Rural Business Development Grant (RBDG)
Status not published
Applications are submitted to the USDA Rural Development state office; deadlines are set state by state, historically with a late winter or early spring cutoff (commonly 28 February or 31 March).
There is no fixed maximum, but smaller requests are more competitive - enterprise grants have commonly run $10,000-$500,000. Funds pass through a public body, non-profit or tribe to assist small and emerging rural businesses.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development
public · national
Deadline: annual_call — Applications are submitted to the USDA Rural Development state office; deadlines are set state by state, historically with a late winter or early spring cutoff (commonly 28 February or 31 March).
This funder does not publish a success rate. We rank it using the rate observed across similar programmes and label it as an estimate rather than implying we know.
Quick — mostly identity and bank details.
Who can apply
- Up to 50 employees
- micro enterprises
- Sectors: any, agri
- Stage: idea, pre_seed, seed
- Locally registered entity required
The applicant must be a public body, non-profit or tribe; the beneficiary must be a 'small and emerging' rural business with fewer than 50 new employees and under $1 million in gross revenue, located in a rural area (generally under 50,000 population).
How to apply
- Contact your USDA Rural Development state office to confirm the current deadline
- Partner with an eligible applicant - a rural public body, non-profit corporation, higher education institution or federally recognised tribe
- Submit the application to the state office
Source. https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/business-programs/rural-business-development-grants — checked 2026-08-14 · not human-checked