Contact: Weldon Freeman (202) 690-1384
WASHINGTON, May 26, 2010 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA has selected 27 projects to receive grants to help fund rural businesses, start new businesses, save and create jobs, and train workers in Native American communities in 12 states.
“USDA is working to ensure that members of Tribes have the tools they need to create a livelihood, expand economic opportunity and improve their quality of life,” Vilsack said. “The grants announced today represent USDA’s ongoing commitment to strengthen Tribes and support sustainable business opportunities.”
For example, the Northwoods NiiJii Enterprise Community, Inc. (NNECI), in Lac du Flambeau, Wis., received a $396,481 Rural Business Enterprise Grant to perform market research in connection with tourism-related product-service improvement and retail product-service improvement. NNECI will also provide employability skills training to adult students on the Lac du Flambeau, Mole Lake, and Menominee Indian Reservations.
“The awarding of this grant is a sound investment in the future we all share,” said Wisconsin Rural Development State Director Stan Gruszynski. “I know our Tribal partners understand the importance of building a diverse and sustainable economy. Rural Business Enterprise Grants provide early-stage critical capital for education, training, and business start-ups. The competition for these dollars is keen, I commend the Northwoods Niijii for their strong application,” he concluded.
The $3.4 million in grants announced today is administered through USDA Rural Development’s Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) program. This program provides grants for rural projects that finance the development of small and emerging rural businesses, help fund distance learning networks, and help fund employment-related adult education programs. More information about this program can be found at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/BCP_rbeg.html.
USDA’s Rural Business Enterprise Grant program has a long record of bringing economic opportunity to rural businesses and communities. One recent successful undertaking involved a project that assisted with infrastructure costs associated with the construction of a 150-seat restaurant adjacent to the tribally owned Moenkopi Legacy Inn in the Upper Village of Moenkopi on the Hopi Reservation in Tuba City, Ariz. The project is expected to create 65 jobs when it is finished.
Funding is contingent upon the recipient meeting the conditions of the grant agreement, and is not provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The following is a complete list of organizations that have been selected to receive RBEG grants.
Alaska
* Rural Community Assistance Corporation, $99,956
* University of Alaska Anchorage, Small Business Development Center, $200,000
* University of Alaska Anchorage, Center for Economic Development, $150,000
California
* California Indian Manpower Consortium, $141,016
* California Indian Manpower Consortium, $119,498
* Dry Creek Ranchera, $40,000
* Susanville Indian Rancheria, $199,990
Idaho
* Nez Perce Tribe, $30,000
Maine
* Passamaquoddy Tribal Council, $30,000
Montana
* Native American Community Development Corporation, $53,400
Nebraska
* Ho-Chunk Community Development Corporation (HCCDC), $114,615
Nevada
* Walker River Paiute Tribe, $43,435
North Carolina
* The Sequoyah Fund, Inc., $200,000
Oregon
* Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians Economic Development Corporation, $150,000
* Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, $90,000
* Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, $65,000
* Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, $95,760
South Dakota
* Four Bands Community Funds, $50,000
* Hunkpati Investments, Inc., $99,000
* The Lakota Fund, $99,500
* Oglala Oyate Woitancan EZ, $20,000
* United Sioux Tribes Development Corporation, Inc., $548,468
Wisconsin
* Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council, $99,999
* NiiJii Capital Partners, Inc., $74,257
* Northwoods NiiJii Enterprise Community, Inc., $396,481
Washington
* Lummi Nation Service Organization, $99,068
* Makah Tribal Council, $150,000
USDA, through its Rural Development mission area, administers and manages more than 40 housing, business and community infrastructure and facility programs through a national network of 6,100 employees located in the nation’s capital and 500 state and local offices. These programs are designed to improve the economic stability of rural communities, businesses, residents, farmers and ranchers and improve the quality of life in rural America. Rural Development has an existing portfolio of more than $134 billion in loans and loan guarantees.
As the lead federal agency for rural development needs, USDA Rural Development returned nearly $744 million dollars this past year to rural Wisconsin communities. Funds are used to finance and foster growth in homeownership, business development, and critical community and technological infrastructures. Further information on USDA Rural Development programs is available at a local USDA Rural Development office or by visiting the web site at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/wi.
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