Nebraska Rural Development Grants $139,000 to Local Organizations to Provide Housing Preservation

USDA Rural Development’s Director of Single-Family Housing in Nebraska Krista Mettscher announced today that her team granted $139,000 to two Nebraska organizations recently that will provide portions of the funds as grants or low-interest loans to applicants for home repairs or rehabilitation. 

Rebuilding Together in Fremont, Nebraska, and the Winnebago Tribe, Winnebago, Nebraska were awarded $60,000 and $78,733 respectively. 

Rural Development’s Housing Preservation Grants provide funds to sponsoring organizations for the repair or rehabilitation of housing owned or occupied by low- and very-low-income rural citizens.  USDA will award a total of $16,000,000 through the Housing Preservation Grant Program nationwide for the repair and rehabilitation of rural housing units.

“This program is important because we are seeing a decline in the housing stock in our rural areas of Nebraska,” said Mettscher. “As homes age, they need repairs, and many lower income homeowners don’t have the means to make needed repairs.  Our Housing Preservation Grants allow the receiving entities to assist with repairs in their communities, making the lives of the occupants a little bit better, and keeping the housing stock in better repair within those communities.”

Most state and local governmental entities, nonprofit organizations, and federally recognized tribes are eligible to apply for the grants from USDA RD, and homeowners may apply to those organizations for eligible expenses, which include repairing or replacing electrical wiring, foundation repair, roof repair, insulation, heating systems, water/waste disposal systems, handicap accessibility features, labor and materials, administrative expenses, and other items listed in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1944.664.

Applications are accepted on an annual basis through a Notice of Solicitation of Application in the Federal Register.

Under the Biden-Harris Administration, Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs, and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans 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, tribal, and high-poverty areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov. If you’d like to subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit our GovDelivery subscriber page.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, promoting competition and fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy, and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.