United States Department of Agriculture: Rural Development
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It has also established programs that will help boost the economy, such as awarding grants and loans to small businesses that based in rural areas through the assistance of banks, credit unions and community-managed lending pools.

In an effort to pursue all of the programs and activities that are essential to the realization of the agency's mission, the USDA RD has established three major operating units, specifically:

1.) The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) - RBS is one of the three major operating units of the USDA RD that is primarily responsible for administering several economic development programs. Its mission is "to enhance the quality of life for rural Americans by providing leadership in building competitive businesses including sustainable cooperatives that can prosper in the global marketplace."

2) The Rural Housing Service (RHS) - RHS is the second major operating unit under the USDA RD. It functions by providing several homeownersip options to individuals, rental assistance to eligible tenants, farm labor housing, funding for housing rehabilitation and preservation, funding for developers of multi-family housing projects, and for community facilities such as child care centers, libraries, schools, firefighting equipment, and municipal buildings.

3) The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) - RUS is the third operating agency unit of the USDA RD, and its work is largely focused on promoting and implementing public utility services, such as telephone, electricity, sewage, and water services.

The programs offered by the USDA RD are not limited to the ones that are stated above. If you want to know more, you can check out their official website at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/Home.html.

United States Department of Agriculture: Rural Development
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About The Author Iola Bonggay is an editor of TopGovernmentGrants.com one the the most comprehensive Websites offering information on government grants and federal government programs. She also maintains Websites providing resources on education grant money and civic engagement grants.

Additional Resources

category - Applying for a Grant

Department of Agriculture: Value Added Producer Grants
The Value-Added Producer Grants program is geared towards helping the Independent Producers of Agricultural Commodities, Agriculture Producer Groups, Farmer and Rancher Cooperatives, and Majority-Controlled Producer-Based Business Ventures in developing techniques that would create marketing opportunities and establish business plans involving viable marketing opportunities that involve the production of bio-based products from agricultural commodities.

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National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences
NASA has recently established the Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) program for the year 2011, which encourages interested institutions to submit proposals that involve ground-based research and technology investigations that seek to comprehend naturally occurring phenomena, both in the Earth and in space.

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National Estuarine Research Reserve System Land Acquisition and Construction Program
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has recently announced a funding opportunity amounting to $1,690,000 to support the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) Land Acquisition and Construction Program.

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US Environmental Protection Agency: Russian Arctic Black Carbon, Reduction of Black Carbon from Diesel Sources
The Artic Black Carbon: Reduction of Black Carbon from Diesel Sources project offers a funding opportunity to interested applicants as they work towards assessing primary black carbon sources in the Russian Arctic.

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