# 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) 2003, 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 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
**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.