Rural Business Development Grants Provide Great Opportunity for Small Businesses to Grow
PHOENIX, Oct. 28, 2020 – The Trump Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Arizona State Director Jack Smith today announced that USDA is awarding grants totaling over $1.2 million to 16 projects throughout Arizona under the Rural Business Development Grant program.
“Assisting rural Arizona in ways that strengthen small businesses and provide growth for our local communities is at the core of what Rural Development does,” said Smith “Through this program, businesses will now have access to training and technical assistance, business incubators, or new equipment.”
The Rural Business Development Grant program provides funding to non-profit organizations, public bodies and Indian Tribes that assist with the development of small businesses in rural areas. This funding can be used for training, technical assistance, acquisition or development of land, revolving loan programs, and distance adult learning for job training and advancement.
In Apache County:
- Dinè Community Development Corporation will use a $95,000 grant to establish a revolving loan program to help small businesses with their capital needs. They also received an $80,000 grant to conduct critically needed economic development planning on the Navajo Nation Reservation by providing technical assistance through small business training workshops, a leadership training, a feasibility study, and a business plan for the proposed Navajo Micro-blend Manufacturing plant.
In Cochise County:
- City of Bisbee will receive a $50,000 grant to conduct a feasibility study for a shared-use path in Bisbee. The path will promote tourism by providing trail connectivity to the Historic Old Bisbee arts and cultural district. It will also enable residents’ convenient access to the local farmer's market, grocery store, and many other businesses in the area.
In Coconino County:
- Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce Foundation will use a $45,000 grant to provide workforce development and leadership training to small businesses in the rural areas of Bellemont, Doney Park, and Williams.
- Painted Desert Demonstration Projects Inc. received a $ 264,980 grant to continue the development of a food hub on the Navajo Nation. This multi-purpose project will use the grant to renovate an existing building into a retail store for locally grown foods and for technical assistance and training.
- Northern Arizona Technology and Business Incubator will use a $150,000 grant to provide technical assistance and training for up to 25 Navajo entrepreneurs in the former Bennett Freeze area of the Navajo Nation.
In Gila County:
- Industrial Development Authority of the Town of Payson will use a $65,000 grant to supplement a micro-loan program for the development and expansion of small businesses located in Northern Gila County.
In Maricopa County:
- Local First Arizona Foundation will use a $60,000 grant to implement a centralized workforce development or talent pipeline management (TPM) system focusing on STEM-related careers
In Navajo County:
- Tolani Lake Enterprises, Inc. will use a $99,999 grant to provide technical assistance including ten workshops and 200 hours of training. The project will also build on distance learning tools to expand its reach to entrepreneurs as an alternative to in-person training.
In Pima County:
- Pascua Yaqui Development Corporation will use a $64,370 grant to evaluate and assess the feasibility of a tribally-owned construction company located on Pascua Yaqui Indian tribal trust lands and to conduct business planning for the creation of two other tribally-owned companies, one for materials management and the other for property management.
In Santa Cruz County:
- Nogales Community Development Corporation will use a $27,826 grant to more strategically conduct entrepreneur training in the Nogales community by moving existing business assistance approaches to state-of-the-art technology platforms.
- Tubac Chamber of Commerce will use a $28,500 grant to create an economic development plan to establish a tourism marketing authority to improve access to hotel and motel tax assessment funds from Arizona. Funds will assist the grantee with expanding local branding and further tourism development and lead to the need for more job training for local small businesses.
In Yavapai County:
- Steps to Recovery Homes will use a $75,851 grant to provide job training and job placement opportunities for individuals newly recovered from alcohol or substance abuse addiction through the continuation of the grantee's expanded workforce development program to include vocational training.
- Town of Camp Verde will use a $35,000 grant to conduct a feasibility study for increased capacity in locally sourced agricultural products in the Verde Valley.
- Steps to Recovery Homes will use a $22,500 grant to fund a feasibility study to determine the need, scalability, location, and profitability of providing intensive outpatient services in Cottonwood.
- United Way of Yavapai County will use a $28,500 grant to assist with the renovation of an unused, dilapidated building into a gathering place with higher speed internet that also sells coffee, beverages, and light snacks. The building will also have a meeting space for job skills workshops and classes. In partnership with the high school and community college, the grantee will develop classes/workshops in job skills and provide on-the-job training to area students and unemployed spouses of mine workers in Bagdad.
To learn more about investment resources for rural areas, interested parties should contact their USDA Rural Development state office. USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.
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