About $45 million will be awarded nationwide, and the first deadline for
RMAP applications is July 16. Although there will be future funding rounds,
it is likely that the availability of funds will shrink and the competition
for funds will increase, so prospective RMAP applicants are strongly
encouraged to apply by the first deadline, August 16 (previously July 16).
If you were thinking about applying for USDA Rural Development’s newly-minted RMAP program, but missed the July 16 application deadline, take heart. USDA has decided to re-open the first round application period, with
the new deadline of August 16, 2010:
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-18639.pdf
(If August 16 is still too soon for you, the next deadline after August 16
will be September 30; and thereafter, quarterly applications may be
submitted.)
For those of you who have been following the RMAP story closely, you may be
interested to know that the number of applications received nationwide by
the initially-set July 16 deadline for the RMAP Loan program total was LESS
than the loan funds available. By contrast, the RMAP “TA-Only” Grant
program is heavily oversubscribed, so new applications for these grants will
be entering an already very competitive field.
USDA Rural Development recently unveiled its Rural Microentrepreneur
Assistance Program (RMAP). This program provides low interest loans to
capitalize microloan funds and provides technical assistance grants to
support such funds; there is also a small grant-only program to support
technical assistance delivery to microenterprises in need of such financing.
Nonprofits, tribes, and institutions of higher learning are eligible for
RMAP assistance. Public bodies and local governments are NOT eligible for
this program.
Details about the new program first appeared in the Federal Register as a
notice inviting applications on June 3, and as an interim final rule on May
28. You can find links to both of these key documents here:
http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/or/rmap.htm
An announcement from USDA Rural Development regarding the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP) Program: