The Basics

As you may already know, the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (Act) Grants Program application process is laborious. Even though the burdens associated with applying for a grant have been reduced for the Small Grants Program, applications still take time and effort to prepare and we hope you won’t be discouraged. If your proposal is funded, your wetlands conservation accomplishments will add to the remarkable achievements of more than 3,500 partners in more than 1,600 Act-supported projects across the continent.

Before you write your proposal, think carefully about how you will implement your project. If funded, your proposal will become the basis of your Assistance Award and you will be expected to produce all of the acres AND match described in the grant agreement. Please also keep the following basic principles in mind as you plan your project and complete your application :

• Partners must match their grant request at no less than a 1-to-1 ratio. For example, applicants requesting a $75,000 grant would also need to contribute at least $75,000 in partner funds (from nonfederal sources) towards the project.
• In general, laws and requirements that apply to activities funded with NAWCA dollars also apply to items either funded with match dollars or provided as in-kind match (i.e., real property interests). There are very few differences in grant and match for grant administration purposes.
• Each grant and match dollar, except for indirect costs, must be linked to an acre acquired, restored, and/or enhanced.
• Grantees are held accountable for both acres and match, as defined in the proposal and grant agreement.  Without prior approval and agreement modification, accomplishing less than 100 percent of acres and match will result in a reduction of the award amount.

In addition, be aware of the following grant selection criteria that are specific to the Small Grants Program:

• Proposals must represent on-the-ground projects.
• "Other grant costs not directly associated with acquisition, restoration, enhancement or establishment activities (e.g. grant administration, overhead, indirect costs) in the grant budget may not exceed 10 percent of the requested grant amount.
• One important factor in evaluating the anticipated benefits of a project to wetlands and wildlife resources is whether or not the proposed project is part of, or complements, another project, or if it is part of a broader conservation initiative.
• If wetland-associated uplands are included in the proposed project, there should be a reasonable balance between the uplands’ acreage and that of wetlands.

Advanced Planning

Please factor in the following considerations as you plan your project and proposal application:

1. Grant and matching funds have eligibility requirements. Examples of what they may NOT be used for include:

• signage, displays, or other educational materials, programs, or equipment, even though the goal of the project may ultimately be to support wetland conservation education curricula;
• research;
• meeting or matching Federal mitigation requirements; or
• meeting match requirements of other Federal programs.

A summary list of eligible and ineligible activities can be found in Appendix A of the Small Grant Proposal Instructions. Pay close attention to the time frames during which both grant and matching funds are eligible.

Grant Funds: May only be used for project activities necessary to meet proposal objectives that occur:

• during the two-year project period (starting the date in which the grant agreement is signed); or
• during the pre-agreement period (the period after the proposal is received but before the grant agreement is signed).

Note: Project costs incurred after receipt of the proposal will not be reimbursed if the proposal is not approved for funding. In addition, project activities that occur before the receipt of the proposal are ineligible as a grant activity and will not be reimbursed with grant funds.

Matching Funds: May be used for project activities necessary to meet proposal objectives that occur:

• during the two-year project period (starting the date in which the grant agreement is signed); or
• during the pre-agreement period (the period after the proposal is received but before the grant agreement is signed).
• no earlier than 2 years prior to the date the proposal is submitted (back to beginning of calendar year).

2. Land-acquisition projects: If funded, projects that include real property acquisition usually require applicants to assign conservation easements that cover all property acquired with grant funds and/or matching contributions, including in-kind donations, to:

• the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service;
• a state resource conservation agency;
• an established trust or conservancy; or
• otherwise provide a legal recordable document (e.g., Notice of Grant Agreement or Notice of Property Restriction) that provides protection in perpetuity to the partnership’s investments.

3. Land-acquisition documentation: It is imperative that applicants with land acquisition proposals review the requirements for real property acquisition assistance stated in the Grants Administration Standards document. Acquisitions may be made substantially less complicated if you are aware of the requirements ahead of time AND the appropriate documentation is completed in a timely fashion.

4. Small enhancement projects on private lands: Applicants of proposals selected for funding that include enhancement activities are also usually required to ensure similar investment protection as that mentioned above for land acquisition projects. This may only entail guaranteeing the results of the project for a period of at least 25 years.

5. Assurances: All partner funds must be secured at the time a project is submitted, even if this requires a guarantee by the applicant to cover such funds in the event a partner does not deliver the funds it pledged. In addition, it is essential that grant application packages include all partner documentation (e.g. partner letters), with funding amounts noted. Proposals received without partner documentation will have their match reduced accordingly.

6. Standard Form (SF) 424: All applicants, EXCEPT the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are required to submit a completed Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424 Core Form) AND Attachment D: Assurances Construction Programs (SF 424D) along with their proposal application.  These forms, with instructions, can also be found at: http://www.grants.gov/agencies/approved_standard_forms.jsp. Additional information is available in Appendix H .

7. Additional information: While the Small Grants Program strives for brevity and a lessening of the applicant's paper burden when dealing with administrative requirements, successful applicants may occasionally be asked to provide greater detail on certain features of their project(s). This request would arise from the Division of Bird Habitat Conservation's governmental accountability and reporting requirements, and from the need to provide for short- and long-term assessments of the success of the program.

Getting Started

We strongly recommend that early in the proposal development process you contact the coordinator of the Joint Venture region in which your project is located. They can provide you with guidance on developing your project and proposal. The Joint Venture Coordinators’ prioritization of Small Grants Program proposals from their geographic region is also an important element in the selection process.

A map of Joint Venture Administrative Areas can be found in Appendix F of the Proposal Instructions or at http://www.fws.gov/birdhabitat/JointVentures/Map.shtm. The Joint Venture Coordinator Contact List is located at http://www.fws.gov/birdhabitat/JointVentures/Directory.shtm

Preparing a Proposal

Review the following files and guidelines to prepare your proposal:

1. Proposal Instructions: Provides instructions on required information and proposal format, including relevant examples. These instructions are applicable to proposals submitted through October 30, 2008.

2. Grant Administration Standards and Assistance Award: Describes the policies and procedures with which NAWCA projects must comply. It also provides an example of the one-page grant agreement for an approved project.

Submitting a Proposal

Expectations: Upon arrival to the Small Grants Program, your proposal application is expected to be:

• complete, with regard to all of the information requested;
• in the format requested; and
• on time!

Deadline: Small Grants Program proposals may be submitted at any time, but must be received by the Small Grants Program staff in the Arlington, VA office no later than 4pm EST on Thursday, October 29, 2009 to be considered for the Fiscal Year 2010 cycle.

Proposal Format: All proposals must be submitted electronically as a single PDF file [.pdf]. Do not send separate files of the proposal, supporting documentation, and/or signed Application for Federal Assistance and Attachment D (SF 424 / SF 424D). A hardcopy (paper) may be substituted and sent via regular or express mail if you do not have the software/hardware necessary to create a PDF file.

Submittal Options: Choose one of the following options:

1. E-mail your application as an attached file to: nawca_smallgrant@fws.gov:

• Be sure the proposal document’s filename includes a geographic or other distinguishing feature from the project’s title. For example, the filename for the proposal “Restoring Habitat on the North Shore of Lake Superior” could be “Lake Superior.doc”.
• If possible, have the e-mail sent by the intended project officer (same person listed as the contact on the proposal cover page).
• Remember that maps and photos in your application document will increase the file size. Please make sure to note the size of your completed application file and check that your e-mail system and server are capable of sending an e-mail with an attachment of its size.
• Please keep a copy of the “sent” e-mail to ensure you can document the submission of your proposal before the deadline.
• Sending a back-up hardcopy (paper) of your proposal to the address given below is optional. If you opt to send one, please tell us so we can conserve paper by not printing extra copies unnecessarily.

2. Send your application as an electronic file on a compact disc (CD) via regular or express mail:

• Be sure the proposal document’s filename includes a geographic or other distinguishing feature from the project’s title. For example, the filename for the proposal “Restoring Habitat on the North Shore of Lake Superior” could be “Lake Superior.doc”.
• Sending a back-up hardcopy (paper) of your proposal to the address given below is optional. If you opt to send one, please tell us so we can conserve paper by not printing extra copies unnecessarily.

3. Submit Your Proposal by Regular or Express Mail:

• Mail a CD containing the electronic version of your proposal.
• Be sure the proposal document’s filename includes a geographic or other distinguishing feature from the project’s title. For example, the filename for the proposal “Restoring Habitat on the North Shore of Lake Superior” could be “Lake Superior.doc”.
• Sending a back-up hardcopy (paper) of your proposal to the address given below is optional. If you opt to send one, please tell us so we can conserve paper by not printing extra copies unnecessarily.

Mailing Address:
Division of Bird Habitat Conservation
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
4401 North Fairfax Drive, MBSP-4075
Arlington, Virginia 22203
Attn: Small Grants Program

Receipt Confirmation: You will receive an e-mail response from one of the Small Grants Program Coordinators within one week of the submission deadline confirming your application was received. If you do not receive a confirmation, you should contact one of the program coordinators immediately to ensure your proposal was received and is not disallowed due to a missed deadline.

Timeframe: All proposal applications are processed in the weeks following the application deadline. Barring any unforeseen scheduling delays, you can expect that final decisions regarding project selections will be made by the North American Wetlands Conservation Council at its meeting in March 2009.

Contacts

For general program information, contact the Small Grants Program Coordinators:
Ken Kriese (ken_kriese@fws.gov) (703) 358-1888
Rodecia Mcknight (rodecia_mcknight@fws.gov), (703) 358-2266.