National Institute of Food and Agriculture · Department of Agriculture
Hispanic-Serving Institutions Education Grants Program
In short: National Institute of Food and Agriculture expects to make 40 awards of $25,000 to $1.2 million.
Key facts
- Deadline
- Due Dec 3, 2026 · 55 days left
- Award size
- $25K – $1.2M
- Total available
- $30.6M · about 40 awards
- Match ?
- Not required · Work out your budget and match
- Who can apply
- Set by the official notice: see Who can apply below
- Where
- Anywhere in the U.S., including Tennessee
How this fits you
- Available in Johnson County (nationwide program)
- No match required
Tell us who you are to see whether you're eligible.
About this grant
The HSI Education Grants Program, under assistance listing number 10.223, will promote and strengthen the ability HSIs to carry out education, applied research, and related community development programs. This program encourages innovative teaching, education, or related community development proposals with the potential to impact and become models for other institutions at the regional or national level. Applications may propose, as part of a formal education and teaching program, that students gain experience with an applied research and community outreach activity. While HSIs are the only eligible entities to apply for this NOFO, funded projects should benefit the entire population at the institution, not solely the Hispanic population.
Who can apply, from the official notice
Applicants for the HSI Education Grants Program must meet all the requirements discussed in this NOFO. Failure to meet the eligibility criteria by the application deadline may result in exclusion from consideration or preclude NIFA from making an award. For those new to Federal financial assistance, NIFA’s About Grants provides highly recommended information about grants and other resources to help understand the Federal awards process.
Applications may only be submitted by Hispanic-Serving Institutions. For the purpose of the HSI Education Grants Program, an HSI is an institution of higher education that is an eligible institution as defined in 20 U.S.C. 1101a(a)(2) and has a minimum of 25 percent undergraduate full-time Hispanic enrollment (20 U.S.C. 1101a(a)(5)).
Certification of Eligibility. Eligibility documentation must be submitted with the application.
At the time of application, each primary applicant will be required to demonstrate or certify that it is an eligible institution under the HSI Education Grants Program. Collaboration grant applicants must also provide documentation to certify their HSI collaborators.
An institution must submit a letter, signed by the institution’s Authorized Representative (AR), certifying that it meets the requirements of an HSI as defined below. Data used for certification should be the most recently available but no older than the 2023-2024 academic year. Please indicate the timeframe that the relevant data is collected from in the letter. The AR must certify that:
1. The institution, or parent institution in the case of an independent branch campus, is legally authorized by the state in which it is located to provide an educational program for which it awards an associate or bachelor’s degree, or that it is a junior or community college.
2. The institution, or parent institution in the case of an independent branch campus, is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association determined by the Secretary of Education to be a reliable authority as to the quality of training offered or making reasonable progress toward such accreditation.
3. At least 50 percent of enrolled degree students are receiving need-based assistance under Title IV of the Higher Education Act, or that a substantial percentage of students are receiving Pell Grants in comparison with the percentage of...
Official notice: https://simpler.grants.gov/opportunity/575f8146-88ca-42c7-abeb-6f9ae5549bdc · Printed from grantme.click/grants/5f405146-ebb3-4fd3-bdee-a32062f19d78
View on Grants.gov Add deadline to my calendar
Your schedule, working back from the deadline
- Oct9
Check that your SAM.gov registration is active (or start it now)
Grants.gov: allow up to 10 business days for SAM registration, weeks or months if information isn't verified. It must be renewed every year. Grants.gov - Nov12
Ask partners for letters of support or commitment
Suggested: partners need about three weeks to write and sign letters. - Nov26
Finish a complete draft for a final review
Suggested: leave about a week for someone else to read the draft. - Dec1
Submit
Grants.gov: submit at least 24–48 hours before the deadline: uploads fail, systems slow down, errors need fixing. Grants.gov blog - Dec3
Deadline
From the funder.
Save this grant to put these dates in My grants and your private calendar.
Writing the need statement? Johnson County facts with citations.
What the official notice requires
Pulled from the official notice FY26-HSI-NOFO-P.pdf (30 pages) so you can see the requirements at a glance. Each item shows the notice's own words. Open the page to read it in context.
Award size and project length
Project period: 48 months · p. 11
“Awards made under this option will be funded up to $200,000 for a project period of 48 months.” Open page 11
Registrations you need first (1)
Grants.gov · p. 15
“The electronic application for this NOFO and additional resources are available on Grants.gov and Grants 101.” Open page 15
Registration is free but can take weeks, so start now, not when the deadline is close. Get-ready checklist
What to submit
Form SF-424 · p. 16
“Part IV Provide an accurate email address, where designated, on the SF-424 R&R.” Open page 16
Timeline or schedule of completion · p. 18
“Provide a timeline of activities for conducting the project.” Open page 18
Budget narrative / justification · p. 19
“include appropriate justification for the costs associated with their evaluation in the budget justification. g.” Open page 19
Logic model · p. 20
“Title the attachment as ‘Logic Model’ in the document header and save file as ‘LogicModel.’ Applications for projects may include the elements of a logic model detailing the activities, outputs, and outcomes of the proposed project.” Open page 20
Letters of support or commitment · p. 20
“If letters of support or collaboration are included as part of the application, they should be attached as a single PDF file titled as “Letters of Support” in the document header and save file as “LettersofSupport.” Letters of support or collaboration are…” Open page 20
Length limits
PN: 20 pages max · p. 16
“The PN must not exceed 20 double-spaced pages of written” Open page 16
Logic Model: 1 page max · p. 20
“Logic Model.1-Page Limit.” Open page 20
Mentoring Plan: 2 pages max · p. 20
“Mentoring Plan. 2-page limit per application.” Open page 20
Previous Award: 1 page max · p. 20
“Previous Award. 1-Page Limit.” Open page 20
Previous Review: 1 page max · p. 20
“Response to Previous Review. 1-Page Limit.” Open page 20
Formatting rules
double-spaced · p. 16
“The PN must not exceed 20 double-spaced pages of written” Open page 16
single-spaced · p. 17
“Tables and figure legends may be single-spaced and font size for tables and figure legends should be no smaller than 11 points, Times New Roman.” Open page 17
Cost share or match
Cost share / match · p. 14
“Cost Sharing or Matching No Match Required - The HSI Education Grants Program has no matching requirement.” Open page 14
Mistakes that get applications rejected (2)
Could get your application rejected: Collaboration Grants for Community Development Projects will not be accepted. · p. 11
“Collaboration Grants for Community Development Projects will not be accepted.” Open page 11
Could get your application rejected: Budgets for shorter project durations will not be considered for recommendation. 3. · p. 21
“Budgets for shorter project durations will not be considered for recommendation. 3.” Open page 21
Files from the official listing
The notice, forms and templates the agency attached.
- FY26-HSI-NOFO-P.pdf (427 KB)
FY2026-Hispanic-Serving-Institutions-Education-Grants-Program-NOFO
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About the federal program
Hispanic Serving Institutions Education Grants, also called “HSI Grants”
Program number 10.223 (the federal Assistance Listing number) · U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture · Project grant
How applications are judged
NIFA evaluates each application in a two-part process. First, each application is reviewed to ensure that it meets the administrative requirements set forth in the NOFO. Second, a peer-review process will be used to evaluate the scientific and technical merit of applications that have meet the administrative requirements.
After each peer review panel has completed deliberations, the responsible NIFA program staff will either recommend an application for support from available funds or decline an application due to insufficient funds or unfavorable review.
Match
None required (federal program listing).
Examples of funded projects
Fiscal year 2025: No awards were made in FY25