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South Dakota USDA Rural Development - Winter 2019 Edition
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Apply by March 29, 2019 for the Rural Business Development Grant
USDA Rural Development is accepting applications for the Rural Business Development Grant (RBDG) program which is designed to support targeted technical assistance, training and other activities leading to the development or expansion of small and emerging private businesses in rural areas which will employ 50 or fewer new employees and has less than $1 million in gross revenue. Programmatic activities are separated into enterprise or opportunity type grant activities.
Eligible applicants include public bodies, government entities, Indian tribes, and non-profit organizations. Funds can be used for business incubators, leadership and entrepreneur training, acquisition or development of land or buildings, capitalization of revolving loan funds to be re-lent to local businesses and many other purposes – all to assist small businesses.
The agency encourages applications that will help improve life in rural America. Please reference the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Prosperity found at www.usda.gov/ruralprosperity. Applicants are encouraged to consider projects that provide measurable results in helping rural communities build robust and sustainable economies through strategic investments in infrastructure, partnerships, and innovation. Key strategies include:
- Achieving e-Connectivity for Rural America;
- Developing the Rural Economy;
- Harnessing Technological Innovation;
- Supporting a Rural Workforce; and
- Improving the Quality of Life.
In addition, discretionary points will be awarded under the following four categories:
- Innovation and Entrepreneurship;
- Leverage Investments in Opportunity Zones;
- High Poverty Area; and
- Substance Use Disorder.
There will be one RBDG application window for 2019, which opened on January 2, 2019 and closes on March 29, 2019. Applications must be received no later than March 29, 2019 to be considered for funds available.
Applicants are encouraged to contact a local Business & Cooperative Program Specialist or the State Office for more details about the application requirements and process (application template available).
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April 1 Grant Deadline for Rural Businesses and Agricultural Producers
Are you a small rural business owner or an agricultural producer that needs to reduce your energy costs? USDA Rural Development in South Dakota encourages you to apply for assistance through USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).
A REAP grant can assist with up to one-fourth of the cost of installing a renewable energy system, such as wind, solar, small hydropower, geothermal, renewable biomass and hydrogen derived from those renewable resources.
REAP grants can also pay up to one-fourth of the cost to make energy efficiency improvements such as new lighting, windows, HVAC, insulation, fans, and automated controls that reduce energy consumption.
Eligible agricultural projects (must produce 50% or more of income from farming/ranching) can be located anywhere in the state. Business projects must be in rural areas with a population of 50,000 or less. USDA accepts REAP guaranteed loan applications year-round; the next deadline for all REAP funding requests is April 1, 2019. Grant applications must be received by 4:30 p.m. at your local Rural Development Office.
Contact Energy Coordinator Jolene Pravecek at (605) 665-3516 to learn more or visit USDA’s Rural Energy for America website.
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Lender Meeting Held on December 2, 2018.
In South Dakota, USDA Rural Development (RD) and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) held a joint training session on December 2, 2018 for lenders to learn about programs and products available to support business lending in South Dakota.
USDA RD staff explained the Business & Industry (B & I) and the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) guaranteed programs and how lenders can use them to expand their portfolio while maintaining the personal contacts through servicing. Lenders learned about using Farmer Mac as a secondary market, using lender participation to extend your loan limits, and using these programs to meet your community reinvestment act (CRA) goals.
SBA presented on the benefits of using the 7(a) Guaranty Loan. This program allows for a lender to finance new ventures or assist existing businesses in their community by providing extended terms to help small business owners with their business operations and reducing the lenders’ loan risk.
We will post additional sessions taking place in 2019 on our USDA Rural Development South Dakota website.
Comparison of the Rural Development B&I and REAP Programs with the SBA 7(a) and 504 Programs
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 Click the map to view contact information.
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The South Dakota Rural Development Business and Cooperative Services team is excited to share our quarterly RBS newsletter.
At Rural Development, we appreciate our partnerships and all the hard work put in to make rural South Dakota the best it can be. We know that in working together, we can make an even bigger impact on our communities, so we are pleased to improve the communication to our partners through our newsletters. We plan to send a newsletter each quarter to our partners to keep you in the loop with our programs, tips, regulations, deadlines, etc.
If you have any questions, requests or materials you would like to share in our quarterly newsletter, please contact Dana Kleinsasser at 605-352-1142.
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