[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 69 (Thursday, April 10, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17600-17602]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-8817]


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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]
BILLING CODE 3410-XY-P