[Federal Register: April 10, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 69)]
[Notices]
[Page 17600-17602]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10ap03-30]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Business-Cooperative Service
Inviting Applications for Rural Business Opportunity Grants
AGENCY: Rural Business-Cooperative Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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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) 2003, to be
competitively awarded. For multi-State projects, grant funds of up to
$150,000 will be available on a competitive basis.
[[Page 17601]]
DATES: The deadline for the receipt of applications in the Rural
Development State Office is June 2, 2003. Any applications received at
a Rural Development State Office after that date would not be
considered for FY 2003 funding.
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) 338-3402
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) 403-6202
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
Tarnsfield Plaza, Suite 22
790 Woodlane Road
Mt. Holly, NJ 08060
(609) 265-3600
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
[[Page 17602]]
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
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
P.O. Box 11350
Salt Lake City, UT 84147-0350
(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 $993,500 of non-earmarked funds is available for
the RBOG program for FY 2003. 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 Resolution Act for FY 2003 (Pub. L. 108-7), a total of
$1,987,000 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, three 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 to this Notice are
approved by the Office of Management and Budget (MB) under OMB Control
Number 0570-0024.
Dated: April 4, 2003.
John Rosso,
Acting Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative Service.
[FR Doc. 03-8817 Filed 4-9-03; 8:45 am]