United States Department of Agriculture: Rural Development
Page 2

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
  Back to Page 1

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

Zambia Economic Resilience Program for Improved Food Security
The Zambia Economic Resilience Program for Improved Food Security is designed to implement innovative techniques and approaches that would hopefully enable the community's most vulnerable and poor rural families to improve food security by strengthening their economic resilience.

---

Minority Business Enterprise Centers for Minority-Owned Businesses
The The Minority Business Development Agency has recently constituted the Minority Business Enterprise Centers (MBEC) Program wherein it aims to support minority-owned businesses by providing them with electronic and one-on-one business development services for a reasonably nominal fee.

---

What You Need To Know About Grants.Gov
Grants.gov is one the largest websites that features at least 1,000 grant programs from 26 different federal grant-making agencies in the United States.

---

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences: Centers for Oceans and Human Health
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has recently established a funding opportunity entitled Centers for Oceans and Human Health which provide linkages between members of ocean sciences and biomedical communities in the hopes of supporting interdisciplinary studies in areas where thorough understanding of marine processes and ecosystems harbor the potential to reduce public health risks.

---