Additional Resources to Celebrate National Black History Month:

African American History Resources
National Archives
The National Archives holds a wealth of material documenting the African American experience and highlights these resources online, in programs, and through traditional and social media.

African American History and Culture in the United States
The National Endowment for the Humanities
This Teacher's Guide offers a collection of lessons and resources for K-12 social studies, literature, and arts classrooms that center around the achievements, perspectives, and experiences of African Americans across U.S. history. 

National Museum of African American History and Culture
Smithsonian Institution 
The Black History Month webpage directs the latest stories, videos, and information related to Black health and wellness at The National Museum of African American History & Culture.

How Black American Contributions Have Helped Shape the American Cultural Mosaic
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Stories of four enterprising farmers who applied technical advancements and conservation tools to transform their local communities and eliminate food deserts, change the way the world consumes food, fuel and fiber, and cultivate their legacy.

Invitation to Champion Black and African American Cooperative Ownership
National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International
NCBA CLUSA is joining cooperators nationwide to celebrate Black History Month issuing information to honor achievements and essential contributions to the cooperative movement and amplify the voices of today’s changemakers.

Funding Opportunities for
Community and Economic Development

Economic Adjustment Assistance Program
U.S Department of Commerce
Economic Development Administration (EDA) offers this flexible American Rescue Plan Act grants to support job creation/retention through construction, non-construction planning, workforce development, and entrepreneurship and recreation economy support. Application Deadline: Rolling | Contact your local Economic Development Representative

EDA’s Travel, Tourism & Outdoor Recreation Program
U.S Department of Commerce
Economic Development Administration (EDA) is available to qualified applicants to accelerate the recovery of communities that rely on the travel, tourism and outdoor recreation sectors. Specific requirements apply. Application Deadline: Rolling, until funding is exhausted

Evidence for Action: Innovative Research to Advance Racial Equity
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Funds support research that expands the evidence needed to build a culture of health, with an explicit emphasis on advancing racial equity. Application Deadline: Open

Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities: A Grant Initiative for the Appalachian and Delta Regions
U.S. Department of Labor
Employment and Training Administration grant to support workforce in the Appalachian and Delta Regions. Application Deadline: 3/8/2022

Reeve Foundation Quality of Life Grants 
Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation
Grants to nonprofit organizations that provide services to improve the daily lives of people with paralysis and their families. Application Deadline: 3/9/2022

Farm and Food Worker Relief Grants
U.S. Department of Agriculture
USDA Agricultural Marketing Services program to supporting farmworkers and meatpacking workers. Application Deadline: 3/10/2022 

Garden Grant Program
Whole Kids Foundation
This program grant to support a new or existing edible educational garden located at either a K–12 School or non-profit organization that serves children in K-12 grades. Application Deadline: 3/11/2022 

Women’s’ Business Center (WBC) Grant: Supporting Minority Serving Institutions
Small Business Administration
WBC funding for qualified organizations (private and public) that support Minority Serving Institutions with entrepreneurial development services to women, with an emphasis on socially and economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs. Application Deadline: 3/14/2022  

CDFI Program and NACA Program Application Round
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) and Native American CDFI Assistance Program (NACA Program) offer awards to support Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) that provide affordable financing and related services to low-income communities and populations that lack access to credit, capital and financial services. Application Deadline: 3/14/2022

Rural Public Health Workforce Training Network Program
Department of Health and Human Services
Health Resources and Services Administration funding to establish community health networks for sustainable placement opportunities and integrate newly trained public health professionals into quality organizations and care teams to support the provision of health care services in rural communities. Application Deadline: 3/18/2022

Higher Education Multicultural Scholars Program
U.S. Department of Agriculture
USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture grants for scholarship programs leading to degrees within the Food and Agricultural sciences or Doctor of Veterinary Medicine to educate students in national need areas of the food and agricultural sciences and in rural economic, community and business development. Application Deadline: 3/23/2022

Technical Assistance for Rural Transportation Systems Grants
U.S. Department of Agriculture
USDA Rural Development invests in rural transportation, through the Rural Business Development Grant, to build opportunity for prosperity for organizations seeking to improve passenger services and facilities. Federal Register. Application Deadline: 4/14/2022 

Rural Community Development Initiative
U.S. Department of Agriculture 
USDA Rural Development support for qualified intermediaries to improve housing and community facilities, and to implement community and economic development projects in rural areas. Federal Register. Application Deadline: on Grants.gov 4/19/2022

Rural Innovation Stronger Economy Grant
U.S. Department of Agriculture
USDA Rural Development encourages a regional, innovation-driven approach to economic development by funding job accelerator partnerships in low-income rural communities. Federal Register. Application Deadline: 4/19/2022

Rural Energy Pilot Program
U.S. Department of Agriculture 
USDA Rural Development offers this new program to support underserved communities deploy community-scale renewable energy technologies and innovations to reduce climate pollution and increase resilience to the impacts of climate change. Federal Register. Letter of Intent Required: 4/19/2022

Rural Communities Opioid Response Program
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Health Resources and Services Administration initiative aimed at reducing the morbidity and mortality of substance use disorder (SUD) in high-risk rural communities and improve to and quality of SUD and other behavioral health care services in rural communities. Application Deadline: 4/19/2022

Funding Opportunities for Rural Infrastructure

Broadband ReConnect Program
U.S. Department of Agriculture
USDA Rural Development offers loans, grants, and loan-grant combinations to facilitate broadband deployment in areas of rural America that currently do not have sufficient access to broadband. Application Deadline: 2/22/2022

Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program
U.S. Department of Agriculture
USDA Rural Development partners with lenders to guarantee loans to help eligible entities expand meat and poultry processing capacity and finance other food supply chain infrastructure. Fact Sheet. Federal Register. Application Deadline: Until funds are exhausted

Emergency Rural Health Care Grants
U.S. Department of Agriculture
USDA Rural Development Track One: Recovery Grants provide immediate relief to address the economic conditions arising from the COVID-19 emergency. Application Deadline: Until funds are exhausted

Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities
U.S Department of Homeland Security
This program offers funding for hazard mitigation activities that promote climate adaptation and resilience with respect to those hazards. Application Deadline: 2/25/2022 

WaterSMART: Desalination Construction Projects Under the WIIN Act 
U.S. Department of the Interior 
The Bureau of Reclamation leverages Federal and non-Federal funding to support stakeholder efforts to stretch scarce water supplies and avoid conflicts over water. Application Deadline: 3/15/2022 

EPA - Enhanced Air Quality Monitoring for Communities 
Environmental Protection Agency
This program offers funds to conduct ambient air monitoring of pollutants of greatest concern in communities with environmental and health outcome disparities stemming from pollution and the COVID-19 pandemic. Application Deadline: 3/25/2022 

Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical & Biobased Products Manufacturing Assistance Program
U.S. Department of Agriculture 
USDA Rural Development program that provides loan guarantees to assist in the development, construction and retrofitting of new and emerging technologies for advanced biofuels, renewable chemicals and biobased products. Application Deadline: 4/1/2022

Funding Opportunities for Tribal Communities

Indigenous Public Health Leadership Program
National Network of Public Health Institutes
This leadership training is designed for emerging public health leaders working within a tribal department of health or in Indian Health Service facilities serving American Indian and Alaskan Native Communities. Application Deadline: 2/21/2022

Phillips Fund for Native American Research
American Philosophical Society
These grants support research in the areas of Native American linguistics, ethnohistory and the history of Native American studies. Application Deadline: 3/1/2022

Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation
U.S. Department of Justice
This funding supports improving public safety and victim services in tribal communities. Application Deadline: 3/10/2022

Tribal Practices for Wellness in Indian Country
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
This grant supports tribal practices that build resiliency and connections to community, family, and culture, which over time, can reduce risk factors for chronic disease among American Indians and Alaska Natives. Application deadline: 3/16/2022

USDA Local Food Purchase Assistance Program
U.S. Department of Agriculture
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service builds non-competitive cooperative agreements with state and tribal governments and awards money for purchasing food from historically underserved farmers and ranchers. Application Deadline: 4/5/2022

EDA’s Indigenous Communities Program
U.S. Department of Commerce
Economic Development Administration (EDA) offers funding specifically for Indigenous Communities to develop and execute economic development projects to recover from the pandemic and build economies for the future. Application Deadline: 9/30/2022

Resources

Resources for Rural Entrepreneurs
U.S. Department of Agriculture
USDA Rural Development NEW guide to support rural entrepreneurs start and grow businesses, create good-paying jobs and strengthen America’s economy.

USDA Launches Major Initiative for Climate Smart Agriculture
USDA Radio News
Radio clip highlights this new program: USDA NRCS- Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities–Building Markets and Investing in America’s Climate-Smart Farmers, Ranchers & Forest Owners to Strengthen U.S. Rural and Agricultural Communities. Application Deadlines: 4/8/2022 and 5/27/2022.

USDA Expands Access to Four Key Loan Programs
U.S. Department of Agriculture
USDA Rural Development is expanding access to four loan guarantee programs that provide funding to help rural communities create jobs and improve local infrastructure.

Tribal Treaty Database
Various Organizations
USDA in partnership with the Department of the Interior and Oklahoma State University and the USDA Hall of Tribal Nations offer this informational database.

USDA Emergency Rural Health Care Grant - Comments Requested
U.S. Department of Agriculture
USDA Rural Development seeks comments on the Emergency Rural Health Care Grant, which provides emergency funding to help rural hospitals and local communities increase access to COVID-19 vaccines, health care services (including telehealth) and other support for the long-term sustainability. Comment Deadline: 3/4/22.

Charging Forward: A Toolkit for Planning and Funding Rural Electric Mobility Infrastructure U.S. Department of Transportation
Guidance to assist rural community members, towns, businesses, planning agencies and others identify key project partners and funding/financing to make their Electronic Vehicle project a reality.

Investing in Rural Recovery: Findings from a Rapid Assessment of Stakeholder Priorities for Rural Development
Regional Rural Development Centers
Findings from a survey on key priorities and critical investments for rural communities regarding recovery and growth. Indicators of Broadband Need Digital Map The National Telecommunications & Information Administration developed a mapping tool with multiple data sources to help users better understand the digital divide and connection between poverty and the lack of broadband.

Events and Learning Opportunities

USDA Rural Development Events:

2/16: National Entrepreneurship Week discussion on how USDA Rural Development assists small businesses and entrepreneurs

2/24-2/25: Agricultural Outlook Forum -- Sign up now!

Recorded: USDA Presents: Access to Capital in Rural America for Non-Regulated Lenders and the OneRD Guarantee Loan Initiative.

Find past workshop recordings at the USDA Rural Development YouTube Channel 

Other Learning Opportunities:

2/17: SBA’s Office of Women’s Business Ownership-Virtual Women’s Business Center Grant Program Applicant Workshop

2/23: BroadbandUSA–NTIA’s Deep Dive into the Digital Equity Act Programs & Parameters under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

2/24: ARC’s INSPIRE Pre-Application Workshop for the Investments Supporting Partnerships in Recovery Ecosystems Program. Letter of Intent Deadline: 3/3/2022

3/1-3/24: Project for Public Spaces: How to Create Successful Markets

4/4-4/7: Appalachian Regional Commission Outdoor Economy Conference

5/2-5/5: 2022 National Outdoor Recreation Conference

USDA Rural Development Quick Links:

• Catalog of Programs
• Resource Guides
• NOSA/NOFAs
• Search All Programs
• Priority Points Program Chart

COVID-19 Recovery Resources

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

USDA Rural Development Innovation Center

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

www.rd.usda.gov

Sign up to receive Innovation Matters from the USDA Rural Development Innovation Center.

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