Agriculture Under Secretary Lisa Mensah today awarded 30 grants totaling $5.8 million to help rural cooperatives create jobs and support business expansion. More than $300,000 of that money will go to Virginia.
The funds are being provided through the Rural Cooperative Development Grant program, which helps fund non-profit groups, such as rural cooperative development centers and higher education institutions.
The Virginia Foundation for Agriculture, Innovation and Rural Sustainability (VA FAIRS), a not for profit foundation and cooperative development center based in Richmond, will receive $200,000. VA FAIRS can use RCDG funds for feasibility studies, strategic planning, leadership and operations training, and business plan development.
The Cooperative Development Foundation will receive a $119,000 grant to provide technical assistance to organize and develop home health care cooperatives in rural areas in Virginia, and to turn workers into owners. In the long term, these efforts will help improve the quality of home care for rural residents.
“Rural cooperatives represent the best of what rural Virginia has to offer, and they accomplish a mission very similar to our own,” said Basil Gooden, Ph.D., Virginia state director, USDA Rural Development. “By bringing communities together, cooperatives satisfy common economic and cultural needs and improve the quality of life in rural Virginia. We are proud to partner with these organizations.”
Since the start of the Obama Administration, USDA has funded 230 cooperative grants for $44.4 million to support projects in 39 states.
Through today’s announcement, USDA is providing grants for 30 projects in 22 states. Funding is contingent upon the recipients meeting the terms of their grant agreement.
Since the start of the Obama Administration, USDA’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service has helped 85,000 rural businesses create jobs and economic opportunity.
President Obama’s historic investments in rural America have made our rural communities stronger. Under his leadership, these investments in housing, community facilities, businesses and infrastructure have empowered rural America to continue leading the way – strengthening America’s economy, small towns and rural communities.