Rural Development Grants

This week I received some information from our local Rural Development office about possible funding opportunities for our project. According to their literature, the Rural Development Community Facilities Program offers low-interest loans and grants to improve projects that serve the community. Among the groups eligible for funding are non-profit organizations and community groups.

The literature specifically mentions funding available for community gardens, to purchase real estate or develop infrastructure to connect to water and provide irrigation.

Rural Development is holding a Question and Answer session at the Finger Lakes Institute in Geneva, NY next Tuesday. I plan on attending to find out more about our eligibility.


Update 2/24/2012  --- I received an email today from our local Rural Development office in Canandaigua, notifying me that there is currently no funding available through RD for recreational projects like community gardens. 

Well, it's a big world out there, so we'll just keep searching :)