PERC is seeking applications for agricultural community-based projects that will serve farmworkers, agricultural pesticide handlers, their families, and/or their communities by contributing to the safe use of pesticides and/or working safely in areas where pesticides are used.
The PERC Advisory Board will select two to four projects to be funded by October 5, 2022. Successful applicants will have up to two years to complete their projects (no later than December 31, 2024.) We anticipate this funding opportunity to repeat at least three times. Identical projects will not be funded more than once but could be considered if it is the same project with a different target audience or subject matter focus.
Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations as defined by 2 CFR 200.1 “Nonprofit organization.”
EPA’s Office of Grants and Debarment has authorized PERC to use the Tax Exempt Organization Search Tool to assist in confirming the nonprofit status of an applying organization. However, if there is an applying organization being considered and their nonprofit status cannot be confirmed using this tool, then PERC can ask EPA’s Office of General Counsel to assist in determining eligibility. Applicants who engage in lobbying activities are not eligible to apply.
Eligible applicants must:
Desired Outcomes: The term “outcome” means the result, effect, or consequence that will occur from carrying out the project. Applicants may choose to perform one of the projects listed OR propose a different project that supports at least one of the following desired outcomes; examples are provided for information only. Outcomes may not necessarily be achievable within the funding period.
Desired Outcome #1: Educate farmworkers and/or agricultural pesticide handlers on the safe use of pesticides.
Example projects:
*If you belong to the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP) under the National Farmworker Training Program (NFTP), we encourage you to apply for this funding to perform different activities than those supported by NFTP.
Desired Outcome #2: Enhance the capabilities of partners to develop and implement programs/activities that prevent and reduce pesticide risks to farmworker communities.
Example projects:
Desired Outcome #3: Protect humans, communities, and ecosystems from illness and injury caused by exposure to pesticides.
Example projects:
"Performance measures" help gather insights and will be used to track progress of successful processes and output and outcome strategies and provide the basis for developing lessons to inform future projects. The description of performance measures will directly relate to the project outcomes and outputs.
For example, recipients may be able to report the rate of behavior change in a target community, intermediate outcomes, changes in health/environmental indicators, “ripple effects” (i.e., relationship-building, partner-driven amplification of messages), and/or program efficiency improvements.
These may include, but are not limited to, a timely delivery of one or more of the following:
Funding recipients will be required to provide quarterly reports and a final report on their impacts/performance in terms that are specific and measurable, whether qualitative or quantitative.
The recipient agrees to comply with the current EPA General Terms and Conditions.
In addition to the EPA General Terms and Conditions that apply to EPA grantees and subawardees, EPA Programmatic Conditions also apply. These include but are not limited to:
PERC is funded from 2021-2026 to coordinate the development of pesticide-related educational resources (i.e., manuals, videos, guides) that meet national needs. See our list of projects completed and in-progress. The PERC Advisory Board meets annually to determine priority needs, and monthly to hear from representatives about emerging needs and to gather feedback about PERC products. The materials produced by PERC are intended for use by non-profit educators. Anyone may print and distribute PERC materials at minimal or no cost to the end-recipients. Non-profit educators may request original files in order to modify PERC materials. See our policy here: using PERC's Works.
The PERC Advisory Board will evaluate all applications and will score applications using the Application Scoring Rubric (see RFA). Projects will be evaluated and scored against all applications received.
Apply by emailing a PDF document as described in the RFA to PERCsupport@ucdavis.edu. PERC will email applicants within one business day from the day that we received their application. If applicants do not receive a receipt from PERC, then the applicant should conclude PERC did not receive their application. We encourage applicants to apply well before the deadline.
Q: I want to add a letter of support.
A: For this application, PERC is not requesting or accepting letters of support.
Q: How will I be notified that my application was received?
A: Apply by emailing a PDF document as described in the RFA to PERCsupport@ucdavis.edu.
PERC will email applicants within one business day from the day that we received their application.
If applicants do not receive a receipt from PERC, then the applicant should conclude PERC did not receive their application.
We encourage applicants to apply well before the deadline.
Q: In the RFA it says there will be 2 to 4 projects selected. What if there are several $25K proposals – could more be selected, if of quality?
A: If the highest-quality proposals trend smaller than $50K, then it’s possible that PERC will award more than four projects.
Q: The RFA says eligible applicants include nonprofits as defined by 2 CFR 200.1 and checking the definition it says “Nonprofit organization means any corporation,
trust, association, cooperative, or other organization, not including IHEs (Institutions of Higher Education) …” Does this mean that IHE’s/Universities don’t meet the definition
of a nonprofit and are ineligible for the funds?
A: Based on PERC’s experimentation with the tax-exempt tool, it appears that some universities are eligible nonprofit organizations and others are not. Refer to the
tax-exempt search tool provided in the RFA. If the Employer Identification Number (EIN)
of your organization appears, then it’s determined to be eligible to apply.
Q: Is this a national call for applications? Does the organization need to be from a certain region?
A: This is a national call for applications and the organization does not need to be from a certain region. Applicants can be national in scope so long as the projects themselves are
conducted at the local or regional level.
Q: Would the award for the full amount of the grant be received by October 5, 2022? Or would it be issued in some sort of installments based on the project timeline?
A: The full amount of the grant would not be made by UC Davis nor received by the recipient by October 5. Successful applicants would receive payments upon receipt
of an invoice (either monthly or quarterly) and upon successful completion of project milestones in that portion of the project period. October 5 is PERC’s estimated date to have a financial
agreement in place yet it’s predicated on the timeline of the review process and how streamlined the process will be to set up a payment mechanism with a recipient following workplan approval.
Q: Is the date of the announcement of the grant recipients still planned for August 2022?
A: This is an estimated date and is the pending the number of applications received and the time needed to review them.
Q: Is there an advantage to reach multiple states or regions? I am considering a state-specific program, but afraid it will not be strong enough to compete for national dollars.
A: There is no predicted advantage for an application if it were to reach multiple states and regions. The RFA states that the projects themselves should be conducted at the local or regional level.
The community to be served may be small or large.
Q: Could a training happen outside of the U.S. for farmworkers that will be entering the U.S. to work?
A: EPA has confirmed that these grant funds may not pay for activities outside of the United States and its territories.
Q: Do all project activities need to occur in the U.S.?
A: EPA has confirmed that these grant funds may not pay for activities outside of the United States and its territories.
Q: If the grantee represents a tax-exempt organization, can it hire a subcontractor who is not a tax-exempt organization to accomplish a specific part of the project, for example surveys?
A: If a grantee hires a service vendor, then that vendor doesn’t have to be a nonprofit.
Q: If the applicant applies for a certain funding amount, is it possible that they would be awarded less than the requested amount, or would the determination of funding be simply yes or no?
A: PERC is not able to determine that until an application has been reviewed.
Q: The application only needs to focus on one of the three (1of 3) outcomes, correct?
A: Yes. Proposed projects may support only one of the following desired outcomes, although some projects may support more than one.
Q: The RFA states applications should be 20 pages maximum. My application will be shorter. Does PERC prefer it be longer?
A: There is no page minimum.
Q: Could we use PERC resources or do we have to create the content to be distributed?
A: If your project aims to distribute materials, you may use PERC resources, or create, and/or distribute educational resources from any source to best meet the needs of the target community.
Q: Do we have to provide the WPS certification required by some states?
A: There is no requirement that the projects need to focus on the Worker Protection Standard (WPS) or meet employers’ requirements for annual training.
Q: Will there be a recording available of this webinar?
A: We are not yet certain we will post a recording of the webinar. If we do, then it will be posted
at https://pesticideresources.org/CBP/. The webinar slides will be posted at the same location.
Q: Will the next round of funding be around the same time frame, published in May with a due date in July?
A: We anticipate offering a similar funding announcement in approximately nine months (February 2023.) Check the PERC website for
announcements and sign up for email updates from PERC at https://pesticideresources.org/CBP/.
Q: Has the deadline to submit applications been extended from June 1, 2022 to July 1, 2022?
A: Yes, the new deadline is July 1, 2022 and applications should be emailed to PERCsupport@ucdavis.edu.
Q: How do I find out if my organization is eligible to apply?
A: Use the tax-exempt tool at this URL: https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/tax-exempt-organization-search.
Q: Who will be our contact for future questions about the RFA?
A: Please direct all inquiries to PERCsupport@ucdavis.edu.
Q: Where is the Frequently Asked Questions section of the website?
A: To find the Q and A section of our website please go to
https://pesticideresources.org/CBP/ and scroll to bottom of the page where it says Questions & Answers and underneath click SHOW MORE. You will then see all the questions and answers pop up.
Q: Does there have to be ONE lead organization, and any other collaborators are listed as subcontractors?
A: We welcome collaboration but there can only be a single applicant (lead organization) to who receives payments from UC Regents, and that lead organization will handle compensating collaborators as their budget allows.
Please make sure the lead organization that applies meets the nonprofit status as required in the RFA.
Q: If we are the lead organization for the grant and the application collaborates with other organizations, where do we put the other organizations in our budget and how to we classify them?
A: For your budget depending on what type of organizations you are collaborating with, subcontractors are most likely be classified as “Contractual”.
Q: If we apply for a larger amount of funds and our project is given a good score but PERC does not have the funds for such a large project, would they be willing to provide a lower amount if aims and scope are modified?
A: The PERC Advisory Board has not indicated a preference for larger or smaller requests. There has been no discussion about renegotiating proposals, but it’s a possible outcome depending on the Board’s deliberations.
Q: Our project may involve creating a new resource. Can we put in our budget money for an academic person to review new resources created?
A: It is permissible to hire others for review time. To hire academic reviewers, you may budget for contractual services in the “Contractual” category. The specific reviewers may or may not be identified at the time of the proposal.
Q: If we have worked with PERC Advisory Board members in the past but none that are current, do we still need to mention this in our application?
A: Please mention all the potential connections you have that may create a real or perceived conflict of interest. It’s relevant to share the nature of your connection and its duration/timing.
Q: Can projects cover several states and be considered regional?
A: Yes, regional projects may include one or several states.
Q: Are regional projects being prioritized over local projects?
A: Regional projects are not being prioritized over local projects. One does not take priority over the other.
Q: When will the next funding cycles be announced?
A: The answer to this and other questions are listed in the Questions & Answers section at the bottom of this page:
https://pesticideresources.org/CBP/. Click “SHOW MORE” to see all content.
Q: How do I propose a project and make it clear to funders that our program can be done as a small startup pilot for less money or has the option to be funded for a full project for more money given the availability of funds?
A: Please choose the scale you are proposing and apply for funding. Please note in your application if you are flexible in the scale of the operation and briefly how that might change your program/budget/people reached. (ie Would the budget be doubled and the position hired full time/more people served?)
Q: How does the ownership of copyrights work for when applying for the AgCBP grant? Does the copyright ownership apply to all materials generated within the grant?
A: The University of California (UC) Regents will retain the copyright for any new materials created as a result of funded projects. Currently, it is PERC’s policy to share educational materials with anyone according to a noncommercial, share-alike license with attribution. In accordance with 2 CFR 200.315, PERC will make all new programs/resources available at no cost, to the fullest extent possible.