Rural Opportunity Grants

Function

Rural Business Opportunity Grants are targeted toward rural communities that have been hit by disasters, are low-income or have long-term drops in unemployment or population. The grants pay for planning, training or technical assistance in order to improve rural local economies. The USDA typically defines rural communities as areas with fewer than 50,000 residents as long as they are not part of a metro area. Most of the grants last two years, but longer projects can receive funding annually to cover costs for that year.

Beyond being in a rural area, eligible applicants must be government offices, Native American tribes, nonprofits or cooperatives with rural residents as members. The maximum award most applicants were eligible for in 2010 was $250,000; however, according to the Office of Rural Development, the award sizes can change yearly depending on available funding. Projects have to be consistent with any local, regional or state strategic plans for rural economic development. The USDA also reviews applicants' financial stability and expertise to ensure that they will be successful with their use of government money.

The USDA lists five types of "key strategies" that Rural Business Opportunity Grant projects should apply: using local and regional food systems to encourage agricultural industry growth, using renewable energy and conservation to create jobs, using and improving broadband and other IT infrastructure to encourage emerging and small businesses, making funding accessible for economic development projects, and finding innovative ways to use natural resources.

State-level rural development offices can help communities begin the application and review process for Rural Business Opportunity Grants. While explaining the scope of projects in applications, applicants must touch on how the projects would work with other economic development initiatives in their areas and states. The program in 2010 had an application deadline of July 28. Communities could submit pre-applications for the USDA to review with a deadline three months earlier on April 28; solicitations began earlier that month. The USDA also solicits the grant on its Internet database for grants, Grants.gov (see Resources).