Frequently Asked Questions on Open Funding Opportunities

EPA has published three new funding opportunities to support pesticide safety education for farmworkers, training for health care providers to better address pesticide-related illness, and technical assistance to support managing these grants. A total of nearly $10 million will be awarded to at least four grantees to carry out this work over five years. For more information, please see Pesticide Cooperative Agreements.

On this page:

General questions related to all three Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs)

1. How are these agreements different than previous EPA pesticide safety cooperative agreements?

Historically, EPA has funded programs to do the following:

More recently, the educational resources grant has included a smaller-scale subaward program to support community-based pesticide safety projects.

These NOFOs place more emphasis on tailoring pesticide safety trainings, materials, and outreach to farmworkers’ educational needs, taking culture, language, and reading levels into account. They also seek to meaningfully involve communities in projects that affect them. For example, materials created under one of the Farmworker Training and Education program agreements must be piloted with farmworkers, while the Pesticides Health Care Initiative requires a partnership with a local organization to put resources and trainings into practice.

Unlike previous agreements, eligibility for these NOFOs is also more limited, with a greater emphasis on nonprofits and community-based organizations. Please see the NOFOs for the eligibility criteria, as they differ for each program.

2. Are questions about NOFOs submitted to the EPA agency contact kept confidential? 

EPA will not reveal the source of questions. EPA publishes the answers to questions it receives about open NOFOs that may be beneficial for all applicants to this webpage. However, it formulates the answers to the questions in a general way and does not include the name of the inquirer. 

Pesticides Health Care Initiative (HCI): National and Community Based Care (EPA-OCSPP-OPP-2024-005) 

1. Are governments (such as state governments) or institutes of higher education (such as universities) eligible to apply for the Pesticides HCI?

Government entities and institutes of higher education are not eligible to apply as the lead applicant. However, they are eligible to apply as part of a coalition application. The lead applicant in the coalition must be a nonprofit organization with demonstrated experience in providing training or technical assistance to health care providers who serve farmworker populations. 

2. What is the difference between a partnership and a coalition? 

In the HCI NOFO, a “partnership” is a collaboration with organizations to meet objective #2—administer a partnership program to inform the national health care provider training program and ensure it has national reach and local applicability.  

In contrast, a “coalition” is when two or more organizations submit a single application for this NOFO and have a written formalized agreement with one designated as the lead applicant.  

3. Are applicants required to form a partnership or coalition? 

For the HCI NOFO, applicants are required to demonstrate in their project plan how they will administer a partnership program.  

Organizations do not apply as a "partnership." In their applications they must explain how they will partner with community based orgs to meet the partnership program requirement. 

Organizations may apply as a "coalition" where one organization is the lead recipient, and the other(s) is/are subrecipient(s).  

Organizations may also apply on their own. 

4. What are the requirements for a partnership or coalition? 

For the HCI NOFO, organizations are required to demonstrate in their project plan how they will administer a partnership program. Applicants do not need to identify all of the organizations they will or plan to partner with, but they should at least explain how they will develop partnerships that with organizations to meet this requirement. 

Organizations applying as part of a coalition are required to (1) have a formalized, written, partnership agreement, (2) designate one organization as the lead, and (3) explain the roles of each organization in the project. 

5. Can organizations form a new partnership or coalition?  

Yes, organizations may form new partnerships or coalitions. They are not required to have experience as a partnership or a coalition before applying. 

6. What is a “lead organization” or “lead applicant”?  

The lead applicant is one organization in a coalition that submits the application and is the primary contact with EPA. It is accountable for the proper expenditure of funds and responsible for the performance of the assistance agreement and liability claims for recovery of unallowable costs.  There can only be one lead organization in a coalition.  

7. Who is eligible to be a “lead organization” of a coalition application? 

For the HCI NOFO, only nonprofit organizations (not including institutes of higher education or state/local government organizations) with experience training or providing technical assistance to health care providers who serve farmworker populations are eligible to be a lead organization of a coalition application. 

8. Who is eligible to be in an application as a subrecipient of a coalition?  

For the HCI NOFO, the following are eligible:  

  • nonprofit organizations; 

  • institutes of higher education (e.g., universities); and 

  • hospitals operated by state, tribal, or local governments. 

Farmworker Training and Education Program (FTEP) for Pesticide Safety (EPA-OCSPP-OPP-2024-006)

1. Can organizations outside the U.S. apply for the Farmworker Training and Education Program?

There is no threshold eligibility criterion specifically prohibiting organizations outside the U.S. from applying. However, the goals and objectives of the Farmworker Training and Education Program all support a regulation applicable only in the U.S. (the Worker Protection Standard). Any applicant must have a plan to fulfill the goals and objectives in support of U.S. regulations.

2. What is a “community-based farmworker nonprofit organization”? 

EPA defines a “community-based nonprofit farmworker organization” in the FTEP NOFO as a nonprofit that “supports and/or represents the farmworker community through engagement, education, and other related services provided to community residents and community stakeholders.” 

An organization that “supports” a farmworker community must demonstrate that (a) its primary focus is to provide services to farmworkers and (b) it has established trust with them. The organization may do so by submitting a mission statement, letters of support from farmworkers and/or farmworker organizations, or other similar documentation. An organization that “represents” a farmworker community must be “founded or staffed by members of the farmworker community.” This can be demonstrated through staff biographies, letters of support, organization mission statements, or other similar documentation. See FTEP NOFO Section III.A.2. for more information. 

A “farmworker community” is a broad term that includes both farmworkers and “people with relationships to” or “similar concerns to farmworkers and who may be affected by agricultural pesticides,” such as children of farmworkers, other family members, people who live near agricultural establishments, and people who rely on the income earned by farmworkers. It also includes places with large numbers of farmworkers. See FTEP NOFO Section III.A.4. for more information. 

3. What experience does a community-based farmworker nonprofit organization need to have to be eligible as a lead applicant?  

To be eligible as a lead applicant, a community-based farmworker nonprofit organization must have experience training or developing educational materials for farmworkers (Section III.C). 

4. What is the difference between a partnership and a coalition?  

In the FTEP NOFO, “partnership” is a formal relationship between two or more cooperative agreement recipients memorialized in writing and is legally binding under applicable law. Organizations may submit a single application together as a partnership. 

A “partnership” is not the same as subrecipients for local and regional projects for Type 2 applications. See FTEP NOFO Section II.B.1. for more information. 

5. Are applicants required to form a partnership? 

Organizations are not required to form a partnership for the FTEP NOFO—any eligible organization may apply on its own. 

6. Can organizations form a new partnership?  

Yes, organizations may form a new partnership. They are not required to have experience as a partnership before applying.  

7. What is a “lead organization” or “lead applicant”?  

The lead organization is one organization in a partnership that submits the application and is the primary contact with EPA. It is accountable for the proper expenditure of funds and responsible for the performance of the assistance agreement and liability claims for recovery of unallowable costs. There can only be one lead organization in a partnership.  

8. What are the requirements for a partnership?  

For the FTEP NOFO, partnership organizations are required to (1) have a formalized, written, partnership agreement, (2) designate one organization as the lead, and (3) explain the roles of each organization in the project. 

9. Who is eligible to be a “lead organization” of a partnership application to the FTEP? 

For the FTEP NOFO, only nonprofit, community-based organizations with experience training farmworkers are eligible to be a lead organization of a partnership application. 

10. Who is eligible to be in a partnership?  

For the FTEP NOFO, the following are eligible to be in a partnership:  

  • nonprofit organizations; and 

  • institutes of higher education (e.g., universities). 

11. How will the subaward selection process work for the Farmworker Community Pesticide Education Subaward Program (FTEP Type 2 cooperative agreement)? 

The recipient of the cooperative agreement, not EPA, will decide how subawards are chosen. It could be a competitive application process, a need-based selection, or another process entirely. 

12. Who is eligible to receive subawards for local and regional projects under the Type 2 agreement? 

Subrecipients of local and regional projects must be “community-based nonprofit farmworker organizations.” For more information on “community-based nonprofit farmworker organizations,” please see Question #3. 

Grants Technical Assistance (TA) for Pesticide Safety Programs: Technical Assistance in Support of the Health Care Initiative and the Farmworker Training and Education Program (EPA-OCSPP-OPP-2024-007) 

1. What is a coalition?  

A “coalition” is when two or more organizations submit a single application for this NOFO and have a written formalized agreement with one designated as the lead applicant.  

2. Are applicants required to form a coalition? 

Organizations are not required to form a coalition—any eligible organization may apply on its own. 

3. What are the requirements for a coalition?  

Organizations applying as part of a coalition are required to (1) have a formalized, written, partnership agreement, (2) designate one organization as the lead, and (3) explain the roles of each organization in the project. 

4. What is a “lead organization” or “lead applicant”?  

The lead organization is one organization in a partnership or coalition that submits the application and is the primary contact with EPA. It is accountable for the proper expenditure of funds and responsible for the performance of the assistance agreement and liability claims for recovery of unallowable costs.  There can only be one lead organization in a partnership or coalition.  

5. Who is eligible to be a “lead organization” for an application to the TA NOFO? 

For the TA NOFO, the following types of organizations are eligible to be a lead organization of a coalition application: 

  • nonprofit organizations experienced in providing technical assistance to farmworker or health care provider serving organizations; 

  • institutes of higher education experienced in providing technical assistance to farmworker or health care provider serving organizations; and 

  • hospitals operated by state, tribal, or local governments experienced in providing technical assistance to farmworker or health care provider serving organizations. 

6. Can organizations form a new coalition?  

Yes, organizations may form a new coalition. They are not required to have experience as a coalition before applying.  

7. Who is eligible to be in an application as a subrecipient of a coalition?  

For the TA NOFO, the following are eligible:  

  • nonprofit organizations; 

  • institutes of higher education (e.g., universities); and 

  • hospitals operated by state, tribal, or local governments. 

Pesticides

Contact Us About Pesticides
Contact Us to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem.
Last updated on November 15, 2024