Youth Engagement, Education, and Employment | F18AS00146

Opportunity Information: Apply for F18AS00146

The Youth Engagement, Education, and Employment opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number F18AS00146) is a discretionary Department of the Interior award administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It is structured as a cooperative agreement, which typically means the Service expects to be substantially involved in planning, coordination, or oversight as the project is carried out, rather than simply issuing funds and stepping back. The program sits under CFDA 15.676 and is framed around connecting young people to conservation-related education, hands-on service, and work-based experiences tied to Fish and Wildlife Service missions and public lands stewardship.

Legally, the opportunity is supported by several long-standing statutes that guide the Fish and Wildlife Service and related conservation programs. These include the Fish and Wildlife Act and the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, which broadly authorize and shape conservation and wildlife-related activities; the National Fish Hatchery System Volunteer Act, which supports volunteer engagement connected to hatchery and fisheries work; and the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act, which governs management and public use of National Wildlife Refuges. It also cites the Public Lands Corps Act and Youth Conservation Corps provisions, which are commonly used to justify youth-focused conservation service and employment pathways on public lands. Taken together, those authorities signal a project emphasis on engaging youth in meaningful conservation service, education, and workforce development activities associated with refuges and other Fish and Wildlife Service-managed resources.

In terms of who could apply, eligibility is limited to nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status that are not institutions of higher education. In this specific notice, however, the agency states it is a Notice of Intent to Single Source to the Friends of Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge. That wording matters because it indicates the Fish and Wildlife Service intended to make a sole-source cooperative agreement to a particular nonprofit partner rather than running an open competition among many applicants. The notice also specifies that applications must address the activities and stipulations laid out in Section I (Description of Funding Opportunity) and follow an application checklist referenced in the Notice of Funding Opportunity, meaning the proposal would need to closely track the agency-defined scope and compliance requirements rather than proposing an entirely new, unrelated concept.

The award details show a relatively small, targeted project: an anticipated single award (Expected Awards: 1) with an award ceiling of $49,500. The opportunity was created on May 22, 2018, and had an original closing date of May 29, 2018, reflecting a short turnaround consistent with a single-source intent announcement. The activity categories listed span arts/cultural affairs, community development, education, environment, natural resources, and transportation, which suggests the project could blend environmental education and conservation service with broader community engagement needs such as getting youth to and from project sites, delivering interpretive or educational programming, and strengthening community ties to public lands.

Overall, this funding opportunity is best understood as a small, mission-specific cooperative agreement designed to support youth-centered programming connected to a National Wildlife Refuge setting (in this case, Valle de Oro NWR) through a designated nonprofit partner. The core theme is using structured conservation and public lands work experiences to promote youth engagement, build environmental knowledge, and create pathways toward employment or continued participation in natural resource and conservation fields, all under the statutory authorities that govern refuge operations, volunteer engagement, and youth conservation corps-style service.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the arts (see cultural affairs in cfda), community development, education, environment, natural resources, transportation sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Youth Engagement, Education, and Employment" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.676.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 22, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 29, 2018 This is a Notice of Intent to Single Source to the Friends of Valle de Oro NWR. Applications must address all activities amp stipulations in Section I, Description of Funding Opportunity amp the Application Checklist (via Notice of Funding Opportunity).. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $49,500.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

Apply for F18AS00146

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