U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Under Secretary Dr. Basil Gooden today announced that the Department is accepting applications to help rural communities expand their capacity to access financial resources to help build or upgrade essential community facilities.

The funding is being made available under the Community Facilities Technical Assistance and Training Grant Program. The grants will assist nonprofits, federally recognized Tribes and a variety of non-federal government institutions to provide hands-on support or training to rural communities to build or improve community facilities.

USDA is particularly interested in applications that will advance Biden-Harris Administration priorities to:

• Help rural communities recover economically through more and better market opportunities and through improved infrastructure;
• Reduce climate pollution and increase resilience to the impacts of climate change through economic support to rural communities; and
• Ensure all rural residents have equitable access to Rural Development (RD) programs and benefits from RD-funded projects.

Additional information on these key priorities is available at www.rd.usda.gov/priority-points.

Electronic applications will be accepted via Grants.gov until 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on July 3, 2024.

Paper submissions will be accepted until 4:00 p.m. local time on July 8, 2024.

For additional information, see page 47510 of the June 3, 2024, Federal Register.