Rural Business Opportunity Grants

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Rural Business Opportunity Grants

Description:

The purpose of this program is to promote sustainable economic development in rural communities with exceptional needs by:

Focusing on communities that have experienced:

- trauma due to natural disasters or fundamental structural changes
- persistently poor
- long-term population decline or job deterioration

Focusing on communities where the project is sustainable over a long term through local effort without long-term external subsidies.

Grant Purposes:

Technical assistance, training, and planning activities to improve economic conditions in rural areas.

Some examples may be:

Identify and analyze business opportunities

Identify, train, and assist existing or prospective rural entrepreneurs.

Establish business support centers.

Conduct community or multi-county economic development planning.

Establish centers for training, technology, and trade.

Conduct leadership development training.

Who Is Eligible?

Nonprofit corporations, public bodies, Indian Tribes, and cooperatives whose members are primarily rural residents.

Other Criteria:

Must be a reasonable prospect project that will result in economic development.
Proposal must include a basis for determining success or failure.
Must be consistent with any local and area strategic plans and Rural Development State Strategic plan, coordinated with any other economic development activities within the project area.
Must be doable in two years or funded one year at a time.

Grant Amount:

A maximum of $50,000 per grant is authorized by the legislation.
No state allocations were made for last year. Application deadlines for FY '07 have already passed for this year.

Project Scoring

We will use a priority scoring system that considers the sustainability and quality of the economic activity expected to
result from the project; the extent to which the project is critical to a larger overall project; economic conditions in the service area,
such as recent loss of a major employer, long-term job deterioration, poverty, or population decline; and the project's
usefulness as a new best practice

Where Do You Apply?

Individuals may contact their local Rural Development Area Office.

Please send any comments or suggestions to: craig.scroggs@ga.usda.gov

Last Updated : August 15, 2007