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STAKEHOLDER ANNOUNCEMENT - USDA Seeks Applications for Grants to Fund Community and Economic Development Projects in Rural Communities WASHINGTON, June 10, 2024 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Under Secretary Dr. Basil Gooden today invited applications for grants to help organizations improve housing, community facilities, and community and economic development in rural areas. USDA is making up to $5 million in grants available under the Rural Community Development Initiative program. The program provides funding to organizations that provide financial and technical assistance for housing, community facilities, or community and economic development projects. Eligible applicants include public (including Tribal) organizations, nonprofit organizations and qualified private organizations. Grants may be used to train sub-grantees to conduct educational training on home ownership or minority-owned business entrepreneurship. In addition, funds may be used to provide technical assistance to sub-grantees on: • strategic plan development • accessing alternative funding sources • training and resources for board operations, management, financial systems and information technology The minimum grant award is $50,000 and the maximum award amount is $500,000. Awardees must contribute matching funds equal to the amount of the grant. USDA is particularly interested in applications that will advance Biden-Harris Administration priorities to: • Reduce climate pollution and increase resilience to the impacts of climate change through economic support to rural communities. • Ensure all rural residents have equitable access to Rural Development (RD) programs and benefits from RD-funded projects. • Help rural communities recover economically through more and better market opportunities and through improved infrastructure. Additional information on these key priorities is available at www.rd.usda.gov priority-points. Electronic applications must be submitted via Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on July 10, 2024. Please ensure that you have an Active SAM.gov Profile which can be accomplished at https://www.sam.gov and an Active Profile in Grants.gov, found at https://www.grants.gov. In addition, at Grants.gov, you can review Grants 101 and preview other grant training material The deadline for paper applications is 4 p.m. local time, July 15, 2024. Additional information is available on page 48870 of the June 10, 2024 Federal Register or by contacting your local USDA Rural Development office.

The Biden-⁠Harris Administration Highlights Investments in Rural America, Invites Public Nominations for Rural Innovators InitiativeYesterday, the Biden-Harris Administration announced a new Rural Innovators Initiative to highlight stories of extraordinary rural leaders who are taking action and ensuring their communities thrive for generations to come. The Biden-Harris Administration invites nominations from the public for Rural Innovators who are making a positive impact in their rural communities. The nomination form will close on Friday, June 14 at midnight EDT, and selected individuals will be recognized later this year. The Biden-Harris Administration is also announcing over $671 million in new investments to strengthen rural infrastructure across the country. These investments will improve access to reliable electricity and clean drinking water for more than one million people and create good-paying jobs in rural communities. Yesterday's Rural Communities in Action event builds on the Investing in Rural America Regional Event Series. Throughout this year, Senior Administration Officials are traveling to rural communities across the country to highlight how the Biden-Harris Administration is investing in rural America to create opportunity for farmers, families, and communities. These investments include:

Priority Points, also referred to as discretionary points, are additional points added to an established scoring criterion that USDA Rural Development uses to help determine which projects qualify for funding. https://lnkd.in/e_jCNbqY

The Rural Services Network team have dobe a good job of scrutinising DEFRA's Rural Proofing report. Unsuprisingly, it leaves a lot to be desired with respect to explaining how many of the funding programmes it references will materially benefit rural communities where it costs more to live and work, and where vital services continue to be cut. This includes bus services. Very frustrating that this is DEFRAs 3rd Rural Proofing report that they are not getting to grips with the pressing needs of rural communities. They hardly need reminding but what the heck why not. Climate change is making a bad situation much worse for those who work in rural communities including farmers. This isn't all about money. It's about policy makers having real, genuine interest, and "skin in the game" with respect to rural economic and social development. Scottish Rural and Islands Transport Community James Gleave Jenny Milne Ruth Wilson https://lnkd.in/ewr9mP_P

Community-Managed Natural Farming successfully fosters social capital within the community, with women playing a significant role at the household level. CNF villages scored higher in all six dimensions of social capital, including information provision, mutuality, collective action, trust and support, community cohesion and risk reduction. The findings indicate an intriguing relationship between land ownership and the social capital index, suggesting that smallholder farmers actively contribute to generating social capital. As agricultural land ownership increases, the social capital index decreases. #Ruraldevelopment #Agriculture #Foodsecurity #Land #Empowerment ➡️https://ow.ly/28sC50PIi05

Your voice is needed to ensure that the unique needs of rural and Indigenous communities are addressed in the 2024 Farm Bill. Join our coalition of rural community leaders to call for the inclusion of a new, flexible capacity-building program that invests directly in local rural partnerships. The letter highlights the importance of a three-pronged approach: 🔹Rural Partnership Program Grants: Flexible investments directly to local rural partnerships. 🔹 Rural Prosperity Technical Assistance Grants: Support for experienced intermediaries and technical assistance providers. 🔹Whole-of-Government Approach: Facilitating cross-agency collaboration to ensure federal programs reach underserved rural communities. This program will help level the playing field for rural and Indigenous communities and help them access the investments intended for their development. Including this program in the 2024 Farm Bill, with adequate baseline spending, will ensure it has a national reach and serves the diverse needs of rural America. We'd like to invite you to endorse this initiative by signing a letter addressed to key Senate and House Committees on Agriculture members. Your support is vital in making a lasting impact on rural and Indigenous regions across the country. Signatures are due by noon on Friday, July 26. Please share with your rural-serving networks. https://lnkd.in/dTaEnSch

Did you know that USDA Rural Development requires brand new Self-Evalutions and Transition Plans every three years? Find out what this means and how Lumina Compliance can help you tackle these evaluations and plans on the Lumina Compliance blog. #LuminaCompliance #AccessibilityMatters #CNAs #HUD #ADA #Section504 #FairHousing #USDARuralDevelopment #USDASelfEvaluations #USDATransitionPlans #RuralDevelopment

New reports highlight CAP’s role in strengthening rural areas Today, the Commission has published a new study examining the contribution of EU funding to the development of rural areas and the evaluation of the impact of LEADER in rural areas. Both highlight the significant impact of the common agricultural policy (CAP), in addressing the needs of rural areas and tackling the actions set in Long-term vision for rural areas. The study also assesses the role of other EU funds targeting rural areas (2014-2020): the European Regional and Development Fund/Cohesion Fund, the European Social Fund, the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), as well as national funds. The study shows that having a comprehensive rural strategy in place helps EU countries to efficiently direct CAP funding to rural areas and meet the needs of rural communities.The Commission is committed to supporting all rural areas and remote regions. In most EU countries, support for remote and constrained rural regions predominantly comes from the CAP.Today’s study shows that between 2014-2022, the CAP has allocated €8.6 billion to support non-farming related activities in rural areas. This demonstrates the CAP’s role in not only supporting farmers and agriculture, but also strengthening other businesses and communities in rural areas . CAP support can for example invest in the construction of new public roads and in the implementation of renewable energy solutions, or the conversion of abandoned houses into community centres. Equally, the CAP has helped to set up spaces offering digital services to rural communities, providing opportunities to hold training sessions, sports events, performances, or local school gatherings. Local rural authorities also receive EU funding to digitalise their operations,  improve access to services, promote environmental awareness, and support rural start-ups in developing innovative technologies. Each successful project improves rural living conditions and access to services, directly contributing to the creation of vibrant local communities.The most effective support is based on grassroots approaches and builds on small-scale projects. The study recognise that the needs of rural areas are becoming more complex and its conclusions recommend adopting holistic policy approaches to even better target CAP and other EU funds in rural areas in the future.In addition, the evaluation demonstrated the added value of the LEADER approach which delivers small but impactful projects and has contributed to creating almost 60 000 jobs and more than 2700 local action groups (LAGs) covering a rural population of 170 million people. It also specifically targets areas that are economically disadvantaged, peripheral or remote, or which host vulnerable communities.  BackgroundEU's rural areas cover 83% of the EU territory. Rural development is the 'second pillar' of the common agricultural policy (CAP), reinforcing the 'first pillar' of i

Looking at rural diversification and wondering if there is any funding available? The Rural England Prosperity Fund includes an investment priority for "Supporting Rural Businesses". Examples projects include: - Capital funding for net zero infrastructure for rural businesses e.g. energy saving equipment, energy efficiency measures, and electrical vehicle charging points - Food processing equipment to scale up from domestic to commercial kitchens (non-farming businesses only) - Converting farm buildings to other business uses - Rural tourism such as investments in visitor accommodation and farm diversification for event venues - Renovating premises or part of business premises to provide start-up/enterprise work space - Capital funding for the diversification of farm businesses outside of agriculture to encourage start up, expansion, or scale up of these businesses where this involves converting farm buildings into other commercial or businesses uses - Capital funding for the provision of facilities for pet and equines such as kennels, livery and pet health venues - Capital funding for resilience infrastructure and nature-based solutions that protect local businesses from natural hazards including flooding Funding available from £10,000 to £50,000 https://lnkd.in/diD6W8Bb

Investing in rural development and infrastructure is crucial for the success of our farmers and the growth of our communities. Let's prioritize the needs of those who work tirelessly to provide us with food and resources. Together, we can build a stronger future for all. #RuralDevelopment #InfrastructureInvestment #SupportOurFarmers #walidnosir #thefuturejournals #agritechcollege 🌾🚜