[1st-mile-nm] USDA: Grant Funding Available for Rural Business Development

Tue Mar 5 18:01:24 PST 2013

Yes, the grants are for $50,000 or less to non-profits and public bodies.  Grants may be used for economic development & job creating infrastructure (including telecom), planning, worker training, equipment, etc....

Call our business programs office at 505-761-4950 if you need more information.

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 5, 2013, at 5:09 PM, "Richard Lowenberg" <rl at 1st-mile.com> wrote:

> According to NM USDA Director Terry Brunner, the current call for
> proposals
> may be applicable to particular NM Broadband initiatives, if related to
> economic
> development, small business development or Coops.   Terry subscribes to
> this list,
> and may want to add more information.
>
> There is a NM webinar scheduled for 1:30 pm tomorrow, March 6.
> To RSVP, contact Clinton A. Kaasa, State Loan Specialist by telephone
> at
> 505-761-4957 or by e-mail at Clinton.Kaasa at nm.usda.gov.
>
> RL
>
>
> Grant Funding Available for Rural Business Development
> April 12, 2013 Deadline set for applications
>
> (February 12, 2013 - Albuquerque, NM) USDA Rural Development State
> Director Terry
> Brunner announced today his agency is now accepting applications for
> the Rural Business
> Enterprise Grant (RBEG) program.
>
> In making the announcement Brunner said, “The RBEG program is one of
> the most flexible
> economic development opportunities offered by USDA Rural Development to
> create jobs,
> something the Obama administration has worked hard to do.” He added,
> “In the past the RBEG
> has been used to fund business incubators, feasibility studies,
> business plans, and it has financed
> technical assistance programs for business development.”
>
> The RBEG funding is made available to public bodies, nonprofit
> organizations, public and
> private nonprofit institutions of higher education, and Indian tribes
> to facilitate and finance the
> development of small and emerging private business enterprises in rural
> communities and cities
> up to 50,000 in population.
>
> The grant funds can be used to finance and facilitate the development
> of small, private,
> business enterprises which is any private business that employs 50 or
> fewer new employees and
> has less than $1 million in projected gross revenues. The RBEG funds
> can also be used to pay
> for technical assistance for such things as feasibility studies,
> business plans, business
> development training, or workshops. However, by regulation this
> financial assistance cannot be
> granted directly to a private business. The RBEG financing is granted
> to a non-profit or a
> governmental agency that sets up a revolving loan fund and then makes a
> loan to a private
> business.
>
> Applications are selected for funding based on an established
> competitive scoring process.
> Priority will be given to application requests of $50,000 or less.
> Additionally, applications will
> receive discretionary points for projects that support the agency and
> department goals in the
> following categories:
>  Renewable energy
>  Local food systems and value-added agriculture
>  Support of cooperatives
>  Business programs in persistent poverty counties (Catron, Cibola,
> Dona Ana, Guadalupe,
> Luna, McKinley, Mora, Rio Arriba, Roosevelt, San Juan, San Miguel,
> Socorro, or Taos)
>  Underserved populations: minority and women-owned businesses
>
> Last fiscal year, USDA Rural Development provided $283,000 to assist
> six New Mexico
> recipients which included the Southwest Regional Housing and Community
> Development
> Corporation to establish a revolving loan fund to assist micro
> businesses in four rural New
> Mexico counties. RBEG funding was also provided to the Ramah Navajo
> School Board, Inc. to
> complete a feasibility study for the proposed Cedar Bluff Travel Center
> and Business Complex.
>
> USDA Rural Development is currently accepting applications for the
> Rural Business
> Enterprise Grants (RBEG) program until close of business, Friday, April
> 12, 2013.
>
> Information on the RBEG program can be obtained from the Rural
> Development State
> Office in Albuquerque at 505-761-4953 or at:
> http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/BCP_rbeg.html
> USDA Rural Development’s mission is to increase economic opportunity
> and improve the
> quality of life for rural residents. Rural Development fosters growth
> in homeownership, finances
> business development, and supports the creation of critical community
> and technology
> infrastructure. Further information on rural programs is available at
> any local USDA Rural
> Development office or by visiting USDA Rural Development’s web site at
> http://www.rurdev.usda.gov
>
> The USDA has other funding programs and deadlines during the year,
> including
> the Community Connect program.   Stay tuned.
>
>
> --------------------------------
> Richard Lowenberg, Executive Dir.
> 1st-Mile Institute, 505-603-5200
> Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504
> www.1st-mile.com  rl at 1st-mile.com
> --------------------------------
> _______________________________________________
> 1st-mile-nm mailing list
> 1st-mile-nm at mailman.dcn.org
> http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/1st-mile-nm

This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.