Urban Initiative: Engage New Audiences through Inclusive Stories in Boston’s Early Maritime History | NPS 17 NERO 0174

Opportunity Information: Apply for NPS 17 NERO 0174

The grant notice titled "Urban Initiative: Engage New Audiences through Inclusive Stories in Boston's Early Maritime History" is a National Park Service (NPS) funding announcement focused on education-related work that connects people in urban communities to Boston's early maritime history through more inclusive storytelling. The emphasis on "engage new audiences" and "inclusive stories" signals an intent to broaden public understanding of maritime history beyond traditional narratives, likely by elevating perspectives that have been underrepresented in common interpretations of Boston's early waterfront, seafaring economy, and related cultural experiences. The activity category is listed as Education, which typically points to interpretive programs, public-facing learning materials, community engagement efforts, or similar outreach work rather than infrastructure or construction.

This notice is explicitly not an open call for applications. Instead, it serves as a public notification that the NPS intended to make a single task agreement award under an existing master cooperative agreement that had already been competed previously, or justified as a single-source arrangement. In practical terms, that means the agency was not seeking proposals from the general public at the time of posting. Rather than inviting new applicants to apply, the NPS was signaling that it planned to fund a specific partner or set of pre-qualified partners through an established agreement mechanism. The cooperative agreement instrument type also matters because it generally indicates substantial involvement by the federal agency during the project, such as collaboration on project design, content review, implementation support, or shared responsibilities for delivering educational outcomes.

Administratively, the opportunity is categorized as discretionary, meaning it is not an entitlement or formula-driven award and is issued based on agency priorities and selection decisions. The listing provides the funding opportunity number "NPS 17 NERO 0174," indicating it was managed within the National Park Service's Northeast Region (often abbreviated NERO). The CFDA number associated with the notice is 15.954, a catalog identifier that helps track and classify federal assistance programs and is commonly used by agencies and recipients for reporting and compliance purposes.

The funding details indicate an award ceiling of $38,500 with an expectation of one award, reinforcing that this was a targeted, single-project action rather than a broad multi-award competition. The creation date was August 25, 2017, with an original closing date of September 4, 2017. In notices like this, the "closing date" is often more about the administrative window for public posting or internal processing rather than a true application deadline, since the announcement is not requesting applications.

Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with additional eligibility clarification referenced in a separate text field (not included in the provided excerpt). That kind of eligibility label is common in federal postings where the actual recipient is expected to be a specific non-federal partner type, such as a nonprofit organization, educational institution, or another qualified entity operating under the pre-existing cooperative framework. The awarding agency is the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, which aligns with the focus on historical interpretation, public education, and civic engagement connected to nationally significant places and themes.

Overall, the key takeaway is that this is a notification of intent to fund one cooperative, education-centered project aimed at helping diverse urban audiences connect with Boston's early maritime history through inclusive interpretation. It is not a competitive grant solicitation, and it was designed to operate through an already-established cooperative agreement structure rather than through new applications submitted in response to the posting.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Urban Initiative: Engage New Audiences through Inclusive Stories in Boston’s Early Maritime History" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.954.
• This funding opportunity was created on Aug 25, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 04, 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 $38,500.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for NPS 17 NERO 0174

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