Consider this good news. One of the significant challenges in dealing with USDA’s Rural Development (RD) is how difficult it has been to write a technical proposal for RD’s funding opportunities. Small towns and rural communities rarely are chocked full of grant writers.
Now, thanks to RD Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small, USDA is not only accepting applications for grants to improve housing, community facilities, and community and economic development projects in rural areas around the country, but it is also offering assistance with the writing and development of the ideas for projects which come in from rural communities, through the Rural Community Development Initiative program. See the Stakeholder Agreement here.