Youth Employment in Southern Arizona – SAGU FY21 | P21AS00560

Opportunity Information: Apply for P21AS00560

Youth Employment in Southern Arizona - SAGU FY21 (Funding Opportunity Number P21AS00560) is a National Park Service discretionary funding opportunity offered through a cooperative agreement to support paid youth internships in and around Tucson, Arizona. The core purpose of the program is workforce development: recruiting youth from Tucson and surrounding communities and placing them in hands-on, paid internship roles where they can learn practical job skills while contributing to public land stewardship and park operations. The program is structured so participants work directly alongside National Park Service staff and get real exposure to how parks are managed day to day, rather than receiving training only in a classroom setting.

The internships are designed to provide broad experience across many facets of park management. Interns may be involved in conservation and public lands projects in Southern Arizona, while also learning professional and life skills that help with future employment or education. The opportunity specifically highlights training in resume building, public speaking, and community engagement, suggesting a strong emphasis on both employability and communication. In addition to local work, participants are expected to gain exposure to outdoor recreation opportunities and experiences in other national parks, which can expand their understanding of conservation careers and the wider national park system.

Eligible applicants include a wide range of organizations and institutions that can recruit and support youth interns and partner effectively with the National Park Service. This includes independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized as governments; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education); and other applicants. The notice also makes a point of encouraging regionally based non-government organizations that qualify as a "Qualified Youth or Conservation Corps" under the Public Lands Corps authority (16 U.S.C. 1723(c)) to apply, which signals that youth corps-style organizations are a particularly good fit for delivering the internship experience and field-based conservation work.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity falls under the Education funding activity category and is associated with CFDA number 15.931. The posting was created on July 29, 2021, and the original closing date was September 30, 2021. The maximum award amount listed is $150,000. The announcement does not specify an expected number of awards in the provided data, but the award ceiling indicates the intended scale of a single project budget.

Overall, this grant is meant to build a pipeline for local youth into conservation, public service, and park-related careers by pairing paid, mentored work experience with structured training in professional development and community-facing skills, all grounded in practical projects on public lands in Southern Arizona and supported through a cooperative partnership with the National Park Service.

• The National Park Service in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Youth Employment in Southern Arizona – SAGU FY21" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.931.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-07-29.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-09-30. (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 $150,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others.

Apply for P21AS00560

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