Higher Education Challenge Grants Program

Opportunity snapshot. This Grants.gov announcement - Higher Education Challenge Grants Program - is cataloged under number USDA-NIFA-CGP-011315 and tied to CFDA assistance listing 10.217, posted by National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Grants.gov currently shows the opportunity as open, first posted on August 5, 2026. The funding category is Discretionary, delivered as a grant.

Award economics. The award range on file is $150,000 -- $750,000. The agency has projected $5.7 million in total estimated funding for this announcement. It expects to issue 36 awards. If the agency funds the expected 36 awards from the $5.7 million estimated pool, the average award works out to roughly $158,000. Cost sharing is not required, so applicants do not need to commit matching funds to be competitive on this opportunity. Federal award ranges are often upper bounds; actual allocations reflect program appropriations, the strength of the applicant pool, and the evaluation committee's scoring.

Deadline and action path. Applications close on October 15, 2026 - roughly 66 days from today. Every Grants.gov submission requires an active SAM.gov registration and a Unique Entity ID. Review the Eligibility section below carefully, federal eligibility categories (nonprofit, state or local government, tribal, individual, educational institution, small business) have distinct registration and reporting requirements. Pre-application outreach to the listed agency contact is permitted and often welcomed, it helps clarify scope and scoring priorities. Before acting on the deadline or award figures above, verify them directly on the official Grants.gov listing, amendments can change dates and amounts after this page was last refreshed.