Not necessarily. EPA cannot provide advice on competition strategy or when to apply. Applications will be evaluated based on the criteria in Section V of the NOFO. As noted in Section II.C of the NOFO, EPA cannot predict how long funding will be available under the NOFO since this depends on the quality and volume of applications received, but EPA encourages applicants to take the time necessary to prepare a thorough application that is responsive to the NOFO requirements.
Grant applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis as stated in the NOFO. EPA expects the first application reviews to begin sometime in February 2024. Applicants selected for award will be notified as soon as possible after the evaluation and selection process is complete. As noted in Section VI of the NOFO, selection does not mean award. Following selection, the official award process must be completed.
If you are resubmitting your application consistent with Section II.C of the NOFO, then you are not disputing the initial non-selection decision. Applicants that wish to dispute an eligibility or selection decision, either after the initial submission or the resubmission, may do so using the dispute process referred to in Section VI.A. of the NOFO.
Yes, applicants whose applications are not selected may resubmit an application as described in Section II.C of the NOFO.
No, the CCGP is not designed as a subaward pass-through program like the Grantmaker Program. While the NOFO does not specify any minimum or maximum amount of grant funds that must be provided via subawards to Collaborating Entities or other subrecipients, as indicated in Section III.B and throughout the NOFO the Lead Applicant is responsible for grant performance. There are evaluation factors in Section V of the NOFO that focus on the Lead Applicant and Statutory Partner’s role in the grant. These factors include experience and expertise, including those related to the Community Engagement and Collaborative Governance Plan, past performance, programmatic and managerial capability and resources, CBO commitment and experience, and the Compliance Plan.
Also please note this language in Section III.B of the NOFO:
“To ensure effective grant performance to meet the objectives of the Community Change Grants outlined in Section I, subawards from the Lead Applicant to other entities to implement and perform specific grant project activities identified in the application will be necessary. These other entities, including the Statutory Partners, are collectively referred to as Collaborating Entities in the NOFO. Given the community centered focus of the Community Change Grants, applications that do not include Collaborating Entities will likely not score well during the evaluation process.”
Generally, yes. As stated in Section III.D of the NOFO: “Applicants whose applications are deemed ineligible for funding consideration because of the threshold eligibility review will be notified within 15 calendar days of the ineligibility determination.” Due to the volume of applications, we anticipate receiving, EPA does not currently plan to provide interim notifications of the status of applications that pass the threshold eligibility reviews.
The Lead Applicant needs to register with SAM.gov to receive a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). Any subrecipients (including the Statutory Partner) or Collaborating Entities that will receive subaward funding must also have a valid UEI. Contractors do not need to register with SAM.gov but keep in mind that the selection of contractors is governed by competitive procurement requirements as described in Appendix G of the NOFO.
The application requirements are described in Section IV of the NOFO. The only template that is provided is the optional budget template in Appendix G of the NOFO. EPA will not provide templates for other portions of the application, but technical assistance may be available to help with application preparation as described in Section I.E of the NOFO.
This was clarified in the modification to the NOFO that was published on December 21, 2023. The application requirements are described in Section IV.B of the NOFO. The Track I Project Narrative 20- page limit does not include the Community Engagement and Collaborative Governance or Community Strength Plans. There are separate page limits for those plans. Please see the relevant parts of the Section IV.B Track I application requirements.
Yes. There is nothing that prevents a recipient that received a separate award from EPA under another program from applying under the NOFO if the entity meets all requirements listed in the NOFO. However, as required by 2 CFR 200.403(f), recipients must have financial management systems capable of ensuring that the same costs are not charged to more than one EPA grant.