AUGUSTA CANAL AUTHORITY MANAGEMENT OF AUGUSTA CANAL NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA | P17AS00482

Opportunity Information: Apply for P17AS00482

The "AUGUSTA CANAL AUTHORITY MANAGEMENT OF AUGUSTA CANAL NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA" opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number P17AS00482) is a National Park Service, Department of the Interior cooperative agreement intended to support implementation of the Management Plan for the Augusta Canal National Heritage Area. It sits in the discretionary funding category and is tied to community development and education objectives under CFDA 15.939. The core purpose is operational and programmatic: ensuring that the designated heritage area is managed in a coordinated, planned way that strengthens preservation, interpretation, visitor experience, and local partnerships, while also maintaining the day-to-day administrative capacity needed to carry out that work.

The scope of work is structured around several major functions outlined in the Management Plan. First, it supports Administration and Operations, which typically includes the organizational infrastructure required to run the heritage area effort: staffing and management functions, coordination with partners, compliance and reporting associated with the cooperative agreement, and the basic operational work needed to keep programs functioning and aligned with the approved plan. Second, it emphasizes Marketing and Visitor Services, focusing on outreach, promotion, visitor information, and other services that make the heritage area accessible and understandable to the public. Third, it includes Planning, which generally refers to continued implementation planning, coordination among stakeholders, and maintaining consistency with long-term goals established in the Management Plan.

In addition to those operational components, the opportunity highlights Resource Inventory Development and Interpretation. That reflects the heritage area model, where telling the story of place and protecting key resources depends on understanding what resources exist, documenting them, and then translating that knowledge into interpretive products and experiences. Inventory work can support identifying and organizing cultural, historic, natural, and educational assets, while interpretation work can support educational programming, exhibits, signage, publications, guided experiences, and other methods of communicating the area’s significance to residents, schools, and visitors. Finally, the project includes Grants and Sub-grants, signaling that part of the effort may involve providing financial support to partner organizations or local projects that advance the Management Plan goals, using subawards to extend impact beyond the managing entity itself.

The award structure is notable because it is presented as a Notice of Intent to Award rather than an open competition. The announcement explicitly states it is not a request for applications and is issued to provide public notice that the National Park Service intends to fund a specific federal financial assistance project without full and open competition. As a result, this is not a typical grant where multiple applicants submit proposals against a deadline; instead, it reflects an agency decision to make a cooperative agreement award directly, consistent with heritage area administration practices and the agency’s identified project partner.

Eligibility is limited to nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education). The anticipated funding level is substantial, with an award ceiling of $2,144,000 and an expectation of one award. The cooperative agreement instrument type also matters: it usually indicates that the federal agency expects to have substantial involvement in the project’s implementation compared to a standard grant, often through collaboration, technical assistance, coordination, or shared decision-making related to project activities and compliance requirements.

In practical terms, the opportunity is best understood as funding intended to sustain and advance the organized management of the Augusta Canal National Heritage Area through coordinated operations, visitor-facing services, strategic planning, documentation of resources, interpretive and educational delivery, and pass-through support to partners via grants or sub-grants, all carried out under a cooperative relationship with the National Park Service.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the community development, education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "AUGUSTA CANAL AUTHORITY MANAGEMENT OF AUGUSTA CANAL NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.939.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 12, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by This Notice of Intent to Award is not a request for applications. This announcement is to provide public notice of the National Park Services intention to fund the following federal financial assistance project without full and open competition. (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 $2,144,000.00 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 P17AS00482

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