- Nonprofits and cooperatives.
- Federally-recognized tribes.
- Public agencies.
- Cooperatives
- Ultimate recipients may be individuals, public or private organizations or other legal entities, given that:
- Majority ownership is held by U.S. citizens or permanent residents. (1)
- The applicant owes no delinquent debt to the Federal Government.
- The applicant is unable to obtain affordable commercial financing for the project elsewhere.
- The project is located in an eligible rural area - Check Eligibility.
- The applicant has no legal or financial interest or influence in the work of the intermediary lender.
- The legal authority to operate a Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) (2).
- A record of successfully assisting rural businesses and communities, normally including experience making and servicing commercial loans.
- The ability to provide adequate assurance of repayment of the loan.
- Capitalization or equity sufficient to sustain its lending and business operations.
- Majority outstanding interest or membership must be composed of U.S. citizens.
- Intermediary and principals must have no Federal delinquent debt.
- Unable to finance the fund through its own sources or other conventional financing.
- The ability to close the IRP loan within six months of loan approval.
- A board consisting of business and civic leaders.
- Up to $1 million
- Total outstanding debt from the IRP, to a single intermediary, may not exceed $15 million.
- The interest rate is fixed at 1 percent.
- The maximum term is 30 years.
- interest-only payments may be permitted for the first three years.
- In first 6 months after closing $250,000 or greater of loan funds must be used.
- The maximum loan amount to an ultimate recipient is the lesser of $400,000 or 50% of the loan to an intermediary lender.
- Promote community development
- Establish a new business
- Establish and support microlending programs.
- Create or retain employment opportunities.
- To acquire, construct, convert, enlarge or repair a business or business facility, particularly when jobs will be created or retained.
- To purchase or develop land (easements, rights of way, buildings, facilities, leases, materials).
- To purchase equipment, machinery or supplies, or make leasehold improvements.
- For start-up costs and working capital.
- For pollution control and abatement.
- For transportation services.
- To cover feasibility studies
- Professional fees, ie, architects, lawyers, engineers, accountants.
- Towards the building of hotels, motels, convention centers.
- For educational institutions.
- For aquaculture-based rural small business.
- To establish revolving lines of credit as described in 7 CFR Part 4274.314.
- Any area, including a city or town, that has a population of fewer than 50,000 residents.
- Any urbanized areas contiguous and adjacent to a city or town of 50,000 or more residents may not be eligible.
- The intermediary borrower’s headquarters may be based within a larger city so long as the project service area is located in an eligible rural area.
- The intermediary lender may be located anywhere.
- The Basic Program is governed by the Code of Federal Regulations, 7 CFR Part 4274.
- The Loan Servicing is governed by 7 CFR Part 1951.
- This program was originally authorized by the Food Security Act of 1985, Pub L. 99-198 (1985 Farm Bill).
Intermediary lenders are encouraged to complement state and regional strategies, and partner with other public and private organizations that can provide complementary resources.
(2) A revolving loan fund (RLF) is a pool of public- and private-sector funds that recycles money as loans are repaid (revolved funds). USDA grants or loans may be used to start, replenish and expand RLFs. Eligible intermediary recipients are state or local government agencies and nonprofit entities structured to make loans. They must demonstrate economic need and have a plan that both meets program requirements and spurs growth.
IRP Intermediary Application Checklist & File Docket Index
RD 4274-1, Application for Loan IRP,
RD4274-2, IRP Project Summary,
Environmental Checklist for Categorical Exclusions,
Survey on Ensuring Equal Opportunity for Applicants
Forms:
RD 400-4, Assurance Agreement
RD Inst.1940-Q Exh A-1. Certification for Contracts, Grants & Loans
RD 1910-11, Federal Collection Policies
RD 1940-L, Certification for Request of Funds
NOTE: If state-specific forms are not shown above, please ensure that your state is selected in the dropdown menu above to find the State Office contact information and speak to a Business Programs Specialist before attempting to fill out any forms or applications. This will save you valuable time in your application.
For intermediaries, the interest rate is fixed at 1% with a maximum term of 30 years. Interest-only payments may be permitted for the first 3 years.
For the ultimate recipients, the interest rate is set by the intermediary in an amount sufficient to cover the cost of operating and sustaining the revolving loan fund.
There are no other additional requirements at the national level. If there are additional state-specific requirements they will be listed above.
Louisiana State Program
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