$3.5 M Offered for Rural Business Opportunity Grants

Effective Monday, January 24, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will begin accepting funding applications under the new Rural Business Opportunity Grants Program (RBOG). The program was authorized in the 1996 Farm Bill to fund sustainable economic development in rural communities with exceptional needs. RBOG funding may be used to support the following types of technical assistance for business development and economic development planning:

• Identify and analyze business opportunities that use local materials or human resources;
• Identify, train and provide technical assistance to existing or prospective rural entrepreneurs and managers;
• Establish business support centers to provide business assistance such as counseling, business planning, training, management assistance, marketing information, and locating financing for business operations. The centers may be located outside rural areas, but must provide assistance to rural businesses;
• Conduct local community or multi-county economic development planning;
• Establish centers for training, technology, and trade that will provide training in interactive technologies to develop international trade opportunities and markets; and,
• Conduct leadership development training for existing and prospective rural entrepreneurs and managers.

Proposals that replace or substitute support for existing services are not eligible for funding consideration under RBOG. 

Congress appropriated $3.5 million for RBOG awards this year with the following restrictions: $1 million is set aside for projects submitted by the four Rural Economic Area Partnership districts (REAPs) located in North Dakota and New York. An additional $1 million is earmarked for projects submitted by the REAPs and the Enterprise Community/Enterprise Zones.

Eligible entities for RBOG funding include public bodies, nonprofit corporations, Indian tribes, and cooperatives. Applications are to be submitted to the USDA Rural Development Field office in each state. There is no deadline for submitting applications, however, interested parties are encouraged to submit applications quickly. The rural development office in each state will score and prioritize their applications before sending them to the USDA for consideration in two pools of applications. Any balance of funds left over in the two earmarks after June 1 will be made available for applications from the general public. 

For further information, contact your local USDA Rural Development Field office (a list of the offices may be found at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/recd_map.html) or Wayne Stansberry, USDA Specialized Loan Specialist, at 202/720-6819.