We are committed to helping improve the economy and quality of life in rural America.
The Rural Business Development Grant program aims to assist small rural businesses by providing technical assistance and training. Eligible businesses are those with fewer than 50 employees and less than $1 million in gross revenue. The program prioritizes projects that benefit rural areas or towns outside the urban periphery of cities with populations of 50,000 or more. Grants are available for a wide range of purposes including training, land acquisition, construction, pollution control, revolving loan funds, distance learning, transportation improvement, economic development, technology development, feasibility studies, leadership training, business incubators, and long-term strategic planning. There are two types of grants within this program: Opportunity grants, which are limited to up to 10 percent of the total annual funding, and Enterprise grants, which support small and emerging businesses in rural areas. Smaller grant requests are given higher priority, and there's no cost sharing requirement.