Rural Business-Cooperative Service, USDA.
Notice.
The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS), an Agency within the USDA Rural Development mission area, announces the availability of two individual grants: one single $500,000 grant from the rural transportation funds appropriated for the Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) program and another single $250,000 grant for Federally Recognized Native American Tribes (FRNAT) from funds appropriated for the RBEG program. RBS will administer these awards under the Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) program and 7 U.S.C. 1932(c)(2) for fiscal year (FY) 2012. Each grant is to be competitively awarded to an eligible applicant which historically has been a qualified national non-profit organization. One grant is for the provision of technical assistance to rural transportation (RT) projects and that the other grant will be for the provision of technical assistance to RT projects operated by FRNATs only.
Expenses incurred in developing applications will be at the applicant's risk.
The deadline for receipt of applications in the USDA Rural Development State Office is no later than 4:30 p.m. (local time) on April 2, 2012. Applications received at a USDA Rural Development State Office after that date will not be considered for FY 2012 funding.
Entities wishing to apply for assistance should contact the appropriate USDA Rural Development State Office to receive copies of the application package. A list of the USDA Rural Development State Offices addresses and telephone numbers are as follows:
For additional information, please contact the appropriate USDA Rural Development State Office as provided in the
The RBEG program is authorized by section 310B(c) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (CONACT) (7 U.S.C. 1932(c)). Regulations are contained in 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G. The primary objective of the program is to improve the economic conditions of rural areas. The program is administered on behalf of RBS at the State level by the USDA Rural Development State Offices. Assistance provided to rural areas under the Programs may include the provision of on-site technical assistance to local and regional governments, public transit agencies, and related non-profit and for-profit organizations in rural areas; the development of training materials; and the provision of necessary training assistance to local officials and agencies in rural areas.
Awards under the RBEG passenger transportation program will be made on a competitive basis using specific selection criteria contained in 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G, and in accordance with section 310B(c)(2) of the CONACT. Information required to be in the application package includes Forms SF 424, “Application for Federal Assistance;” RD 1940–20, “Request for Environmental Information;” Scope of Work Narrative; Income Statement; Balance Sheet or Audit for previous 3 years; AD–1047, “Debarment/Suspension Certification;” AD–1048, “Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion;” AD–1049, “Certification Regarding Drug-Free Workplace Requirements;” SF LLL, “Disclosure of Lobbying Activities;” RD 400–1, “Equal Opportunity Agreement;” RD 400–4, “Assurance Agreement;” a letter stating Board authorization to obtain assistance; and a letter certifying citizenship, as referenced in 7 CFR 1942.307(b). For the FRNAT grant, which must benefit Federally Recognized Native American Tribes, at least 75 percent of the benefits of the project must be received by members of Federally Recognized
Applicants must be qualified national non-profit organizations with experience in providing technical assistance and training to rural communities for the purpose of improving passenger transportation service or facilities. To be considered “national,” RBS requires a qualified organization to provide evidence that it operates rural transportation assistance programming in multiple States. There is not a requirement to use the grant funds in a multi-State area. Grants will be made to qualified national non-profit organizations for the provision of technical assistance and training to rural communities for the purpose of improving passenger transportation services or facilities.
The definitions are published at 7 CFR 1942.304.
To be considered eligible, an entity must be a qualified national non-profit organization serving rural areas. Grants will be competitively awarded to qualified national non-profit organizations.
Matching funds are not required.
Applications will only be accepted from qualified national non-profit organizations to provide technical assistance for rural transportation.
Applications will not be considered for funding if they do not provide sufficient information to determine eligibility or are missing required elements. If due to a change made in the appropriation, additional information is needed, then applicants that submitted complete applications prior to the application deadline will be provided additional time in which to provide that information.
For further information, entities wishing to apply for assistance should contact the USDA Rural Development State Office provided in the
Applicants are encouraged to submit applications through the Grants.gov Web site at:
• When you enter the Grants.gov Web site, you will find information about submitting an application electronically through the site as well as the hours of operation. USDA Rural Development strongly recommends that you begin the application process through Grants.gov in sufficient time to complete the application before the deadline date.
• You may submit all documents electronically through the Web site, including all information typically included on the application and all necessary assurances and certifications.
• After electronically submitting an application through the Web site, the applicant will receive an automatic acknowledgement from Grants.gov that contains a Grants.gov tracking number.
• USDA Rural Development may request that the applicant provide original signatures on forms at a later date.
• If applicants experience technical difficulties on the closing date and are unable to meet the deadline, you may submit a paper copy of your application to your respective Rural Development State Office. Paper applications submitted to a Rural Development State Office must meet the closing date and local time deadline.
• Please note that applicants can locate the downloadable application package for this program by the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number or FedGrants Funding Opportunity Number, which can be found at
An application must contain all of the required elements. Each application received in a USDA Rural Development State Office will be reviewed to determine if it is consistent with the eligible purposes contained in section 310B(c)(2) of the CONACT. Each selection priority criterion outlined in 7 CFR 1942.305(b)(3), must be addressed in the application. Failure to address any of the criteria will result in a zero-point score for that criterion and will impact the overall evaluation of the application. Copies of 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G, will be provided by any interested applicant making a request to a USDA Rural Development State Office provided in the
All projects to receive technical assistance through these passenger transportation grant funds are to be identified when the applications are submitted to the USDA Rural Development State Office. Multiple project applications must identify each individual project, indicate the amount of funding requested for each individual project, and address the criteria as stated above for each individual project.
For multiple-project applications, the average of the individual project scores will be the score for that application.
RBS will score applications based on the grant selection criteria and weights contained in 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G and will select a grantee subject to the grantee's satisfactory submission of the additional items required by 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G and the USDA Rural Development Letter of Conditions.
Successful applicants will receive notification for funding from the USDA Rural Development State Office. Applicants must comply with all applicable statutes and regulations before the grant award will be approved. Unsuccessful applications will receive notification by mail. Grantees must further comply with applicable
For general questions about this announcement, please contact your USDA Rural Development State Office provided in the
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, the paperwork burden has been cleared by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under OMB Control Number 0570–0022.
All applicants, in accordance with 2 CFR part 25, must have a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number, which can be obtained at no cost via a toll-free request line at 1–(866) 705–5711 or online at
Similarly, in accordance with 2 CFR part 25, all applicants must be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) prior to submitting an application. Applicants may register for the CCR at
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape,
To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Stop 9410, Washington, DC 20250–9410 or call toll-free at (866) 632–9992 (English) or (800) 877–8339 (TTD) or (866) 377–8642 (English Federal-relay) or (800) 845–6136 (Spanish Federal-relay). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.