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| ELIGIBILITY: |
- Any Rural Utility Service electric or telephone
borrower, including prepaid borrowers, not financially distressed, delinquent on any Federal debt or in bankruptcy proceedings
- The maximum grant would be $300,000 (Changes annually)
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ELIGIBLE
GRANT
PURPOSES:
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- Up to 100% grant to a borrower to establish a revolving loan fund.
The borrower will, in turn, provide loans to foster rural economic development. The initial loan funds may be used for:
- Community development)
- Business incubators by
non profit groups
- Facilities and equipment for education
- Facilities and
equipment for medical care
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REVOLVING
LOAN
FUNDS:
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- Loans made from repayments of the initial loans may be used for any rural economic development purpose in accordance with a prior agreement between the borrower and USDA Rural Development
- The borrower will provide a Board Resolution committing to provide and maintain additional funding to the revolving loan fund in an amount of not less than 20% of the USDA Rural Development grant
- The borrowers may charge reasonable loan servicing fees
- Funds must be loaned to project within three years of the date of USDA Rural Development grant approval
- The revolving loan program must be administered in accordance with a
revolving loan fund plan, developed by RUS borrower and approved by USDA Rural Development
- Revolving loan program must be administered in accordance with a
revolving loan fund plan developed by the borrower and approved by USDA Rural Development
- The plan must outline the following:
- Specific objectives of the revolving loan fund program, lending parameters, maximum and minimum loan, etc
- Documentation of borrower's coordination of lending activities with other loan entities that provide financing for rural economic development
- Eligibility criteria
- Application process and method of disposition of funds to the project owner
- Procedure for monitoring the project owner's accomplishments and reporting
requirements by the project owner's management
- Documented need for grant funds
- Documented authority and ability of Borrower to administer the revolving loan fund
- Documented ability to commit financial resources under the control of the Borrower to assist in the establishment of a rural development program
- Documentation that Borrower has secured commitments of significant financial support for supplemental support
- List of proposed fees and charges
- Borrower's policy for non-Federal funds
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APPLICATIONS:
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Applications may be filed at any time, but are submitted to the National Office quarterly.
The application consists of:-
SF Form 424, Application for Federal Assistance
- Board Resolution
- Miscellaneous Federal forms and certifications such as:
- AD-1047, Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension and Other Responsibility Matters
- Assurance statement or certification statement regarding uniform relocation assistance
- Contingent certifications and disclosures such as the Certification Regarding Lobbying
- Narrative discussion of selection factors, project description and discussion of the environmental impact of the proposed project.
The following factors will be considered in the selection process:
-
Nature of project
- Job creation projections
- Supplemental funds
- Economic conditions and job creation
- Unemployment rates
- Per Capita personal income
- Change in population
- Number of long-term jobs
- Rural location
- Support for the program - funds deposited in the cushion-of-credit account
- Special Economic Status of project location/community
- Probability of success
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