Rural Community Facilities Program
http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rhs/cf/brief_cp_grant.htm
Department & Agency:
Department of Agriculture
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome
Administering Agency:
Rural Development, Community Facilities Program
http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rhs/cf/brief_cp_grant.htm
Agency Contacts:
· www.rurdev.usda.gov/scrty/sdirs.html
· www.rurdev.usda.gov/rd/aian/coordinators.html
Tedd Buelow
Native American Coordinator, Rural Development
202-690-1681
www.rurdev.usda.gov/scrty/sdirs.html
www.rurdev.usda.gov/rd/aian/coordinators.htm
Funding:
$130,000,000 appropriated, which will support $1,171,000,000 in direct community facility loans and $63,000,000 in community facility grants.
Eligibility and Type:
Tribal governments, municipalities, counties, special-purpose districts, and non-profit corporations. Projects can be financed through direct loans and grants in rural areas and towns of up to 20,000 in population.
Program Description:
The Community Facilities Program administers programs designed to finance and facilitate the development of essential community facilities and services in rural areas. These facilities include hospitals, clinics, elder care facilities, child care, fire and rescue stations, police stations, community centers, public buildings, vocational and medical rehabilitation centers, group homes, schools, educational and cultural facilities, and public transportation. Community Facilities Loan and Grant Programs can contribute financing to tribal and local governments and nonprofits for buildings and/or equipment related to essential community services, such as education, health care, libraries, and fire protection.
Loan funds may be used to construct, enlarge, or improve community facilities for health care, public safety, and public services. This can include costs to acquire land needed for a facility, pay necessary professional fees, and purchase equipment required for its operation.
The Grant Program is typically used to fund projects under special initiatives, such as Native American community development efforts. Much of the funding is used typically to purchase equipment and vehicles used in association with essential community facilities and public safety, such as ambulances, police and fire vehicles and other first responder equipment. In FY 2008, the average grant was approximately $30,000.
Grants are authorized on a graduated scale. Applicants located in small communities with low populations and low incomes will receive a higher percentage of grant funding. Program information on the loans and grants are at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rhs/cf/cp.htm
General Provisions:
Under the Stimulus, at least 10 percent of this program account shall be allocated for assistance in persistent poverty counties. Persistent poverty counties’’ means any county that has had 20 percent or more of its population living in poverty over the past 30 years, as measured by the 1980, 1990, and 2000 decennial censuses. Tribal eligibility for funding under this provision has not yet been determined.
Funding Notices:
Notices under the Stimulus are unavailable at this time. All current and future USDA Rural Development Notices of Funding Availability are or will be posted at: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rd/nofas/index.html.
Technical Assistance:
Contact your Rural Development State Office
http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/recd_map.html
