Transforming Youth Outdoors | F17AS00162

Opportunity Information: Apply for F17AS00162

The Transforming Youth Outdoors grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number F17AS00162) was a discretionary funding notice issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) under the authority of the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956. It was structured as a cooperative agreement within the Natural Resources funding activity category and tied to CFDA number 15.676. The notice was created on March 15, 2017, with an original closing date of March 22, 2017, indicating a very short application window consistent with opportunities that stem from a specific project concept already presented to the agency.

The opportunity was based on an unsolicited proposal submitted to FWS by Transforming Youth Outdoors. The core purpose was to continue building and refining tools connected to Outdoor Recreation and Conservation Career development. In addition to continuing that career-tool development work, the proposal focused on creating and developing resource and training modules aimed at strengthening pathways related to relevancy, diversity, and inclusion, as well as creating resource and training modules specifically supporting hunting and fishing pathways. In practical terms, the project described in the notice centers on developing educational or workforce-oriented materials that help connect youth and other participants to outdoor recreation and conservation careers, while also expanding how those pathways are made inclusive and relevant to broader communities, and how they support traditional conservation participation routes like hunting and fishing.

The award ceiling listed for the opportunity was $50,000. The posting listed expected awards as 0, which often reflects an administrative or procedural characteristic of the posting rather than a statement that no funding will ever be issued; in similar cases, it can indicate that the agency is posting the opportunity to document consideration of a specific unsolicited proposal or that an award count was not finalized at the time of posting. Eligibility was labeled as "Others," with a note to consult the additional eligibility text for clarification, signaling that eligibility was not limited to the most common categories like state governments or universities and may have been intended to align with the organization or type of entity submitting the unsolicited proposal.

Overall, this notice describes a relatively small, targeted cooperative agreement opportunity designed to support the continued development of career-oriented conservation tools and the production of structured training resources. The emphasis on relevancy, diversity, and inclusion modules alongside hunting and fishing modules suggests the project sought to broaden participation in outdoor recreation and conservation while also supporting established conservation engagement pathways, using training and resource development as the main deliverables.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Transforming Youth Outdoors" 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 Mar 15, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 22, 2017. (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 $50,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for F17AS00162

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