Initiatives
USDA Rural Development prioritizes funding toward projects under the following initiatives:
American Indian and Alaska Native Programs
USDA Rural Development can help American Indian and Alaska Natives become full partners in the American economy, so their children and grandchildren can have an equal opportunity at pursuing the...Learn More >
Community Economic Development
Community Economic Development (CED) is a unique function of USDA Rural Development created to foster the unique needs of communities that live in persistent poverty and in rural areas that have...Learn More >
Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships (FBNP)
Rural Development’s Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships initiative focuses on non-profits and community organizations, both secular and faith based, looking for ways to positively impact...Learn More >
Interagency Working Group on Cooperative Development
The Interagency Working Group for Cooperative Development (IWGCD) was established to foster cooperative development and ensure coordination with Federal agencies and national and local...Learn More >
Local & Regional Food Systems
Rural Development is committed to supporting the development of local and regional food systems. With growing demand for local food, rural communities stand to prosper from the creation and...Learn More >
Promise Zones
Rural Jobs and Innovation Accelerator
What is the Rural Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge? ...Learn More >
Stronger Economies Together
Stronger Economies Together (SET) represents an exciting initiative launched in 2009 by USDA Rural Development in collaboration with the four Regional Rural Development Centers (RRDCs) and their...Learn More >
Substantially Underserved Trust Area (SUTA)
The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), a Rural Development policy, planning and lending agency of the USDA is implementing the Substantially Underserved Trust Area ("SUTA") provisions of the Food,...Learn More >
Sustainable Rural Downtowns Case Studies
From a new downtown senior housing development in California to the creation of a value-added production facility in Vermont, rural communities across the United States are using USDA financing...Learn More >