THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS- Interpretive Outreach-GWCA- THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS | NPS NOIP17AC00217

Opportunity Information: Apply for NPS NOIP17AC00217

This notice describes a National Park Service (NPS) cooperative agreement connected to George Washington Carver National Monument (GWCA) and the Carver Birthplace Association (CBA). Despite being formatted like a funding opportunity, it is explicitly labeled "THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS," meaning it is not open for competitive proposals from the public. Instead, it documents an intended partnership arrangement in which NPS and CBA jointly deliver interpretive outreach, special events, and related programming that commemorates and teaches the life, work, and legacy of George Washington Carver. The instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically signals hands-on federal involvement in planning and execution rather than a standard grant where the recipient operates more independently. The listing shows an award ceiling of up to $200,000 with one expected award, and it sits within arts, education, and humanities activity areas under CFDA 15.946.

The underlying rationale for this partnership is rooted in a long relationship between the park and local/regional supporters who helped establish and sustain public recognition of Carver and the monument. The text traces that history from the early 1940s advocacy work of the George Washington Carver Birthplace Memorial Associates, to the formation of the District Carver Association in 1953 to coordinate the annual Carver Day celebration, and then the 1962 merger that created the George Washington Carver Birthplace District Association (CBA). CBA incorporated in 1963 and received IRS nonprofit status in 1964. Over decades, CBA has operated a museum store at the park and used proceeds to support park programs consistent with the NPS mission. A formal Friends Group agreement between GWCA and CBA was approved in 2011, and this cooperative agreement builds on that established role. Functionally, CBA is described as a support organization for the park, contributing marketing and advertising, interpretive and educational publications, consultative support for studies, interpretive markers, concession services, and broader program support that helps sustain public engagement with Carver's story.

The statement of work centers on interpretive activities that give visitors meaningful ways to connect with Carver through programming and exhibits that are not always available in routine operations. A repeated theme throughout the document is that these demonstrations and programs must be planned and evaluated to ensure they align with the park's interpretive themes, which is an important compliance and quality-control point for NPS interpretation. The partnership is structured around a "myriad" of activities, but several anchor events are highlighted as recurring annual or periodic commitments that require significant staff coordination and community participation.

One of the flagship events is Carver Day, an annual celebration that predates the park's opening and has been held at the park every year since 1953. Carver Day is positioned as a major interpretive and commemorative opportunity, with a current focus emphasizing Carver's spirituality alongside his life work and achievements. The event is intentionally targeted toward African American audiences, including outreach such as bulk mailings to African American churches and invitations to African American church choirs and musical groups. Attendance is weather-dependent but commonly ranges from 700 to 1,200 visitors, and the park estimates 250 to 300 staff hours to prepare and deliver the event, indicating that it is both high-visibility and labor-intensive.

Prairie Day is another large annual event, begun in the 1980s, focused on interpreting the social, natural, and cultural environment of Carver's early years in southwest Missouri and how that environment shaped him. The programming typically includes exhibits, demonstrations, living history, interpretive talks, and musical performances. CBA's role for Prairie Day includes practical support such as concessions, marketing, and insurance for horse-drawn wagon rides. Prairie Day is coordinated with the local Diamond, Missouri "Gem City Days" celebration to increase participation and enable joint marketing, and CBA has historically supported Gem City Days through sponsorship and other involvement. Like Carver Day, Prairie Day draws roughly 800 to 1,200 visitors depending on weather and similarly requires an estimated 250 to 300 hours of park staff time.

The agreement also highlights Art in the Park, an annual event launched in 2007 with support from a National Park Foundation project focused on sharing African American experiences. This event is designed to interpret Carver's interest in and engagement with art, while also building the park's Volunteers-In-Parks program by cultivating an artisan volunteer cadre. Artisans display work, conduct demonstrations, and lead visitor workshops in multiple media such as pastels, natural dyes, and pencil, with the broader goal of encouraging repeat visitation and positioning the park as a creative venue for regional artists. The park estimates about 150 staff hours for preparation and delivery, and CBA supports the event particularly through concessions and collaborative program support.

Another long-running outreach component is the annual Art and Essay Contest, initiated in 1991 with Missouri Southern State University School of Education as a collaborator. This contest is open to 4th grade students and includes two entry categories: artwork and written essays. It is a substantial undertaking, involving classroom presentations, development of judging rubrics, recruitment of volunteer judges, public exhibition of student work, and coordination of an awards event with certificates and prizes. The contest draws more than 500 student entries each year, and awards ceremonies are currently held at the park (with earlier ceremonies held at the university prior to the visitor center expansion in 2007). This piece of the work plan emphasizes education outcomes and community-school engagement, not just visitor programming.

Several additional events and program areas round out the partnership. The Holiday Open House is held around Christmastime at the visitor center and features musical entertainment, traditional crafts, and hands-on interpretive activities, with a theme centered on 19th-century Ozark Christmas traditions. Naturalization ceremonies are also included under the scope, leveraging an existing NPS-USCIS framework that allows ceremonies in national parks; the document notes that the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri scheduled a ceremony at the park in FY13, and that the park and CBA will collaborate to host such events by providing needed accommodations and services. The agreement further calls for joint promotion of George Washington Carver Day on January 5 (the date of Carver's death in 1943 and a date recognized by Congress via Public Law 290 designating January 5, 1946, as George Washington Carver Day).

The partnership explicitly addresses outreach intended to broaden engagement with African American communities through Emancipation Day and Juneteenth programming. These activities are coordinated with local partners such as the Joplin Emancipation Park Day committee and NAACP Chapter 4065, as well as other surrounding community groups. CBA has supported these efforts through sponsorship and active planning participation. The description includes a 2010 visitor study showing that typical visitation at the park was overwhelmingly white (93%), with smaller percentages for other groups (including 3% African American). It also notes that 66% of visitors come from within a day-trip commuting radius across the four-state region (Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas). In context, that data point helps explain why the agreement emphasizes targeted outreach: it is attempting to strengthen connections with audiences that have historically been underrepresented in visitation.

Beyond signature events, the agreement includes participation in the Healthy Parks, Healthy People initiative and National Trails Day, integrating health and wellness themes into park programming with support from partners like CBA. It also covers special exhibits, including temporary and traveling exhibits that advance the NPS mission, recognizing that museum collections and exhibit installations are powerful interpretive tools and often require logistical and financial support to rotate and host.

Responsibilities are split in a way that reflects the cooperative nature of the instrument. CBA, as the recipient, agrees to actively collaborate with the park, including supplying or helping source exhibitors, performers, speakers, and other services or materials that support special events and interpretive outreach. CBA also agrees to develop an annual Friends Group Partnership Work Plan for the Superintendent's review and approval and to participate in joint planning meetings and closeout briefings, suggesting a structured annual cycle of planning, execution, and evaluation. On the federal side, NPS commits to substantial involvement in each event and interpretive activity, including assigning a park liaison, defining interpretive objectives and preferred media, identifying priorities, and ensuring environmental and cultural resource compliance for projects occurring on park lands. NPS also provides oversight, helps identify sources for targeted audiences, and supplies materials, transportation, and equipment when available. The agreement emphasizes stage-gated review (one stage must be approved before the next begins) and gives NPS authority to halt an activity if performance specifications are not met, underscoring that the park retains strong quality control and risk management authority over programming conducted under its name and on its property.

In practical terms, the opportunity is best understood as a formal documentation of an ongoing partnership between the park and its established nonprofit friends group, with potential federal funding support up to the stated ceiling, aimed at delivering recurring signature events, educational contests, community outreach, and rotating exhibits that together expand public understanding of George Washington Carver and the historical and cultural contexts connected to his life. Because it is not a request for applications, it is not inviting new applicants; it is describing a specific cooperative agreement arrangement intended for the named partner and the work that both parties will jointly carry out.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the arts (see cultural affairs in cfda), education, humanities (see cultural affairs in cfda) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS- Interpretive Outreach-GWCA- THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.946.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 27, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 06, 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 $200,000.00 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.

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