U.S. Department of Agriculture — National Institute of Food and Agriculture · General
USDA NIFA 1890 Capacity Building Grants Program
Capacity-building grants to 1890 land-grant institutions (and Tuskegee, Central State, and West Virginia State Universities) to strengthen teaching, research, and extension in food and agricultural sciences. Three project types: teaching, research, extension.
Program facts
- Typical award
- $150K – $750K
- Non-federal match
- Varies by NOFO
- Audience
- Local governments and eligible subrecipients
- Application window
- Annual.
- Typical prep time
- 10–16 weeks
- Statutory authority
- Second Morrill Act of 1890 (7 U.S.C. §§321-329); National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act §1417 (7 U.S.C. §3152)
Catalog entry last verified 2026-05-27 · Verify on the agency page →
Eligibility at a glance
- Institutions of higher education are eligible applicants.
- Restricted to 1890 Morrill Land-Grant institutions (historically Black).
Limited to the 19 historically Black land-grant institutions designated under the Second Morrill Act and the named statutory additions. Amounts and timing approximate; verify directly with administering agency.
How Strategic Pursuit scores this program
When you run a city dossier, Strategic Pursuit cross-checks the city's demographics, federal award history, disaster history, and CEJST burden categories against this program's eligibility and strategic-fit signals. You see an explicit eligibility / strategic / competitive grade — backed by source citations — instead of a generic "match" badge.
Planning purposes only. Award ranges, match percentages, and application windows on this page summarize the latest publicly available agency guidance and are approximate. Always verify the binding NOFO on the administering agency's page before applying.