Health Resources and Services Administration

The purpose of this activity is to support grants for the planning and development of new service delivery sites in high poverty counties funded under section 330 of the Public Health Service Act. Each application for grant support to plan and prepare for the development of a new site must identify a population in need of primary health care services. It must propose specific developmental activities that, upon successful completion, would facilitate the establishment of a new health center access point in an underserved high poverty county under the Consolidated Health Center Program, whose purpose is to extend comprehensive high primary and preventative health services and supplemental services to and improve the health status of populations currently without access to such services.

Online, visit
http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?oppId=13049&mode=VIEW

Up to $225,000 per project

The purpose of this program is to support research and analysis into key policy issues affecting rural communities. This program looks at cross cutting rural health and human services issues to identify trends and challenges facing rural communities. Activities emphasize the changing rural environment including, but not limited to, the following:

•  facilitating public dialogue on key rural policy issues by tracking emerging rural health and human services policy issues and synthesizing them in a manner that provides for easy consumption by rural community leaders with particular emphasis on rural health care providers and systems.

•  identifying opportunities for integrating health and human services in rural policy.

•  providing comunity leaders with assistance in examining ways to address rural health and human services workforce needs through institutions such as rural community colleges.

These activities work to educate and inform rural decision makers and policy leaders.

Online, visit
http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?oppId=13534&mode=VIEW

Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service;
U.S. Department of Agriculture

Rural youth encounter economic and physical barriers that prevent them from receiving adequate care, services or resources necessary for healthy development. The Rural Youth Development Grants Program is intended to breakdown barriers to participation, especially for rural youth; enhance opportunities for youth involvement in policy and decision-making; create safe and inviting environments for youth activities; and improve access to information and technology. The overall goal of the program is to provide opportunities for rural youth to improve their own lives and the communities in which they live.

U.S. Department of Education

This program supports local efforts to enhance the oral language, cognitive and early reading skills of preschool age children, especially those from low-income families, through strategies, materials and professional development that are grounded in scientifically-based reading research. The specific activities for which recipients must use grant funds are identified in the program statute, which is included in the application package.

Southern Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education

The objective of the Southern SARE program is to enable the full spectrum of farmers and ranchers to move profitably toward production systems compatible with the concept of sustainable agriculture. Specific program objectives can be found on the call for pre-proposals. Each proposal must address one of the following priority areas:

•  limited resource farmers
•  organic farming systems
•  environmentally sound practices/agricultural ecosystems
•  marketing/economic development
•  policy, program evaluation and quality of life
•  component research
•  women in sustainable agriculture

Southern SARE is particularly interested in funding projects that have social science emphasis.

Online, visit
http://www.southernsare.uga.edu/callpage.htm

Southern Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education

Southern SARE is requesting proposals for graduate student research projects that address issues of sustainable agriculture of current and potential importance to the Southern region and the nation.

Online, visit
http://www.southernsare.uga.edu/callpage.htm

Southern Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education

Southern SARE is requesting pre-proposals for projects of one to two years duration that provide training on sustainable agriculture for agricultural professionals and educators who serve farmers and other interested people in USDA's Southern region. They encourage pre-proposals from land-grant and non land-grant universities, colleges, USDA agencies, community-based organizations and non-governmental organizations. Project outcomes must focus on developing sustainable agriculture systems or moving existing systems toward sustainability and must have a central purpose of providing or enabling training for Cooperative Extension Service agents; USDA field personnel from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Farm Service Agency and other USDA agencies; and other agricultural professionals and educators, including farmers who will serve as trainers.

U.S. Department of Education

This program provides financial assistance to rural districts that lack the personnel and resources to compete effectively for federal competitive grants and that receive formula grant allocations too small to be effective in meeting their intended purposes. Grants are awarded on a formula basis to eligible local educational agencies (LEAs) to address the unique needs of rural school districts.

The purpose is to provide financial assistance to rural districts to assist them in meeting their state's definition of adequate yearly progress (AYP). Applicants do not compete but rather are entitled to funds if they meet basic eligibility requirements. Eligibility is restricted by statute. Awards are issued annually directly to eligible LEAs on a formula basis. Awards are made to all that apply and meet the applicable requirements of the act.

Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service;
U.S. Department of Agriculture

The success of agricultural and rural economies is increasingly dependent on maintaining and expanding domestic and international markets. It is also dependent on the development of new products, production practices, and business and marketing tools and information that enhance efficiency and competitiveness of the producer. The Agricultural Markets and Trade program is designed to maintain and expand domestic and international markets and to identify public policies and private strategies that may be employed to enhance marketing efficiency and the competitiveness of agricultural producers. This program accepts a wide range of applications.

Online, visit
http://www.csrees.usda.gov/fo/fundview.cfm?fonum=1106

Hewlett-Packard

Microenterprise development is a strategy that helps low-income people start or expand very small businesses. HP seeks to advance the use of technology in microenterprise development programs in order to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of small businesses. HP's investments will focus on helping microenterprise development organizations provide technology access for microentrepreneurs and on training for microentrepreneurs in the use of technology to build and grow their businesses.

Online, visit
http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/grants/us/programs/microenterprise/index.html

Business and Cooperative Programs

Rural Cooperative Development grants are made for establishing and operating centers for cooperative development for the primary purpose of improving the economic condition of rural areas through the development of new cooperatives and improving operations of existing cooperatives. Grant funds are provided for the establishment and operation of centers that have the expertise or who can contract out for the expertise to assist individuals or entities in the startup, expansion or operational improvement of cooperative businesses.

Online, visit
http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/coops/rcdg/rcdg.htm

U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service

The purpose of this grant competition is to support efforts by state agencies and their community-based and faith-based partners to develop and implement simple food stamp application and eligibility determinations or to develop measures to improve access to food stamp benefits by eligible applicants. Proposals are sought that would make the entire process, from certification to recertification, easier and more efficient for applicants and participants.

These grants are primarily concerned with improving the quality and efficiency of operations within the food stamp office, such as streamlining office procedures or improving the process through technology, and do not support projects that devote more than 25 percent of the funds to advertising, application assistance, screening, etc.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services;
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Funding opportunities are available for conducting health disparities research affecting Hispanic American communities. CMS seeks competitive applications for small, applied research projects that relate to identifying and evaluating solutions for eliminating health disparities among Hispanic Americans. Investigators should be associated with a university, college, community-based health organization or a professional association that has a health services research component.

Researchers are expected to become involved in the design, implementation and operation of research projects that address health care issues such as financing, delivery, access, quality and barriers affecting the Hispanic American community.

Economic Development Administration;
Department of Commerce

$158 million for Public Works and Economic Development Investments
$27 million for the Planning Program
$8.2 million for the Technical Assistance Program
$44 million for the Economic Adjustment Assistance Program

EDA advances economic growth by assisting communities and regions experiencing chronic high unemployment and low per capita income to create an environment that fosters innovation, promotes entrepreneurship and attracts increased private capital investment. EDA encourages the submission of only those proposals or applications, as appropriate, which will significantly benefit regions with distressed communities. Distress may exist in a variety of forms including high unemployment levels, natural or other major disasters, loss of population, etc.