South Carolina
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Rural Development administers the following programs including direct and guaranteed loans for rural business and industry projects, grants to facilitate development of small and emerging private business enterprises in rural areas, and loan and grant funds for the establishment of revolving loan programs that finance rural business and community development projects in South Carolina.
Business and Industry (B&I) Guaranteed Loans:
The purpose of this program is to improve, develop, or finance business, industry and employment opportunities in rural communities with a population less than 50,000. Up to an 80% guarantee may be provided on quality loans to lenders with terms ranging from 7 to 30 years. Applicant must also provide adequate collateral and meet U.S. citizenship and equity requirements. Some eligible purposes are: (1) purchase of real estate, construction, machinery, equipment, inventory; (2) working capital; (3) financing housing development sites (land and infrastructure only); and (4) hotels, motels, recreational facilities (golf courses are not eligible).
Intermediary Relending Program (IRP) Loans:
Loans are made to intermediaries to establish revolving loan funds for relending to ultimate recipients to finance business facilities and community development projects in rural areas where the population is less than 25,000. Intermediaries may be private nonprofit corporations, public agencies, Indian tribes, or cooperatives. Initial loans to an intermediary will not exceed $2 million. Terms are for 30 years at 1% interest annually with up to three years of principal deferment initially. Both intermediaries and ultimate recipients must certify that they are unable to finance the proposed project from their own resources, commercial credit, or other federal, state, or local programs at reasonable rates and terms. Ultimate recipient loans must not exceed the lesser of $250,000 or 75% of the total cost of the project. Not more than 25% of the IRP loan to intermediary may be used for loans that exceed $150,000 - this limit does not apply to revolved funds. Some eligible loan purposes are: establishment of new businesses, expansion of existing businesses, debt refinancing and revolving lines of credit (under certain conditions), educational facilities, commercial fishing, commercial plant nurseries, motels, hotels, and other tourist and recreational facilities. Some ineligible loans purposes are: churches, fraternal organizations, agricultural production, golf courses, race tracks, and gambling facilities.
Rural Business Enterprise Grants (RBEG):
Public bodies and private nonprofit corporations that serve rural areas can apply for RBEG grant funds to support the development of small and emerging private business enterprises in rural areas where the population is less than 50,000. Small and emerging private business enterprises are generally those that have 50 or less new employees, have less than $1 million in projected gross revenues and have or will use technological innovations. Some examples of how these entities can assist these businesses are the following: 1) to extend water and/or sewer lines to serve a business or industry; 2) to establish a revoving loan fund for relending to businessess in their service area; and 3) to construct a facility, owned by the nonprofit or public body, to lease out to a business or industry. U.S. citizenship requirements are applicable under this program.
Rural Business Opportunity Grants (RBOG):
Public bodies and non-profit corporations, Indian tribes and rural cooperatives may apply for the Rural Business Opportunity Grant. The purpose of the RBOG program is to promote sustainable economic development in rural communities with exceptional needs. Grant funds may be used to assist in the economic development of rural areas by providing technical assistance for business development and economic development planning (i.e., identifying and analyzing business opportunities, establishing business support centers, and providing training). RBOG grant funds cannot be used to pay cost of real estate acquisition/development/or building construction.
Rural Economic Development Loans and Grants (REDLG):
These loans and grants are made to Rural Utilities Service electric or telephone utility borrowers to assist in financing economic development and job creation projects in rural areas, which may include towns/cities with population under 2,500 and any unicorporated areas not adjacent to urbanized areas with population 50,000 or more. Loans at zero-interest are passed through to a third party recipient primarily to finance business start-up ventures and business expansion projects. Grants are made available to electric or telephone utilities to establish revolving loan programs operated at the local level by the utility. Grant funds must initially be loaned out at zero-interest to any eligible nonprofit or public body entity for community development projects. NOTE: All projects funded by RBS are subject to intergovernmental and environmental reviews prior to approval. For FY2000, the maximum loan amount will be $450,000 and the maximum grant award will be $200,000. The maximum dollar loan and grant amount are subject to change each fiscal year.
Cooperative Programs:
This program helps rural residents form new cooperative businesses and improve the operations of existing cooperatives. Cooperative Services provides technical assistance to cooperatives and those thinking of forming them. It also conducts cooperative-related research and produces information products to promote public understanding of cooperatives.
For more information about Cooperative Services contact:
For more information on Rural Business Programs contact:
Please send any comments or suggestions to:
Marlous.Black@sc.usda.gov