Rural Business-Cooperative Service, USDA.
Notice.
This Notice announces the funds available for loans and grants under the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP) pursuant to 7 CFR part 4280, subpart D for fiscal year (FY) 2013.
The minimum loan amount a Microenterprise Development Organization (MDO) may borrow under this program is $50,000. The maximum loan any MDO may borrower in any given year is $500,000. The maximum amount of Technical Assistance (TA)-only grants in FY 2013 is $30,000 per grantee and total TA-only grants funding will not exceed 10 percent of
All applicants are responsible for any expenses incurred in developing their applications.
Applications will be accepted on a quarterly basis using Federal fiscal quarters; however the June 30, 2013, quarterly deadline is extended to September 13, 2013. Completed applications must be received in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development State Offices no later than the deadline of September 13, 2013, to be considered for funds available in FY 2013. Applications received after a Federal fiscal quarter deadline will be reviewed and evaluated for funding in the next Federal fiscal quarter. Completed applications received after September 13, 2013, may be considered for funding in FY 2013 subject to the availability of funds or will be considered for funds available in FY 2014.
Applications and forms may be obtained from any Rural Development State Office. Applicants must submit an original complete application to the USDA Rural Development State Office in the State where the applicant's headquarters is located. A list of the USDA Rural Development State Offices addresses and telephone numbers are listed below.
Telephone numbers listed are not toll-free.
For further information on this Notice, please contact the USDA Rural Development State Office for your respective State, as provided in the
This document has been reviewed in accordance with 7 CFR part 1940, subpart G, “Environmental Program.” Rural Development has determined that this action does not constitute a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, and in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., an Environmental Impact Statement is not required.
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, the paperwork burden associated with this Notice has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under OMB Control Number 0570–0062.
A.
Assistance provided to rural areas under this program may include the provision of loans and grants to rural MDOs for the provision of microloans to rural microenterprises and microentrepreneurs; provision of business-based training and technical assistance to rural microborrowers and potential microborrowers; and other such activities as deemed appropriate by the Secretary to ensure the development and ongoing success of rural microenterprises.
B.
C.
A.
B.
C.
Technical Assistance (TA) Only Grants: $300,000.
Microlender TA Grants; $1,209,696.97.
Loans: $10,714,916.38.
D.
E.
• Fourth Quarter, August 31, 2013.
In the event some program funds allocated for a particular quarter of FY 2013 are not obligated, the remaining unobligated funds will be carried over to the next Federal fiscal quarter. Any FY 2013 funds not obligated under this Notice will be carried over into FY 2014.
A.
Applications from corporate applicants, submitted under this Notice must include Form AD 3030, “Representations Regarding Felony Conviction and Tax Delinquent Status for Corporate Applicants.” Awards to corporate applicants, under this Notice will be required to sign Form AD 3031, “Assurance Regarding Felony Conviction or Tax Delinquent Status for Corporate Applicants.”
B.
C.
D.
E.
A.
Loan applications must be submitted in paper format. Grant applications may be submitted in either paper or electronic format via Grants.gov. If applications are submitted in paper format, they must be bound in a 3-ring binder and must be organized in the same order set forth in 7 CFR 4280.315. To ensure timely delivery, applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their applications using an overnight, express, or parcel delivery service.
Applicants are encouraged to submit grant only applications through the Grants.gov Web site at:
When applicants enter the Grants.gov Web site, they will find information about submitting a grant application electronically through the site as well as the hours of operation. Applicants may submit all documents electronically through the Web site, including all information required for a complete grant application and all necessary assurances and certifications under 7 CFR 4280.315. 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.
Please note that applicants can locate the downloadable application package for this program by the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number, which is 10.870, or FedGrants Funding Opportunity Number, which can be found at
B.
C.
Unless withdrawn by the applicant, completed applications that receive a score of at least 70 (the minimum required to be considered for funding), but have not yet been funded, will be retained by the Agency for consideration in subsequent reviews through a total of four consecutive quarterly reviews. Applications that remain unfunded after four quarterly reviews, including the initial quarter in which the application was competed, will not be considered further for an award.
Awards under this Notice will be made on a competitive basis each Federal fiscal quarter. Each application received in the USDA Rural Development State Office will be reviewed, scored, and ranked to determine if it is consistent with the program requirements. Applications will be scored based on the applicable scoring criteria contained in 7 CFR 4280.316. Failure to address any of the applicable scoring criteria will result in a zero-point score for that section. An application must receive at least 70 points to be considered for funding in the quarter in which it is scored.
In accordance with 7 CFR 4280–D, section 4280.313(b)(2), “Microlender Technical Assistance (TA) grants will be limited to an amount equal to not more than 25 percent of the total outstanding balance of microloans made under this program and active by the microlender as of the date the grant is awarded for the first $400,000 plus an additional 5 percent of the loan amount owed by the microborrowers to the lender under this program over $400,000 up to and including $2.5 million. Funds cannot be used to pay off the loans. Any grant dollars obligated, but not spent, from the initial grant, will be subtracted from the subsequent year grant to ensure that obligations cover only microloans made and active.”
To determine the Microlender TA Grant awards for FY 2013, the Agency will use the Microlender's outstanding balance of microloans as of June 30, 2013, to calculate this amount. MDO's that are eligible for an annual grant may apply.
Awards will be determined non-competitively based on Agency appropriations for the fiscal year. The MDO must submit a prescribed worksheet listing outstanding balance of their microloans and unexpended grant funds as of the date of their request, a signed SF 424 and a letter certifying that their organization still meets all the requirements set forth in 7 CFR 4280 and that no significant changes have occurred within the last year that would affect its ability to carry out their MDO functions. In addition, all MDOs who request Subsequent Annual Microlender Technical Assistance Grants must complete their reporting into the Lenders Interactive Network Connection (LINC) for the Federal fiscal quarter ending June 30, 2013. The application deadline for this assistance is no later than 4:30 p.m. (local time) on July 31, 2013.
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 award will be approved. Unsuccessful applications will receive notification by mail.
For general questions about this Notice, please contact your USDA Rural Development State Office as provided in the Addresses section of this Notice.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination against its customers, employees, and applicants for employment on the bases of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, gender identity, religion, reprisal, and where applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial or parental status, sexual orientation, or all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program, or protected genetic information in employment or in any program or activity conducted or funded by the Department. (Not all prohibited bases will apply to all programs and/or employment activities.)
If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination, complete the
Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities and you wish to file either an EEO or program complaint please contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877–8339 or (800) 845–6136 (in Spanish).
Persons with disabilities, who wish to file a program complaint, please see information above on how to contact us by mail directly or by email. If you require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) please contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice and TDD).