Grants available from USDA rural development office

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s State Office of Rural Development is accepting grant applications to promote projects related to business in rural Nevada.

The Carson City-based office said it will accept grant applications from non-profits, communities, state agencies and Federally Designated Tribes to assist in the development of small or emerging private sector businesses through May. Approximately $155,000 is available for eligible projects. The private firms, however, can’t apply directly but would benefit by ties to applicants obtaining grants.

Projects should benefit such firms, which will employ 50 or fewer new workers. They also should have less than $1 million in projected gross revenues and support rural area job creation in places with less than 50,000 population, according to the USDA Rural Development state office news release.

In 2012, USDA Rural Development provided $172,000 in such Rural Business Enterprise Grants. Among them were Western Nevada Development District, which received $20,518; the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, which received $28,000; the Fort McDermitt Paiute Shoshone Tribe, which received $82,500; and Black Rock Solar, which received $40,982.

The development district grant was for a revolving loan fund for equipment purchases by rural businesses. The Indian colony funding was for technical assistance to promote small business development classes. The Fort McDermitt tribal grant was for technical assistance and training for starting a new, tribally-chartered travel plaza south of McDermitt. Rock Solar’s funding was to provide technical assistance for energy audit training to rural tribal firms in Northern Nevada.

Grant applications and information are available online at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/nvrbegapplication.html. More information is available from Michelle Kelly at 775-887-1222, ext. 118, or David Foster at 702-267-9047, ext. 103.