Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs Announces Funds Available to Build Capacity in Grant Writing, Administration, and Oversight in Insular Areas

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs today announces that in addition to priorities previously announced for funding assistance, grant funding applications will also be considered to develop grant writing capacity, grant administration, and oversight in the Insular Areas. Applications that support building grant application and management capacity can include training and additional temporary grant staffing and should be submitted under the Technical Assistance Program (TAP) at http://grants.gov under CFDA number 15.875, by April 1.

“Interior strongly encourages applications from the Insular Areas to build capacity in grant writing and grant management,” said Keone Nakoa, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs. “We want to ensure that the Insular Areas are equipped and prepared to access federal funds, such as have been made available under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law or the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L.115-58).”

As announced in January 2022, eligible applicants are insular government entities, educational institutions, or non-profit organizations whose grant proposals are in accordance with 2CFR200 and will directly benefit the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands or the freely associated states, which are the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau.

All applicants for federal funding must apply at grants.gov. To find funding available from Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs, search grants.gov using CFDA number 15.875. While the deadline for OIA TAP funding is April 1, 2022, it is highly recommended that applications be submitted as early as possible. Applications related to public safety and emergencies will be reviewed in a timely manner, prior to the April deadline, but must also be submitted through grants.gov as indicated above.

Please note that effective April 4, 2022, the federal government will complete its transition to requiring the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) on all grant applications in place of the DUNS number. Grant applicants should now begin submitting all proposals with the requisite UEI number; any applications submitted prior to February 14, need not be resubmitted. For more information about the transition to the UEI, please visit gsa.gov. The updated Form SF424, that requires UEI’s may be found on grants.gov.

Complete instructions on how to apply for discretionary financial assistance programs that are available through the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs may be found at: https://www.doi.gov/oia/financial-assistance. For full instructions on federal grants administrative requirements, cost principles, and audit requirements, visit the online Code of Federal Regulations or 2CFR200.

The Assistant Secretary of Insular and International Affairs and the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) carry out the Secretary of the Interior’s responsibilities for the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Additionally, OIA administers and oversees federal assistance under the Compacts of Free Association to the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. OIA also administers a discretionary Technical Assistance Program for all the insular areas. Find information about OIA and its work on www.doi.gov/oia, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

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