Application Notes:

Applications must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. ET on April 19, 2024.

Prior to submitting applications, new applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the funding agency's Office of Civil Rights (OCR), using the information provided in the Contact section, to discuss Title VI compliance and requirements.

Applications must be submitted online at www.ecivis.com/grants.gov.

Applications must include:

• SF 424
• SF 424A
• SF 424B
• Grants.gov lobbying form
• SF LLL (if applicable)
• Key contacts form
• Indirect cost rate agreement (if applicable)
• Standard Title VI/non-discrimination program assurance and plan
• Project plan
• Application narrative (25 pages max), including:
  • Brief introduction
  • Problem statement and performance objectives
  • Activity workplan
  • Evaluation and monitoring plan
  • Budget narrative
• Attachments:
  • Documentation to show eligibility of accreditation by the Department of Education or documentation to show the institution is approved by the Department of Labor as an eligible training provider (as applicable)
  • Copy of published tuition rates for training project

Applications must be formatted on standard-sized pages with at least one-inch margins using a 12-point Times New Roman font. Applications must be in a format readable by Microsoft Word or Excel, or in text-searchable .pdf formats, as applicable.

The following are required in order to submit an application:

• Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number
• SAM (System for Award Management) registration
• SPOC (state Single Point of Contact) notification

Applicants may obtain a UEI number and verify or renew SAM registration status at www.ecivis.com/sam. Applicants in states participating in the SPOC program must contact the relevant SPOC listed in the SPOC file before applying.

An optional webinar for this program is scheduled as follows:

March 13, 2024
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET
Registration: usdot.zoomgov.com

Recordings of webinars previously held for this program can be found online at ai.fmcsa.dot.gov.

Applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria: 

• Technical merit criteria
• Budget review/cost analysis criteria
• Program-specific criteria
• Past performance criteria
• Racial equity, climate change, and sustainability criteria
• Other review information

Refer to pages 18-23 of the NOFA file for additional information regarding the evaluation process.

Refer to the NOFA and Webinar files, as well as the Application folder, for additional application information.

Match Notes:

Matching funds are not required for this program.

Funding Notes:

Approximately $3.5 million is anticipated to be available to support approximately 15 awards of up to $200,000 through this program.

Funding will be provided on a reimbursement basis.

Applicants will receive notice of award in spring 2024.

Project periods will include the fiscal year in which awards are made, plus two additional fiscal years. Project periods will begin upon the award date. Project periods will end on September 30, 2026.

If a student drops out prior to completing the curriculum, the funding agency will reimburse the recipient based on its written refund policy for students minus any expenses that the recipient did not incur.

Costs will not be prorated.

Funds may not be used for:

• Costs that are not part of the training entity's published tuition rate, such as instructor or administrative support salaries or other general recurring expenses associated with the applicant's daily operations
• Costs incurred outside of the award period
• Indirect costs if an approved indirect cost rate agreement is not in place for the period of time during which the indirect costs are incurred
• Salary-related bonus payments
• Duplicative costs included in the indirect cost amount
• Entertainment expenses or souvenirs
• Personal gain, such as requests for obtaining specialized training required for licensing
• Direct financial gain or profit
• Paying for students who have failed and who have previously received program funds to retake courses 

For FY 2023, a total of $3 million was distributed via 20 awards ranging from $80,460 to $200,000 through this program. For FY 2022, a total of $3.1 million was distributed via 19 awards ranging from $60,600 to $200,000. Refer to the Award file for details.

April 17, 2024
Slides from the webinar held for this program have been released and attached as the WebinarPresentation file. Additionally, answers to questions addressed during the webinar have been released and attached as the Q&A file. The Financial section has been updated accordingly.