[Federal Register: December 8, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 236)]
[Notices]
[Page 71124-71127]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08de06-39]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Business-Cooperative Service
Inviting Applications for Rural Business Opportunity Grants
AGENCY: Rural Business-Cooperative Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS), an Agency within
the Rural Development mission area, announces the availability of
grants of up to $50,000 per application from the Rural Business
Opportunity Grant (RBOG) program for fiscal year (FY) 2007, to be
competitively awarded. For multi-State projects, grant funds of up to
$150,000 will be available on a competitive basis. The awards are being
capped due to limited funding. This notice is being issued prior to
passage of a final appropriations bill, which may or may not provide
for funding this program, to allow applicants sufficient time to
leverage financing, submit applications, and give the Agency time to
process applications within the current fiscal year. The Agency will
publish a subsequent notice identifying the amount received in the
appropriations, if any.
DATES: The deadline for the receipt of non-earmarked applications in
the Rural Development State Office is March 30, 2007. If the RBOG
appropriation provides earmarks for Native American, Empowerment Zones,
Enterprise Communities, and Rural Economic Area Partnerships, then
those applications must be received in the Rural Development State
Office by January 31, 2007. The Agency reserves the right to extend
this application deadline. If no earmark is provided in the
appropriations, applications from these applicants will compete in the
March 30, 2007, competition. Any applications received at a Rural
Development State Office after these dates would not be considered for
FY 2007 funding.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cindy Mason, Loan Specialist, USDA
Rural Development, STOP 3225, Room 6866, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20250-3225. Telephone: (202) 690-1433.
ADDRESSES: For further information, entities wishing to apply for
assistance should contact a Rural Development State Office to receive
copies of the application package. Potential applicants located in the
District of Columbia must send their applications to the National
Office at:
[[Page 71125]]
District of Columbia
USDA Rural Development, Specialty Lenders Division, 1400 Independence
Avenue, SW., Room 6867, STOP 3225, Washington, DC 20250-3225, (202)
720-1400.
A list of Rural Development State Offices follows:
Alabama
USDA Rural Development State Office, Sterling Centre, Suite 601, 4121
Carmichael Road, Montgomery, AL 36106-3683, (334) 279-3400/TDD (334)
279-3495.
Alaska
USDA Rural Development State Office, 800 West Evergreen, Suite 201,
Palmer, AK 99645-6539, (907) 761-7705/TDD (907) 761-8905.
Arizona
USDA Rural Development State Office, 230 N. 1st Ave., Suite 206,
Phoenix, AZ 85003, (602) 280-8701/TDD (602) 280-8705.
Arkansas
USDA Rural Development State Office, 700 West Capitol Avenue, Room
3416, Little Rock, AR 72201-3225, (501) 301-3200/TDD (501) 301-3279.
California
USDA Rural Development State Office, 430 G Street, 4169,
Davis, CA 95616-4169, (530) 792-5800/TDD (530) 792-5848.
Colorado
USDA Rural Development State Office, 655 Parfet Street, Room E100,
Lakewood, CO 80215, (720) 544-2903/TDD (720) 544-2976.
Delaware-Maryland
USDA Rural Development State Office, 1221 College Park Drive, Suite
200, Dover, DE 19904, (302) 857-3580/TDD (302) 857-3585.
Florida/Virgin Islands
USDA Rural Development State Office, 4440 NW 25th Place, P.O. Box
147010, Gainesville, FL 32614-7010, (352) 338-3400/TDD (352) 338-3499.
Georgia
USDA Rural Development State Office, Stephens Federal Building, 355 E.
Hancock Avenue, Athens, GA 30601-2768, (706) 546-2162/TDD (706) 546-
2034.
Hawaii
USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 311, 154
Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo, HI 96720, (808) 933-8380/TDD (808) 933-8321.
Idaho
USDA Rural Development State Office, 9173 West Barnes Drive, Suite A1,
Boise, ID 83709, (208) 378-5600/TDD (208) 378-5644.
Illinois
USDA Rural Development State Office, 2118 W. Park Court, Suite A,
Champaign, IL 61821, (217) 403-6200/TDD (217) 403-6240.
Indiana
USDA Rural Development State Office, 5975 Lakeside Boulevard,
Indianapolis, IN 46278, (317) 290-3100/TDD (317) 290-3343.
Iowa
USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 873, 210
Walnut Street, Des Moines, IA 50309, (515) 284-4663/TDD (515) 284-4858.
Kansas
USDA Rural Development State Office, 1303 S.W. First American Place,
Suite 100, Topeka, KS 66604-4040, (785) 271-2700/TDD (785) 271-2767.
Kentucky
USDA Rural Development State Office, 771 Corporate Drive, Suite 200,
Lexington, KY 40503, (859) 224-7300/TDD (859) 224-7422.
Louisiana
USDA Rural Development State Office, 3727 Government Street,
Alexandria, LA 71302, (318) 473-7921/TDD (318) 473-7655.
Maine
USDA Rural Development State Office, 967 Illinois Avenue, Suite 4, P.O.
Box 405, Bangor, ME 04402-0405, (207) 990-9160/TDD (207) 942-7331.
Massachusetts/Rhode Island/Connecticut
USDA Rural Development State Office, 451 West Street, Suite 2, Amherst,
MA 01002-2999, (413) 253-4300/TDD (413) 253-4590.
Michigan
USDA Rural Development State Office, 3001 Coolidge Road, Suite 200,
East Lansing, MI 48823, (517) 324-5190/TDD (517) 324-5169,
Minnesota
USDA Rural Development State Office, 375 Jackson Street, Suite 410, St.
Paul, MN 55101-1853, (651) 602-7800/TDD (651) 602-3799.
Mississippi
USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Suite 831, 100
West Capitol Street, Jackson, MS 39269, (601) 965-4316/TDD (601) 965-
5850.
Missouri
USDA Rural Development State Office, 601 Business Loop 70 West, Parkade
Center, Suite 235, Columbia, MO 65203, (573) 876-0976/TDD (573) 876-
9480.
Montana
USDA Rural Development State Office, 900 Technology Boulevard, Suite B,
P.O. Box 850, Bozeman, MT 59771, (406) 585-2580/TDD (406) 585-2562.
Nebraska
USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 152, 100
Centennial Mall North, Lincoln, NE 68508, (402) 437-5551/TDD (402) 437-
5093.
Nevada
USDA Rural Development State Office, 1390 South Curry Street, Carson
City, NV 89703-5146, (775) 887-1222/TDD (775) 885-0633.
New Jersey
USDA Rural Development State Office, 8000 Midlantic Drive, 5th Floor
North, Suite 500, Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054, (856) 787-7700/TDD (856) 787-
7784.
New Mexico
USDA Rural Development State Office, 6200 Jefferson Street NE, Room
255, Albuquerque, NM 87109, (505) 761-4950/TDD (505) 761-4938.
New York
USDA Rural Development State Office, The Galleries of Syracuse, 441
South Salina Street, Suite 357, Syracuse, NY 13202-2541, (315) 477-
6400/TDD (315) 477-6447.
North Carolina
USDA Rural Development State Office, 4405 Bland Road, Suite 260,
Raleigh, NC 27609, (919) 873-2000/TDD (919) 873-2003.
North Dakota
USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 208, 220
East Rosser, P.O. Box 1737, Bismarck, ND 58502-1737, (701) 530-2037/TDD
(701) 530-2113.
Ohio
USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 507, 200
North High Street, Columbus, OH 43215-2418, (614) 255-2400/TDD (614)
255-2554.
[[Page 71126]]
Oklahoma
USDA Rural Development State Office, 100 USDA, Suite 108, Stillwater,
OK 74074-2654, (405) 742-1000/TDD (405) 742-1007.
Oregon
USDA Rural Development State Office, 1201 NE Lloyd Blvd., Suite 801,
Portland, OR 97232, (503) 414-3300/TDD (503) 414-3387.
Pennsylvania
USDA Rural Development State Office, One Credit Union Place, Suite 330,
Harrisburg, PA 17110-2996, (717) 237-2299/TDD (717) 237-2261.
Puerto Rico
USDA Rural Development State Office, IBM Building, Suite 601, 654 Munos
Rivera Avenue, San Juan, PR 00918-6106, (787) 766-5095/TDD (787) 766-
5332.
South Carolina
USDA Rural Development State Office, Strom Thurmond Federal Building,
1835 Assembly Street, Room 1007, Columbia, SC 29201, (803) 765-5163/TDD
(803) 765-5697.
South Dakota
USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 210, 200
Fourth Street, SW., Huron, SD 57350, (605) 352-1100/TDD (605) 352-1147.
Tennessee
USDA Rural Development State Office, 3322 West End Avenue, Suite 300,
Nashville, TN 37203-1084, (615) 783-1300.
Texas
USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Suite 102, 101
South Main, Temple, TX 76501, (254) 742-9700/TDD (254) 742-9712.
Utah
USDA Rural Development State Office, Wallace F. Bennett Federal
Building, 125 South State Street, Room 4311, Salt Lake City, UT 84147-
0350, (801) 524-4320/TDD (801) 524-3309.
Vermont/New Hampshire
USDA Rural Development State Office, City Center, 3rd Floor, 89 Main
Street, Montpelier, VT 05602, (802) 828-6000/TDD (802) 223-6365.
Virginia
USDA Rural Development State Office, 1606 Santa Rosa Road, Suite 238,
Richmond, VA 23229-5014, (804) 287-1550/TDD (804) 287-1753.
Washington
USDA Rural Development State Office, 1835 Black Lake Boulevard SW.,
Suite B, Olympia, WA 98512-5715, (360) 704-7740/TDD (360) 704-7760.
West Virginia
USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, 75 High Street,
Room 320, Morgantown, WV 26505-7500, (304) 284-4860/TDD (304) 284-4836.
Wisconsin
USDA Rural Development State Office, 4949 Kirschling Court, Stevens
Point, WI 54481, (715) 345-7600/TDD (715) 345-7614.
Wyoming
USDA Rural Development State Office, 100 East B, Federal Building, Room
1005, P.O. Box 11005, Casper, WY 82602-5006, (307) 233-6700/TDD (307)
233-6733.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The RBOG program is authorized under section
306 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (CONACT) (7
U.S.C. 1926(a)(11)). The Rural Development State Offices administer the
RBOG program on behalf of USDA Rural Development at the State level.
The primary objective of the program is to improve the economic
conditions of rural areas. Assistance provided to rural areas under
this program may include technical assistance for business development
and economic development planning. To ensure that a broad range of
communities have the opportunity to benefit from the program, no grant
will exceed $50,000, unless it is a multi-State project where funds may
not exceed $150,000. There is no project dollar amount limitation on
applications for earmarked funds. Awards are made on a competitive
basis using specific selection criteria contained in 7 CFR part 4284,
subpart G. Information required to be in the application package are
contained in 7 CFR part 4284, subpart G. The State Director may assign
up to 15 discretionary points to an application, and the Agency
Administrator may assign up to 20 additional discretionary points for
projects funded from the national office reserve. Discretionary points
awarded by the State Director or Administrator must be based on
geographic distribution of funds, special importance for implementation
of a strategic plan in partnership with other organizations, or
extraordinary potential for success due to superior project plans or
qualifications of the grantee. Applications will be tentatively scored
by the State Offices and submitted to the National Office for final
review and selection.
The National Office will review the scores based on the grant
selection criteria and weights contained in 7 CFR part 4284, subpart G.
All applicants will be notified by RBS of the Agency's decision on the
awards.
Application Requirements
Applicants are encouraged to submit applications through the
Grants.gov Web site at: http://www.grants.gov. Applications may be
submitted in either electronic or paper format. Users of Grants.gov
will be able to download a copy of the application package, complete it
off line, and then upload and submit the application via the Grants.gov
site. Applications may not be submitted by electronic mail.
When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find
information about submitting an application electronically through the
site as well as the hours of operation. USDA Rural Development strongly
recommends that you do not wait until the application deadline date to
begin the application process through Grants.gov. To use Grants.gov,
applicants must have a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering
System (DUNS) number which can be obtained at no cost via a toll-free
request line at 1-866-705-5711.
You may submit all documents electronically through the
Web site, including all information typically included on the
application for RBOGs and all necessary assurances and certifications.
After electronically submitting an application through the
Web site, the applicant will receive an automatic acknowledgement from
Grants.gov that contains a Grants.gov tracking number.
USDA Rural Development may request that the applicant
provide original signatures on forms at a later date.
If applicants experience technical difficulties on the
closing date and are unable to meet the deadline, you may submit a
paper copy of your application to your respective Rural Development
State Office. Paper applications submitted to a Rural Development State
Office must meet the closing date and local time deadline.
Please note that applicants must locate the downloadable
application package for this program by the Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance Number or FedGrants Funding Opportunity Number, which can be
found at http://www.fedgrants.gov.
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the
information
[[Page 71127]]
collection requirement contained in this Notice is approved by the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under OMB Control Number 0570-
0024.
Nondiscrimination Statement
``The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits
discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race,
color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex,
marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual
orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or
because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any
public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all
programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for
communication of program information (braille, large print, audiotape,
etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and
TDD).
To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director,
Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC
20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).
``USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.''
Dated: December 1, 2006.
William F. Hagy III,
Acting Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative Service.
[FR Doc. E6-20875 Filed 12-7-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-XY-P