[Federal Register: March 9, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 46)]
[Notices]
[Page 10977-10979]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr09mr04-29]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Business-Cooperative Service
Inviting Applications for Rural Business Opportunity Grants
AGENCY: Rural Business-Cooperative Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS), an Agency within
the Rural Development mission area, announces the availability of
grants of up to $50,000 per application from the Rural Business
Opportunity Grant (RBOG) Program for fiscal year (FY) 2004, to be
competitively awarded. For multi-State projects, grant funds of up to
$150,000 will be available on a competitive basis.
DATES: The deadline for the receipt of applications in the Rural
Development State Office is June 4, 2004. Any applications received at
a Rural Development State Office after that date would not be
considered for FY 2004 funding.
[[Page 10978]]
ADDRESSES: For further information, entities wishing to apply for
assistance should contact a Rural Development State Office to receive
further information and copies of the application package. Potential
applicants located in the District of Columbia must send their
applications to the National Office at:
District of Columbia
Rural Business-Cooperative Service, USDA, Specialty Lenders Division,
1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 6867, STOP 3225, Washington, DC
20250-3225, (202) 720-1400.
A list of Rural Development State Offices follows:
Alabama
USDA Rural Development State Office, Sterling Center, Suite 601, 4121
Carmichael Road, Montgomery, AL 36106-3683, (334) 279-3400.
Alaska
USDA Rural Development State Office, 800 West Evergreen, Suite 201,
Palmer, AK 99645-6539, (907) 761-7705.
Arizona
USDA Rural Development State Office, 3003 North Central Avenue, Suite
900, Phoenix, AZ 85012-2906, (602) 280-8700.
Arkansas
USDA Rural Development State Office, 700 West Capitol Avenue, Room
3416, Little Rock, AR 72201-3225, (501) 301-3200.
California
USDA Rural Development State Office, 430 G Street, Agency 4169, Davis,
CA 95616-4169, (530) 792-5800.
Colorado
USDA Rural Development State Office, 655 Parfet Street, Room E-100,
Lakewood, CO 80215, (720) 544-2903.
Delaware-Maryland
USDA Rural Development State Office, P.O. Box 400, 4607 South DuPont
Highway, Camden, DE 19934-9998, (302) 697-4300.
Florida/Virgin Islands
USDA Rural Development State Office, P.O. Box 147010, 4440 NW. 25th
Place, Gainesville, FL 32606, (352) 338-3482.
Georgia
USDA Rural Development State Office, Stephens Federal Building, 355 E.
Hancock Avenue, Athens, GA 30601-2768, (706) 546-2162.
Hawaii
USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 311, 154
Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo, HI 96720, (808) 933-8380.
Idaho
USDA Rural Development State Office, 9173 West Barnes Dr., Suite A1,
Boise, ID 83709, (208) 378-5600.
Illinois
USDA Rural Development State Office, 2118 West Park Court, Suite A,
Champaign, IL 61821, (217) 403-6200.
Indiana
USDA Rural Development State Office, 5975 Lakeside Boulevard,
Indianapolis, IN 46278, (317) 290-3100.
Iowa
USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 873, 210
Walnut Street, Des Moines, IA 50309-2196, (515) 284-4663.
Kansas
USDA Rural Development State Office, Suite 100, 1303 SW. First American
Place, Topeka, KS 66604, (785) 271-2700.
Kentucky
USDA Rural Development State Office, 771 Corporate Drive, Suite 200,
Lexington, KY 40503, (859) 224-7300.
Louisiana
USDA Rural Development State Office, 3727 Government Street,
Alexandria, LA 71302, (318) 473-7921.
Maine
USDA Rural Development State Office, P.O. Box 405, 967 Illinois Avenue,
Suite 4, Bangor, ME 04402-0405, (207) 990-9106.
Massachusetts/Rhode Island/Connecticut
USDA Rural Development State Office, 451 West Street, Suite 2, Amherst,
MA 01002-2999, (413) 253-4300.
Michigan
USDA Rural Development State Office, 3001 Coolidge Road, Suite 200,
East Lansing, MI 48823, (517) 324-5100.
Minnesota
USDA Rural Development State Office, 410 AgriBank Building, 375 Jackson
Street, St. Paul, MN 55101-1853, (651) 602-7800.
Mississippi
USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Suite 831, 100
West Capitol Street, Jackson, MS 39269, (601) 965-4316.
Missouri
USDA Rural Development State Office, 601 Business Loop 70 West, Parkade
Center, Suite 235, Columbia, MO 65203, (573) 876-0976.
Montana
USDA Rural Development State Office, P.O. Box 771, 900 Technology
Blvd., Unit 1, Suite B, Bozeman, MT 59715, (406) 585-2580.
Nebraska
USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 152, 100
Centennial Mall North, Lincoln, NE 68508, (402) 437-5551.
Nevada
USDA Rural Development State Office, 1390 South Curry Street, Carson
City, NV 89703-9910, (775) 887-1222.
New Jersey
USDA Rural Development State Office, 5th Floor North, Suite 500, 8000
Midlantic Drive, Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054, (856) 787-7700.
New Mexico
USDA Rural Development State Office, 6200 Jefferson Street, NE., Room
255, Albuquerque, NM 87109, (505) 761-4950.
New York
USDA Rural Development State Office, The Galleries of Syracuse, 441
South Salina Street, Suite 357, Syracuse, NY 13202-2541, (315) 477-
6400.
North Carolina
USDA Rural Development State Office, 4405 Bland Road, Suite 260,
Raleigh, NC 27609, (919) 873-2000.
North Dakota
USDA Rural Development State Office, P.O. Box 1737, Federal Building,
Room 208, 220 East Rosser Avenue, Bismarck, ND 58502-1737, (701) 530-
2037.
Ohio
USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 507, 200
North High Street, Columbus, OH 43215-2418, (614) 255-2500.
Oklahoma
USDA Rural Development State Office, 100 USDA, Suite 108, Stillwater,
OK 74074-2654, (405) 742-1000.
Oregon
USDA Rural Development State Office, 101 SW Main Street, Suite 1410,
[[Page 10979]]
Portland, OR 97204-3222, (503) 414-3300.
Pennsylvania
USDA Rural Development State Office, One Credit Union Place, Suite 330,
Harrisburg, PA 17110-2996, (717) 237-2299.
Puerto Rico
USDA Rural Development State Office, 654 Munoz Rivera Avenue, IBM
Plaza, Suite 601, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico 00918-6106, (787) 766-5095.
South Carolina
USDA Rural Development State Office, Strom Thurmond Federal Building,
1835 Assembly Street, Room 1007, Columbia, SC 29201, (803) 765-5163.
South Dakota
USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 210, 200
4th Street, SW., Huron, SD 57350, (605) 352-1100.
Tennessee
USDA Rural Development State Office, 3322 West End Avenue, Suite 300,
Nashville, TN 37203-1084, (615) 783-1300.
Texas
USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Suite 102, 101
South Main Street, Temple, TX 76501, (254) 742-9700.
Utah
USDA Rural Development State Office, Wallace F. Bennett Federal
Building, 125 South State Street, Room 4311, Salt Lake City, UT 84138,
(801) 524-4321.
Vermont/New Hampshire
USDA Rural Development State Office, City Center, 3rd Floor, 89 Main
Street, Montpelier, VT 05602, (802) 828-6010.
Virginia
USDA Rural Development State Office, Culpeper Building, Suite 238, 1606
Santa Rosa Road, Richmond, VA 23229-5014, (804) 287-1550.
Washington
USDA Rural Development State Office, 1835 Black Lake Boulevard, SW.,
Suite B, Olympia, WA 98512-5715, (360) 704-7740.
West Virginia
USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, 75 High Street,
Room 320, Morgantown, WV 26505-7500, (304) 284-4860.
Wisconsin
USDA Rural Development State Office, 4949 Kirschling Court, Stevens
Point, WI 54481, (715) 345-7610.
Wyoming
USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 1005, 100
East B Street, P.O. Box 820, Casper, WY 82602, (307) 261-6300.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATON: The RBOG program is authorized under section
306 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (CONACT) (7
U.S.C. 1926(a)(11)). The Rural Development State Offices administer the
RBOG program on behalf of RBS at the State level. The primary objective
of the program is to improve the economic conditions of rural areas.
Assistance provided to rural areas under this program may include
technical assistance for business development and economic development
planning. A total of $1.064 million of non-earmarked funds is available
for the RBOG program for FY 2004. To ensure that a broad range of
communities have the opportunity to benefit from the available funds,
no grant will exceed $50,000, unless it is a multi-State project where
funds may not exceed $150,000. Pursuant to the Consolidated
Appropriations Act for 2004 (Pub. L. 108-199), a total of $1,988,200
has been earmarked for Native Americans and Empowerment Zones,
Enterprise Communities, and Rural Economic Area Partnerships. There is
no project dollar amount limitation on applications for earmarked
funds. Awards are made on a competitive basis using specific selection
criteria contained in 7 CFR part 4284, subpart G, 7 CFR part 4284,
subpart G, also contains the information required to be in the
application package. The State Director may assign up to 15
discretionary points to an application, and the Agency Administrator
may assign up to 20 additional discretionary points based on geographic
distribution of funds, special importance for implementation of a
strategic plan in partnership with other organizations, or
extraordinary potential for success due to superior project plans or
qualifications of the grantee. To ensure the equitable distribution of
funds, two projects from each State that score the greatest number of
points based on the selection criteria and discretionary points will be
considered for funding. Applications will be tentatively scored by the
State Offices and submitted to the National Office for final review and
selection.
The National Office will review the scores based on the grant
selection criteria and weights contained in 7 CFR part 4284, subpart G.
All applicants will be notified by RBS of the Agency's decision on the
awards.
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the
information collection requirement contained in this Notice is approved
by the Office of Management and Budget (MB) under OMB Control Number
0570-0024.
Nondiscrimination Statement
``The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) (Departmental
Regulation 4300-3), prohibits discrimination in all its programs and
activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion,
age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or
family status in employment or in any program or activity conducted or
funded by the Department. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all
programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for
communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape,
etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and
TDD).
To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office
of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice
and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.''
Dated: February 26, 2004.
John Rosso,
Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative Service.
[FR Doc. 04-5261 Filed 3-8-04; 8:45 am]