United States Department of Agriculture- Rural Development
USDA assists regions in creating self-sustaining, long-term economic development in rural areas through visioning and strategic planning. They provides communities seeking information on USDA Rural Development and other federal community and economic development programs. USDA promotes partnerships at the local and state levels to assist communities in advancing their strategic or economic development plans.They also promote coordinated planning among Rural Development programs to address specific projects in a community or regional strategic plan. USDA grant programs include:
Community Facilities – To fund the development of essential community facilities for public use in rural areas and may include hospitals, fire protection, safety, as well as many other community-based initiatives
Rural Business Development Grants – The RBDG program is a competitive grant designed to support targeted technical assistance, training and other activities leading to the development or expansion of small and emerging private businesses in rural areas which will employ 50 or fewer new employees and has less than $1 million in gross revenue. Programmatic activities are separated into enterprise or opportunity type grant activities.
Contact Rachelle Howe for more information on USDA grant opportunities.