We are committed to helping improve the economy and quality of life in rural America.
The Rural Business Development Grant program aims to provide technical assistance and training explicitly tailored for small, rural businesses, defined as having fewer than 50 workers and less than $1 million in gross revenue. Eligible projects must benefit rural areas or towns outside the urban perimeter of cities with a population of 50,000 or more. The program does not set a maximum grant amount, prioritizing smaller funding requests without requiring cost sharing. The grants are categorized into two types: Opportunity and Enterprise grants. Opportunity grants can fund a range of rural community development activities, capped at 10 percent of the program's annual funding. In contrast, Enterprise grants are specifically for projects that support small and emerging rural businesses, covering a wide array of uses such as training and technical assistance, land development, infrastructure improvement, pollution control, funding revolving loan funds, distance learning, and several others focused on economic development and capacity building.