The Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) in Oregon will provide technical assistance to support strategic community development in the former Bennett Freeze Area of the Navajo Nation with the help of a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development, announced State Director Vicki Walker today. This project is among 23 selected nationwide to receive $4.5 million in grants to support rural economic development projects. Walker also announced that USDA is now accepting applications for the next round of program funding.
“These grants will help boost growth in our most economically vulnerable rural communities,” said Walker. “This funding brings increased economic opportunities to rural residents and communities by strengthening the capacity of the regional organizations that serve them, and I encourage all eligible organizations to apply under the application window that is currently open.”
Today’s funding is being provided through USDA’s Rural Community Development Initiative (RCDI) Program. This program helps community-based development organizations, federally recognized Indian tribes, and other groups promote economic development in low-income rural communities. USDA does not provide the grants directly to businesses or individuals; instead, awards are provided to public or nonprofit intermediaries that are locally-based and skilled in business development and job creation. Recipients must obtain matching funds, which doubles the value of the grants. The funding announced today is contingent upon the recipients meeting the terms of the grant agreements.
The Oregon nonprofit NAYA is receiving a $250,000 grant from USDA to provide technical assistance and financial education to the Navajo Nation contractor Native Builders. This assistance will enable Native Builders to deliver capacity building services to local communities within the former Bennett Freeze Area in north central Arizona on the Navajo Nation. Those services will include homeowner education, entrepreneur training, workshops on leveraging and accessing funding, planning for essential community facilities training, and professional predevelopment planning and organizational development capacity workshops.
The area’s leadership has begun systemic changes to offset decades of neglect in the region due to a Congressionally-mandated freeze on development enacted 40 years ago and finally lifted in 2009 that resulted in one of the most impoverished regions in the United States. This project will support local efforts to begin thawing the Bennett Freeze by helping communities plan and implement strategic economic, community, and housing development projects that will improve economic conditions and the overall quality of life for local residents.
Applications are now being accepted for the RCDI Program. Up to $4 million in grants is being made available nationwide under this announcement. The minimum grant amount is $50,000 while the maximum award a recipient may receive is $250,000. All grants are awarded through a competitive process. More information on how to apply can be found on page 32277 of the May 23, 2016, Federal Register. Applications must be submitted by 4:00 pm on July 22, 2016.
Since 2009, USDA Rural Development has awarded $39 million to support 206 rural economic development projects financed through the RCDI Program. The projects are examples of USDA’s support for locally-based development strategies. Over the past seven years, Rural Development (#USDARD) has also invested $11 billion to start or expand 103,000 rural businesses; helped 1.1 million rural residents buy homes; funded nearly 7,000 community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care facilities; financed 185,000 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines; and helped bring high-speed Internet access to nearly 6 million rural residents and businesses. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov/results.