Deadline Extended for USDA Rural Opportunity Grants

Office of Congressman Jack Kingston
Published: April 15, 2009

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Jack Kingston (R-GA) announced today the USDA Office of Rural Business and Cooperative Programs has extended the application deadline for Rural Business Opportunity Grants (RBOG) to April 30, 2009. The RBOG program promotes sustainable economic development in rural communities with exceptional needs by providing training and technical assistance for business and economic development officials.

“Our rural communities are often in desperate need of resources to help them sustain and thrive economically,” said Congressman Kingston. “In most cases smaller towns and rural areas lose out on funding because of the constant competition with larger, more urban areas. Rural development offers programs specific to the needs of these areas. I would like to encourage our rural counties and municipalities to take advantage of all of the opportunities that USDA Rural Development has to offer.”

Applicants for RBOG are subject to eligibility requirements and applicants are limited to areas with a population of less than 50,000. Eligible applicants consist of rural public bodies, rural nonprofit corporations, rural Indian tribes and cooperatives with primarily rural membership. Certain communities can be given high funding priority, including those suffering from natural disaster, fundamental economic structural change, persistent poverty, long term population decline or job deterioration.

The RBOG program is primarily a training and technical assistance program and provides funding for projects that include community economic development planning, business training and business based technical assistance for rural entrepreneurs. The types of projects that may be funded might include provision of leadership development training to entrepreneurs and managers, business support centers, centers for training and technology and economic development planning. For more information, contact your local USDA Rural Development office.


http://www.wsav.com/sav/news/local/article/deadline_extended_for_usda_rural_business_opportunity_grants/11395/