Rural Community Development Initiative (RCDI)

Who may apply for this program:
-Public bodies
-Nonprofit organizations
-Qualified Private (for-profit) Organizations

The recipient and beneficiary, but not the intermediary, must be located in an eligible rural area. The physical location of the recipient’s office that will be receiving the financial and technical assistance must be in an eligible rural area. If the recipient is a low-income community, the median household income of the area where the office is located must be at or below 80 percent of the State or national median household income, whichever is higher. The applicable Rural Development State Office can assist in determining the eligibility of an area.

Applicants must meet all of the following eligibility requirements by the application deadline. Applications which fail to meet any of these requirements by the application deadline will be deemed ineligible and will not be evaluated further, and will not receive a Federal award.

Eligible Applicants:
(a) Qualified private organizations, nonprofit organizations (including faith-based and community organizations and philanthropic foundations), in accordance with 7 CFR part 16, and public (including tribal) intermediary organizations are eligible applicants.

(b) The recipient must be a nonprofit community-based housing and development organization, low-income rural community, or federally recognized tribe based on the RCDI definitions of these groups.

(c) Private nonprofit, faith or community-based organizations must provide a certificate of incorporation and good standing from the Secretary of the State of incorporation, or other similar and valid documentation of current nonprofit status. For low-income rural community recipients, the Agency requires evidence that the entity is a public body and census data verifying that the median household income of the community where the office receiving the financial and technical assistance is located is at, or below, 80 percent of the State or national median household income, whichever is higher. For federally recognized tribes, the Agency needs the page listing their name from the current Federal Register list of tribal entities recognized and eligible for funding services.

(d) Any corporation that (1) has been convicted of a felony criminal violation under any Federal law within the past 24 months or (2) has any unpaid Federal tax liability that has been assessed, for which all judicial and administrative remedies have been exhausted or have lapsed, and that is not being paid in a timely manner pursuant to an agreement with the authority responsible for collecting the tax liability; is not eligible for financial assistance provided with full-year appropriated funds for Fiscal Year 2020, unless a Federal agency has considered suspension or debarment of the corporation and has made a determination that this further action is not necessary to protect the interests of the Government.

The following is a list of ineligible grant uses:
(a) Pass-through grants, and any funds provided to the recipient in a lump sum that are not reimbursements.
(b) Funding a revolving loan fund (RLF).
(c) Construction (in any form).
(d) Salaries for positions involved in construction, renovations, rehabilitation, and any oversight of these types of activities.
(e) Intermediary preparation of strategic plans for recipients.
(f) Funding prostitution, gambling, or any illegal activities.
(g) Grants to individuals.
(h) Funding a grant where there may be a conflict of interest, or an appearance of a conflict of interest, involving any action by the Agency.
(i) Paying obligations incurred before the beginning date without prior Agency approval or after the ending date of the grant agreement.
(j) Purchasing real estate.
(k) Improvement or renovation of the grantee’s or recipient’s office space or for the repair or maintenance of privately owned vehicles.
(l) Any purpose prohibited in 2 CFR part 200 or 400.
(m) Using funds for recipient’s general operating costs.
(n) Using grant or matching funds for Individual Development Accounts.
(o) Purchasing vehicles.

Completed applications must be submitted on paper or electronically according to the following deadlines:
The Agency must receive a paper application by 4:00 p.m. local time, March 29, 2021. Electronic applications must be submitted via Grants.gov by Midnight Eastern time on March 22, 2021.

Applicants intending to mail applications must provide sufficient time to permit delivery on or before the closing deadline date and time.

Matching funds are cash or confirmed funding commitments that must be at least equal to the grant amount and
committed for a period of not less than the grant performance period. These funds can only be used for eligible RCDI
activities and must be used to support the overall purpose of the RCDI program. In-kind contributions such as salaries,
donated time and effort, real and nonexpendable personal property and goods and services cannot be used as matching funds.

An applicant, unless excepted under 2 CFR 25.110(b), (c), or (d), is required to:
(a) Be registered in SAM before submitting its application;
(b) Provide a valid DUNS number in its application; and
(c) Continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active Federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a Federal awarding agency.

View this opportunity on Grants.gov: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=330821

For a list of application documents, see the Package tab (press Preview) on the Grants.gov page above.