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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-24-22 Correspondence - USDA - USDA Rural Development Montana's Rural Explorer - June 2022From:USDA Rural Development MontanaTo:AgendaSubject:USDA Rural Development Montana"s Rural Explorer - June 2022Date:Friday, June 24, 2022 2:11:11 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page. USDA Rural Development - Together, America Prospers The Montana Rural Explorer Welcome to the Montana Rural Explorer, USDA Rural Development Montana's monthly newsletter where you will find updates on funding opportunities and activities related to our Business, Cooperative, Energy, Electric, Telecommunications, Water and Environmental, Community Facilities, Multi-Family Housing, and Single Family Housing programs. In this Issue A Note from Kathleen 2022 Census of Agriculture Celebrating National Homeownership Month Community Facilities & WEP Rural Business & Cooperative Programs Loan and Grant Opportunities Resource Guides Upcoming Events Websites You Can Use Kathleen A Note from Kathleen Watch my video update to find out what USDA Rural Development, and other entities in Montana, are doing to make sure Montanans have the support they need. Here are the links referenced in this month's video: CEDS INFO: https://eda.gov/ceds/ TRIBAL INFO: https://tribalnations.mt.gov FLOOD & RECOVERY INFO: Designated Areas | FEMA.gov And, as always, I invite you to stay connected, through our Twitter feed, to ensure you have the most up-to-date info about USDA RD Montana happenings. Signature CLICK HERE TO WATCH KATHLEEN'S JUNE UPDATE! 2022 Census of Agriculture Secretary Vilsack - Census Click on the link above to watch a message from Secretary Vilsack on the importance of being counted! June 30, 2022 is the last day to sign up for the 2022 Ag Census. If you have never received a census and are new to NASS surveys, sign up to be counted today. You do not need to sign up if you already receive NASS surveys. Key Dates: June 30, 2022 – sign up ends November 2022 – census mails out February 2023 – response deadline Spring/summer 2024 – data release The Census of Agriculture is a complete count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. Even small plots of land - whether rural or urban - growing fruit, vegetables or some food animals count if $1,000 or more of such products were raised and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the Census year. The Census of Agriculture, taken only once every five years, looks at land use and ownership, operator characteristics, production practices, income and expenditures. For America’s farmers and ranchers, the Census of Agriculture is their voice, their future, and their opportunity. SIGN UP HERE Celebrating National Homeownership Month June kicks off National Homeownership Month to help Montanans in rural, Tribal and underserved areas buy, build and repair affordable homes and to pay their rent in the state's smaller towns and communities. "Everyone deserves safe, reliable, accessible housing," said State Director Williams. "With housing costs increasing across Montana, we are proud to help ensure housing can be a reality for many who might otherwise be left behind." Expanding opportunities for homeownership and rental assistance strengthens rural communities and helps families and individuals build wealth and achieve financial stability. This month, USDA Rural Development Montana is highlighting the nearly $137 million investment in the state in 2021 to help nearly 670 families and individuals in Montana's rural and Tribal communities buy, repair and build homes through USDA Rural Development’s single family housing programs. SFH2 USDA Rural Development is also highlighting ways it is working with lenders and community partners to open the door to homeownership for rural Montanans who have been unserved or underserved for far too long through our single-family housing programs, which include: · The Single Family Housing Direct Home Loan Program provides loans directly to families and individuals so they can buy or build homes in rural communities. The Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program enables USDA to partner with private lending institutions, backing their loans to help families and individuals buy homes in rural areas. The Home Repair Loan and Grant Program provides loans and grants to help families and individuals repair their homes to make them safer, healthier places to live. The Mutual Self-Help Housing Grant Program provides grants to qualified organizations to help them carry out local self-help housing construction projects. For more information, visit the Single Family Housing program webpage or contact Katina Uecker at (406) 210-9728 or Katina.Uecker@usda.gov. In addition, USDA works to increase access to affordable multifamily rental housing opportunities in rural America. Nationwide, the Department is currently helping nearly 300,000 tenants afford to pay their rent through rental assistance. This assistance ensures low-income and elderly tenants pay no more than 30% of their income in rent. For more information, visit Multifamily Housing Programs | Rural Development (usda.gov). Housing Preservation Grants Local governments, nonprofits, and Tribes can apply for USDA Rural Development Housing Preservation grant funds for the repair or rehabilitation of housing owned or occupied by low- and very-low-income rural citizens. Who may apply for this program? Most State and local governmental entities Nonprofit organizations Federally Recognized Tribes Individual homeowners are not eligible What is an eligible area? Areas that may be served include: Rural areas and towns with 20,000 or fewer people--Check eligible addresses Federally Recognized Tribal lands The FY2022 Housing Preservation Program funding is $16,000,000. The funding total is comprised of: Distribution: $14,250,000 Rural Economic Area Part Zones: $150,000 Persistent Poverty: $1,600,000 APPLY HERE KGEZ Good Morning Show On the first day of National Homeownership Month, State Director, Kathleen Williams, joined John Hendricks and Robin Mitchell on the KGEZ Good Morning Show to chat about Rural Development Montana's role in helping provide affordable housing throughout the state. HAVE A LISTEN Lenders of the Year As part of National Homeownership Month, we're recognizing our Top 3 Lenders of the Year! STOCKMAN BANK is awarded our GOLD Lender of the Year award for helping 31 families and individuals in Montana purchase homes. Stockman House MANN MORTGAGE is our SILVER Lender of the Year awardee! With 23 Loan Note Guarantees, this incredible team assisted families and individuals throughout the state secure affordable housing. OPPORTUNITY BANK is awarded our BRONZE Lender of the Year award! Last year, their talented lending team helped 14 Montana families and individuals purchase homes through Loan Note Guarantees. Opportunity Bank Mutual Self-Help Housing Program Allows Individuals and Families to Build Roots Housing In 2017, Heather, a U.S. Army National Guard Veteran, decided to build her home through the Great Falls NeighborWorks self-help housing program, in Great Falls, Mont. She used a USDA Rural Development Single Family Direct Home Loan to purchase the home she built. CLICK ON THE PHOTO ABOVE to watch her story. USDA Seeks Applications for Funds to Construct Housing for Farmworkers The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it is seeking applications for funding to increase the supply of affordable housing for farmworkers. Subject to the availability of funds, the loans American Barn and grants will be provided through USDA’s Farm Labor Housing Program. Applications must be submitted electronically to USDA’s Rural Housing Service before the deadline for each round of funding. Pre-applications for the third round of funding opened May 16, 2022. The deadline to submit pre-applications is July 15, 2022, at 10 a.m. Mountain Time // noon Eastern Time. Final applications must be submitted by Nov. 1, 2022, at noon local time. Interested parties may email Off-FLHapplication@usda.gov to request information on how to attend. Using ‘‘Off-FLH Workshop’’ as the subject line, the email must contain: The borrower’s name, The project’s name, The borrower’s contact information; and The state where the project will be located. For additional information, see page 23792 of the April 21, 2022, Federal Register. CLICK HERE FOR THE STAKEHOLDER ANNOUNCEMENT Community Facilities & WEP Emergency Rural Health Care Grant Funding Still Available Healthcare Click on the picture above to see, firsthand, how Community Facility funding is making an impact to rural healthcare. We still have almost $490,000 available in Emergency Rural Health Care grant funding and we are continuing to accept Track One Emergency Rural Health Care program applications until this funding is expended. Facilities and projects supported through this grant must be located in Montana's rural areas with populations of 20,000 or fewer. Applications must be submitted to our Montana State Office in Bozeman and information, including eligibility requirements, may be found on page 44332 of the Aug. 12, 2021 Federal Register. For additional questions, please contact Meggin Delaurier at (406) 585-2520 or meggin.delaurier@usda.gov. Rural Business & Cooperative Programs USDA RD Helps Family-Owned Montana Company Keep On Trucking Hanson Trucking Hanson Trucking, a small enterprise located in Columbia Falls, Mont., is a family-owned trucking company which has been in business for over three decades. Hanson Trucking is dedicated to supporting Montana’s rural economy and providing local jobs within Flathead County. So, in 2014, when Hanson Trucking needed a surge of capital to offset operational expenses and keep their 40 employees and 32 trucks rolling, they took out a USDA Rural Development Business & Industry (B&I) Loan Guarantee through Freedom Bank. In just 10 years, Hanson Trucking forecasts they will have their $1.7 million B&I loan repaid. CLICK ON THE PHOTO ABOVE to see their story. Rural America Placemaking Toolkit USDA Rural Development has made investments in placemaking since 2020, and entered into a cooperative agreement with University of Kentucky’s Community & Economic Rural Placemaking Living Rivers Development Initiative of Kentucky (CEDIK) in 2022 to host the first ever Placemaking in Small & Rural Communities online conference. The Rural America Placemaking Toolkit is a resource guide to showcase a variety of placemaking activities, projects, and success stories across rural America and help communities understand what it means to have an identity. CEDIK developed this website as a way to highlight the importance of placemaking in rural communities, as well as provide comprehensive resource that will be regularly updated to feature new projects, activities and successes from rural America. Take a look at the Placemaking Toolkit for additional information. CLICK HERE FOR THE PLACEMAKING TOOLKIT Meat & Poultry Intermediary Relending Program Announced The Meat and Poultry Intermediary Lending Program (MPILP) provides grant funding to intermediary lenders who finance – or plan to finance – the start-up, expansion, or operation of slaughter, or other processing of meat and poultry. The objective of the MPILP is to strengthen the financing capacity for independent meat processors, and to create a more resilient, diverse, and secure U.S. food supply chain. Private nonprofit corporations, public agencies, Tribes, and cooperatives that finance – or plan to finance – the start-up, expansion, or operation of meat and poultry processing are eligible to apply. MORE INFO USDA Loan and Grant Opportunities HUD Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program Community Selection U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) HUD will select at least eight rural communities as part of the agency’s Continuum of Care program for ending youth homelessness. Application Deadline: 6/28/2022 Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA Rural Development program which provides loans and grants to Microenterprise Development Organizations to help microenterprises startup/grow through a Rural Microloan Revolving Fund and provide training and technical assistance to microloan borrowers and micro entrepreneurs. Funding Announcement. Application Deadline: 6/30/2022 NEA Grants for Arts Projects National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Through project-based funding, this program supports public engagement with art for projects covering the creation of art, learning in the arts and the integration of the arts into the fabric of community life. Application Deadline: 7/7/2022 Off-Farm MFH Labor Housing Direct Loans and Grants U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA Rural Development offers low interest loans and need-based grants to develop affordable housing primarily for domestic farm laborers. All RD Multifamily Housing Programs and Contacts. Letter of Intent: 7/15/2022 Resident Opportunity and Self Sufficiency Service Coordinator Program U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) HUD grants to fund service coordinators to assist residents of public and Indian housing in making progress towards economic self-sufficiency, including the provision of job training, employment, adult education, housing, and health resources. Application Deadline: 7/18/2022 Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grants U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) HUD program for public housing agencies, governments, tribal entities and nonprofits that support the development of comprehensive plans to revitalize severely distressed public housing and/or HUD-assisted housing and the surrounding neighborhood. Application Deadline: 7/28/2022 NTIA Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program U.S. Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) program to expand middle mile infrastructure and reduce the cost of connecting unserved and underserved areas. Application Deadline: 7/30/2022 OUR TOWN National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) NEA’s creative placemaking grant program offers project-based funding to support activities that integrate arts, culture and design into local efforts that strengthen communities. Application Deadline: 8/22/2022 Multifamily Housing (MFH) Loan Guarantees U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA Rural Development Loan guarantees for qualified private-sector lenders to provide financing to qualified borrowers with the intent of increasing the supply of affordable rental housing for low to moderate income individuals and families in eligible rural areas and towns. Application Deadline: Open USDA Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA Rural Development program to support new investments in infrastructure for food aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storage, transportation, wholesaling, and distribution to increase capacity and create a more resilient, diverse, and secure U.S. food supply chain. Application Deadline: Open Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) HUD loan program that provides Community Development Block Grant recipients with the ability to leverage their annual grant allocation to access low-cost, flexible financing for economic development, housing, and infrastructure projects. Application Deadline: Ongoing Affordable Housing Loans for Low-Income Rural Communities Housing Assistance Council (HAC) HAC offers short-term loans at below market interest rates to local nonprofits, for-profits and government entities that are working to develop affordable housing for low-income, rural communities. Application Deadline: Open U.S. Department of Energy Weatherization Assistance Program U.S. Department of Energy Program to reduce energy costs for low-income households by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes, while ensuring their health and safety. Application Deadline: Open Opportunities for Tribal Communities Native Voices Rising Grants 2022 Native Americans in Philanthropy Common Counsel Foundation’s general operating support grants designed to strengthen Native-led organizations that are improving the lives of their community members. Application Deadline: 7/15/2022 Oweesta Native CDFI Loan Funds and Technical Assistance First Nations Oweesta Corporation Oweesta is an intermediary organization that provides financial products and development services for Native Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). Application Deadline: Ongoing PLANNING: Housing Assistance Council recently announced their rural and tribal housing funding priorities for capacity building, rural rental preservation and rural and tribal homeownership. MORE FUNDING OPPORTUNTIES, INCLUDING THOSE FOR TRIBAL COMMUNITIES, CAN BE FOUND IN THE USDA RD "INNOVATION MATTERS" NEWSLETTER. Resource Guide Resource Guides We have several Resource Guides available which outline USDA RD programs that can help Montana's rural residents, businesses and communities! EDA Joint Planning Resource Guide: PDF High-speed Internet Resources for Rural America: PDF COVID19 Federal Rural Resource Guide: PDF Disaster Resiliency and Recovery Guide:PDF Guía de recursos conjuntos: PDF Joint Childcare Resource Guide: PDF Recreational Economy: PDF Recursos de resistencia y recuperación en caso de desastres: PDF Resources for Rural Entrepreneurs: PDF Rural Workforce Guide: PDF Tribal Report - 2019: PDF June 29: Preparing for ReConnect Round 4 (CLICK TO REGISTER) Upcoming Events Websites You Can Use globe Atlas of Rural and Small-Town America Priority Priority Points (includes info on scoring criterion) Tribal 1 Tribal Treaties Database VA Twitter Account FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: Rural Development -Montana (@RD_Montana) / Twitter Questions? Contact Us 2229 Boot Hill Court Bozeman, MT 59715 Phone: (406) 585-2580 STAY CONNECTED: SUBSCRIBER SERVICES: Manage Preferences | Delete Profile | Help USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. 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