The primary purpose of the RBEG is to support the development of small and emerging private business enterprises in rural areas (less than 50,000 population). In Alaska there is only one area where the population exceeds this limit, the Municipality of Anchorage. However, non-profits based in Anchorage can still apply for funding as long as proposed activities support small business development in rural areas.

The RBEG is governed by RD Instruction 1942-G (attached).  Within this regulation you can find the project selection process which is the criteria upon which funding decisions are made (pages 5-7). Competitive applications most often satisfy as many of the selection criteria items as possible. It is understandable that most applications cannot address every scoring item but successful applicants can achieve a significant amount.

Eligible applicants are non-profits and public bodies (public bodies include States, counties, cities, townships, and incorporated town and villages, boroughs, authorities, districts, and Indian tribes on Federal and State reservations and other Federally recognized Indian Tribal groups in rural areas).

Eligible recipients (those for whom the funds are ultimately used for) are small businesses that have (or will have) under 50 employees and less than $1 million in gross revenue.

Last year our office supported various applicants with a wide range of projects. Some examples include:

• The UAF Bristol Bay Campus performing local energy audits and renewable energy development technical assistance in the Dillingham area ($88K)

• A Ketchikan Gateway Borough project that offered technical assistance to those interest in starting up and expanding small businesses ($99K)

• The Juneau Economic Development Council's project that offered consulting and coaching to small business owners ($35K)

• Alaska Manufacturing Extension Partnership's project that used cold storage travel containers to deliver local foods in distant parts of the state and country ($71K)

In most cases competitive applications will have immediate economic impacts and are less than $100K. Of the nine projects supported in Alaska last fiscal year, only one request exceeded $100K. The median score of last fiscal year's funded applications was 103.8

To visit the USDA Rural Development website CLICK HERE.

Those who would like to submit an application for these funds should have their submissions into this office by close of business on

April 15, 2010.

The State Office information is as follows:

USDA Rural Development

Attention: Chad Stovall

800 West Evergreen, Suite 201

Palmer, AK 99645

Phone: (907) 761-7718

Fax: (907) 761-7793

If you have questions or would like to discuss the RBEG application process further, please feel free to contact me at your convenience. The forwarding of this information to any and all parties is highly encouraged and would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

J. Chad Stovall

Business & Energy Programs Specialist

USDA Rural Development | Alaska State Office

800 W. Evergreen, Ste 201 | Palmer, AK 99645

Phone: (907) 761-7718 | Fax: (907) 761-7793

chad.stovall@ak.usda.gov