Innovation Matters: Funding Opportunities, Publications, Events and Learning

USDA Rural Development sent this bulletin at 06/22/2021 11:29 AM EDT

Innovation Matters - June 2021 - Issue 2

Listing of funding opportunities, events and resources in rural America.

National Great Outdoors Month

President Biden proclaims June as National Great Outdoors Month: "During Great Outdoors Month, we celebrate our Nation’s natural wonders, and rededicate ourselves to conserving nature’s splendor for all Americans and safeguarding our environment against the existential threat of climate change and other challenges."

Join the mailing list to receive Innovation Matters from the USDA Rural Development Innovation Center.

Resources to Support the Recreation Economy

Recreation Economy at USDA: Economic Development Resources for Rural Communities
U.S. Department of Agriculture
USDA’s Forest Service, Rural Development, and the National Institute for Food and Agriculture developed this resource guide for rural communities to identify resources that develop the recreation economy.

Sign Up to Receive Updates and Resources to Support the Recreation Economy
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Sign up to receive updates and resources from USDA Rural Development that can be used to support recreation economies in rural America.

Climate-Forward Efficiency Initiative
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
This initiative will research how utilities can shift their practices to maximize greenhouse gas reductions from their portfolios.

Scenic Route Guide
Smart Growth America and Transportation for America
Smart Growth America and Transportation for America have unveiled the newly updated guide for transportation planners, public works agencies and local elected officials who want to collaborate with artists. The guide summarizes eight common ways artists contribute to transportation and infrastructure projects with an equity lens to allow for more genuine public engagement.

Delta Health Care Services Grant Program
U.S. Department of Agriculture
USDA Rural Development is making funds available to support activities such as health education programs, health care services, job training in health care fields, and developing or expanding public health facilities. Application Deadline: July 19, 2021

Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge (RPIC)
U.S. Department of Agriculture
USDA Rural Development accepting applications for eligible entities to provide planning, training and technical assistance to rural communities to foster placemaking activities. Application Deadline: July 26, 2021

Funding Opportunities for Rural Infrastructure

Revolving Funds Program
U.S. Department of Agriculture
USDA Rural Development is accepting applications for grants to create revolving loan funds to build and improve water and wastewater disposal systems in rural areas. Application Deadline: July 16

Rural Decentralized Water Systems Grant Program
U.S. Department of Agriculture
USDA Rural Development is seeking applications for grants from qualified organizations to create loans to help rural homeowners finance household water systems. Application Deadline: July 19, 2021

Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) Program
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
This program accelerates investment in critical water infrastructure through innovative and flexible financing that can support a wide range of projects in both large and small communities. Letter of Interest Deadline: July 23, 2021

Broadband Infrastructure Program
U.S. Department of Commerce
National Telecommunications and Information Administration funding to build broadband infrastructure. Specific requirements apply. Application Deadline: Aug. 17, 2021

Emergency Community Water Assistance Grants
U.S. Department of Agriculture
USDA Rural Development offers grant opportunities for eligible communities to prepare for or recover from an emergency that threatens the availability of safe, reliable drinking water. Application Deadline: Ongoing

Funding Opportunities for
Community and Economic Development

Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program
U.S. Department of Agriculture
USDA Rural Development funding that provides loans and grants to microenterprise development organizations to help them establish revolving loan programs to assist microenterprises, businesses with 10 or fewer full-time employees. Application Deadline: June 30, 2021

Intermediary Relending Program
U.S. Department of Agriculture
USDA Rural Development funding that provides 1 percent low-interest loans to local lenders or “intermediaries” that re-lend to businesses to improve economic conditions and create jobs in rural communities. Application Deadline: June 30, 2021

Community Navigator Pilot Program
Small Business Administration
SBA launched this $100 million competitive grant program to strengthen outreach to businesses in underserved communities enacted through the American Rescue Plan. Application Deadline: July 12, 2021

Rural Innovation Stronger Economy
U.S. Department of Agriculture
USDA Rural Development unveiled a new grant program to help rural communities create good-paying jobs and support new business opportunities in high-growth fields. Application Deadline: Aug. 2, 2021

Rural Cooperative Development Grants
U.S. Department of Agriculture
USDA Rural Development is accepting applications for grants to help start, expand or improve rural cooperatives and other mutually-owned businesses in rural America.
Application Deadline: Aug.10, 2021

Funding Opportunities for Tribal Communities

FY 2021 American Rescue Plan—Funding for Native Hawaiian Health Care
Health Resources and Service Administration
Funding will help current Native Hawaiian Health Care Improvement Act award recipients to respond to and mitigate the spread of COVID-19, and to enhance health care services and infrastructure. Application Deadline: July 2, 2021

Native American Business Development Institute Grant
U.S. Department of the Interior
The Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development grant for technical assistance funding to hire consultants to perform feasibility studies of economic development opportunities and/or for planning to support businesses recovering from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Application Deadline: July 2, 2021

Closing the Gap with Social Determinants of Health Accelerator Plans
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services funding to collaborate with multi-sectoral partners to develop an implementation-ready social determinants of health accelerator plans to reduce disparities in health outcomes related to chronic disease in a tribal jurisdiction, community or catchment area. Application Deadline: July 5, 2021

I Strengthen My Nation: American Indian/Alaska Native Youth Projects to Stand Against Substance Misuse
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
NIH offers a challenge program and funding for youth-led community and art projects to enhance resilience against substance misuse in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Application Deadline: July 7, 2021

Public Transportation on Indian Reservations: Tribal Transit Program
Federal Transit Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation
Funding to support planning, capital, and operating assistance for tribal public transit services. Among other things, this funding supports partnerships working to expand access to health, medical, and social service providers. Application Deadline: Aug 25, 2021

Publications and Resources

USDA Resource Guide for Rural Workforce Development
USDA unveiled a resource guide to help rural community leaders start and expand employment opportunities and access resources to train, recruit and create a sustainable rural workforce.

USDA Publishes Federal Register Notice for Public Input on Racial Justice and Equity
USDA published a notice requesting public input on its efforts to advance racial justice and equity across the Department. It will be available for public input until July 15, 2021, via the Federal Register.

Top Tips for Helping Your Small Business Survive a Disaster or a Crisis
Natural disasters can be a nightmare for small businesses. SCORE outlines tips that can help you take step-by-step approach to survive and rebuild a business after any kind of calamity.

Atlas of Rural and Small-Town America
View the diversity of challenges and opportunities across America's counties. View indicators about people, jobs, income, veterans, and county types. The atlas has been updated to include annual unemployment/employment data for 2020; earlier estimates were revised.

NTIA Creates First Interactive Map to Help Public See the Digital Divide Across the Country NTIA map links poverty usage and broadband access by compiling data sets to show where high-poverty communities are located with relation to internet usage patterns and access to computers and related equipment

Event Opportunities

OneRD Guarantee Loan Initiative Quarterly Lender Feedback Forum
June 23 | Virtual Forum
USDA Rural Development invites lenders to join the second session of a quarterly feedback forum who are interested in applying to, or have applied to, programs under the OneRD Guarantee Loan Initiative.

BroadbandUSA Webinar Series: NTIA Broadband Grant Programs
National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) offers various workshops to discuss the three new broadband grant programs:

Broadband Infrastructure Deployment Grants Program

Tribal Broadband Connectivity Grants Program

Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program

CDFA Rural Development Finance Webinar: Best Practices for Rural Development Finance Agencies
Aug. 31 | Webinar
Discover best practices of development finance agencies to help you identify the right partner for your projects.

Cooperating to Enhance Native American Food Economies
Aug. 2- 5 | Virtual
This webinar series will explore the role of cooperatives in developing agriculture infrastructure and food systems in Indian Country.

COVID-19 Recovery Resources

Quick Links to COVID-19 Recovery Resources

Congress: American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
USDA: USDA to Begin Loan Payments to Socially Disadvantaged Borrowers under American Rescue Plan Act Section 1005
USDA: American Rescue Plan Debt Payments
USDA: Free Meals to Children Extended and Other COVID-19 Food updates
USDA RD: COVID-19 Recovery Resources to Support Rural America
USDA RD: Business and Industry (B&I) CARES Act Program: Application Deadline: Sept. 15 or Until Funds are Expended
USDA FNS: Response to COVID-19
CDC: Toolkit for Communicating About COVID-19 Vaccines
FEMA: COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Individuals and Households Program Policy
HHS: Special Enrollment Period for Health Coverage Extended to August 15
HHS: COVID-19 Grant Opportunities and Guidance
HHS: We Can Do This: COVID-19 Public Education Campaign
HHS: The COVID-19 Community Corps
HRSA: Health Care-Related Loan Repayment and Scholarships
SBA: COVID-19 Guidance and Resources
SBA: Restaurant Revitalization Fund
NIH: Community Engagement Alliance Against COVID-19 Disparities
FCC/USAC: Emergency Broadband Benefit Program
EDA: Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance Programs

To access programs that can be used to provide immediate and long-term assistance to rural communities affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, download the COVID-19 Federal Rural Resource Guide.

Visit www.coronavirus.gov for the latest news from the CDC on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Visit www.rd.usda.gov/coronavirus for the latest news from Rural Development on how we are helping our partners, customers, and stakeholders impacted by COVID-19.

Newsletters, websites and emails from which we gather this information include:

USDA Rural Development’s full Catalog of Programs
Grants.gov
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Aspen Institute
e2 Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
Pew Research Center
Philanthropy News Digest
Rural LISC e-newsletter
National Association of Development Organizations

USDA Rural Development Innovation Center

Email: rd.innovation@usda.gov | Webpage: usda.gov/rdinnovation

www.rd.usda.gov

Questions?
Contact Us

STAY CONNECTED:

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

SUBSCRIBER SERVICES:
Manage Preferences | Delete Profile | Help

This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.