Will you fund a project starting 01/01/2026? What if the period of performance ends on 12/31/2028?

There is a standard three-year period of performance for Exchange Network grants and an applicant’s project work plan must reflect these dates (10/1 of the competition’s calendar year through 9/30, three years later). An applicant can always have their first project goals and outputs as scheduled in accordance with a delayed start date and can work to complete the project within the allowable 3 years. So, an applicant could apply in FY25 for a project that is intended to start on Jan 1, 2026, but we would still be expecting you to wrap up your project by September 30th, 2028. Address any delayed output completion dates within the project description of the project narrative, speaking to the projected project delay and the reasoning behind it. This will help EPA understand that this is a purposeful delay and not something that needs to be amended.  

If the full scope of work could not be accomplished within that two-year period, we would highly encourage you to delay and apply instead for the 2026 grants cycle.