement that directly benefit historically underserved communities connected to agriculture and rural development.

Programmatically, the grant centers on three core goals. First, it seeks to increase profitability and rural prosperity in underserved farming communities, meaning applicants are expected to focus on practical outcomes that improve economic resilience, farm viability, and community-level prosperity where resources and support have historically been limited. Second, it aims to address critical needs for enhanced international training and development, which signals that the program values efforts that build global competencies, international partnerships, training exchanges, or development-focused work that helps students, faculty, and stakeholders operate effectively in an interconnected agricultural economy. Third, it prioritizes increasing diversity in the science, technology, engineering, agriculture, and mathematics (STEAM) pipeline, encouraging projects that expand access, recruitment, retention, and advancement for underrepresented groups, particularly through education and workforce pathways tied to agriculture and related sciences.

Eligibility is tightly restricted. Full applications can only be submitted by a single eligible applicant or a consortium made up exclusively of the nineteen 1890 land-grant institutions, including Tuskegee University, as recognized under the Second Morrill Act (7 U.S.C. 321 et seq.). In other words, institutions outside the 1890 land-grant list cannot apply as the lead applicant. However, the opportunity explicitly allows awarded institutions to subcontract with organizations that are not eligible to apply, as long as those subcontracts support overall coordination and administration of the 1890 COE work. The notice also makes clear that failing to meet eligibility requirements by the application deadline can lead to the application being removed from consideration or prevent NIFA from making an award, so institutional status and consortium composition are compliance-critical details.

From a funding and logistics standpoint, the instrument is a grant under the Agriculture funding activity category, with an award ceiling listed at $2,000,000. The opportunity record includes an original closing date of November 17, 2021, and a creation date of September 17, 2021. The number of expected awards is not clearly specified in the provided excerpt (it appears blank), so applicants typically would confirm anticipated award counts and other selection details in the full funding announcement. Finally, NIFA encourages applicants who are newer to federal financial assistance to review its Grants Overview resources to better understand expectations around federal grant applications, compliance, and award management, which is often important for navigating requirements tied to budgets, reporting, and grants administration.

• The National Institute of Food and Agriculture in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Centers of Excellence at 1890 Institutions" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.523.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-09-17.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-11-17. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for USDA NIFA 1890COE 008561

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