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The 1996 Farm Bill revised the Rural Technology and Cooperative
Development Grant program to make it available only for cooperative
development. The program provides grants for establishing and operating
centers for cooperative development. The primary purpose is to improve
economic conditions in rural areas, including cities of up to 50,000
population. Grant funds can pay up to 75% of the costs for establishing and
operating such centers. Grants may be made to public bodies or
not-for-profit institutions
An announcement setting priorities and inviting applications is published
annually in the Federal Register. Applications are filed with the local
Rural Development office, which reviews them for completeness and does a
preliminary priority score. All applications are then sent to the Rural
Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) office in Washington. The Administrator for
the RBS
determines which applications will be funded based on the priority scores.
- More information about Cooperative Development Grants can be obtained by
contacting Scott Collins at (315) 477-6409.
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