We are committed to helping improve the economy and quality of life in rural America.
This grant program aims to provide technical assistance and training for small rural businesses, defining "small" as businesses having fewer than 50 new workers and less than $1 million in gross revenue. The grant supports projects benefiting rural areas or towns outside the urban periphery of cities with populations of 50,000 or more. No maximum grant amount is set, but smaller requests are prioritized without a cost-sharing requirement. Funds are intended for a variety of purposes including training and technical assistance, land development, construction, pollution control, the capitalization of revolving loan funds, distance learning for job training, rural transportation improvement, community economic development, technology-based economic development, feasibility studies and business plans, leadership and entrepreneur training, rural business incubators, and long-term strategic planning.