USDA Funding for Rural Education
Did you know that there’s a funding program out there that almost any rural educator can use?
It’s called the Community Facilities Program from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and it’s available to public and private K12 schools, colleges, universities, and even libraries. The Community Facilities Program is widely underutilized, and your institution may be eligible to capture a grant or loan.
How does the program work?
The USDA Rural Development website states, “Essential community infrastructure is key in ensuring that rural areas enjoy the same basic quality of life and services enjoyed by those in urban areas. Community Facilities Programs offer direct loans, loan guarantees and grants to develop or improve essential public services and facilities in communities across rural America.”
Scenario 1: You are the superintendent of a rural, public school district. Your existing gym facility was constructed before Title 9, and the growing number of sports programs has made scheduling practices and games more complicated. Since COVID-19, scheduling has become nearly impossible. It’s time for a new gym. But with a limited budget, you’ll have to find a creative solution.
The primary contingency of the Community Facilities Program is that your new athletic events space meets a community need. Consider equipping your facility with a generator so that it can double as a storm shelter. Maybe you design your facility to operate as an emergency vaccine clinic in the case of another pandemic. In either situation, you would likely receive funding from USDA.
Does this program only fund athletic spaces?
As long as your project solves a problem within your community—whether that’s limited childcare, food scarcity, or health crises—it will likely be eligible for funding.
Scenario 2: Areas all over the country are facing housing shortages exacerbated by limited construction labor and supply chain issues. As the dean of a rural community college, you can build student apartments on campus using USDA Community Facilities Program funding to relieve local housing shortages.
Can USDA funding impact my district’s bond issue?
There may be a way to use Community Facilities Program funding in conjunction with bond issues to reduce the timeframe on your district’s bond tax.
Scenario 3: USDA funding for your rural school district came in after the bond vote. Your district can use USDA funds to decrease the time your community is paying off that bond from, say, 25 years to 20.
How can I learn more about USDA Community Facilities Program funding opportunities?
C2AE has decades of experience helping clients navigate complex federal funding requirements with ease. We can work with you to identify opportunities for improvement at your school or library and determine how the right project can solve a need within your community.
