The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development offers funding and financing programs for a variety of rural community and economic development project types. Many of the programs accept applications at any time, so rural and regional professionals can be planning in advance to develop potential projects and applications. USDA Rural Development is an equal opportunity provider.
Rural Business Development Grant: Supports small and emerging private businesses to start or expand. Funds can be used to purchase or develop land, buildings, and equipment; to cover costs for feasibility studies and business plans and provide other technical assistance; to improve rural transportation, establish revolving loan funds, and support rural distance learning programs that provide educational or job training.
Rural Cooperative Development Grant Program: Helps establish and operate cooperative development centers. Cooperative development centers provide technical assistance, conduct feasibility studies, develop business plans, provide training, and facilitate strategic planning.
Socially Disadvantaged Groups Grants: Provides financial support to co-ops and their associations or development centers for technical assistance to small, socially disadvantaged groups. Funds can be used for feasibility studies, business plans, strategic planning, and leadership training.
Rural Energy for America Program Energy Audit and Renewable Energy Development Assistance Grants: Assists rural small businesses and agricultural producers by conducting and promoting energy audits and providing Renewable Energy Development Assistance.
Broadband Technical Assistance Grants: Supports project planning, community engagement, financial sustainability, environmental compliance, construction planning and engineering, accessing federal resources, and data collection and reporting for broadband projects.
Community Connect Grants: Provides broadband service in rural, economically challenged communities where internet service does not yet exist. Funds can also cover costs to provide broadband service to critical community facilities for 2 years.
ReConnect Loans and Grants: Expands broadband service to rural areas without sufficient broadband access. Funds can be used to construct, improve, acquire broadband and terrestrial satellite broadband facilities and equipment, and for preapplication expenses.
Rural Broadband Loans, Loan and Grant Combinations, and Loan Guarantees: Provides funds for the construction, improvement, or purchase of facilities and equipment needed to provide service at the broadband lending speed in eligible rural areas.
Value-Added Producer Grants: Program helps agricultural producers enter value-added activities to generate new products, create and expand marketing opportunities, and increase producer income.
Single Family Housing Repair Loans & Grants Section 504 Home Repair program provides loans to very-low-income homeowners to repair, improve or modernize their homes or grants to elderly very-low-income homeowners to remove health and safety hazards.
Single Family Housing Rural Disaster Home Repair Grants is a pilot program that makes funds available to repair and rebuild homes damaged in specific areas of Presidentially declared disasters.
For more information on USDA Rural Development and its grant and loan programs, click here.
