Agriculture Under Secretary Lisa Mensah recently awarded 30 grants totaling $5.8 million to help rural cooperatives create jobs and support business expansion. Nearly $300,000 of the grants awarded will go two Wisconsin organizations.
The funds are being provided through the Rural Cooperative Development Grant program, which helps finance non-profit groups, such as rural cooperative development centers and higher education institutions. These competitively awarded grants may be used to conduct feasibility studies, offer leadership and operations training, create and implement business plans, and help businesses develop new markets for their products and services. Funding is contingent upon the recipients meeting the terms of their grant agreement.
In Wisconsin, Cooperative Development Services, Inc., located in Madison, Wis.,was awarded a $200,000 grant to provide technical assistance to business and cooperatives throughout the Midwest. In 2014, CDS successfully assisted over 30 cooperatives with a $200,000 grant award, creating 5 jobs in the process. Services included providing technical assistance and training on topics ranging from community & economic development education to senior housing to rural food co-ops and business planning. CDS assisted groups such as the Intertribal Maple Syrup Producers Cooperative and the Willmar Community Owned Grocery in Willmar, Minnesota. Consultation for the syrup producers supported a steering committee for a regional multi-tribal co-op, while efforts with the grocery co-op focused on start-up strategies leading to the selection announced of the site for a new store in March 2014.
The University of Wisconsin - Board of Regents, also located in Madison, Wis., received a $199,990 grant to provide technical assistance and outreach to cooperatives in the broadband, local foods, housing, and health care markets.
Since the start of the Obama Administration, USDA has funded 230 cooperative grants for $44.4 million to support projects in 39 states. This funding has benefited more than 2,600 businesses.
USDA Rural Development’s funding continues to have a dramatic impact on rural communities across Wisconsin. Since 2010, USDA Rural Development has invested more than $3.5 billion on essential public facilities, small and emerging businesses, water and sewer systems, and housing opportunities in rural Wisconsin communities.
USDA Rural Development’s mission is to deliver programs in a way that will support increasing economic opportunity and improve the quality of life of rural residents. As the lead federal agency for rural development needs, USDA Rural Development can help rural communities and regions grow and prosper by offering a variety of financial and technical assistance programs that encourage the development of strong community and economic development strategies.
During this past year, USDA Rural Development’s $571 million investment in Wisconsin helped create or retain nearly 1,380 jobs, aided 3,600 families in buying their own homes and assisted more than 50 communities as they made improvements to their facilities, services and infrastructure.
Further information on USDA Rural Development is available at a local USDA Rural Development office or by visiting the web site at www.rd.usda.gov/wi.