Building Entrepreneurial Communities Grants...

Action Alert -- Economic Development Opportunity!

If you live in Nebraska, you have until February 9, 2007, to apply for a Building Entrepreneurial Communities (BECA) grant.

If you live anywhere else, perhaps you should contact your state legislator and urge them to sponsor legislation to create the same kind of grant program in your state...

The purpose of the Building Entrepreneurial Communities Program is to support economically depressed rural areas of Nebraska in building entrepreneurial communities through grants that will create community capacity to build and sustain programs to generate and retain wealth in the community and region.

The Department of Economic Development (DED), with assistance provided by the Rural Development Commission (RDC), has established a grant process to provide grants to two or more municipalities or counties that are collaborating on a project related to the purpose of the Building Entrepreneurial Communities Program with priority given to projects that best alleviate chronic economic distress.

Eligible applicants include every local government (municipality or county). Two or more local governments must collaborate on the project. At least one of the local governments must have chronic economic distress as indicated by:

1. An unemployment rate which exceeds the statewide average unemployment rate;
2. A per capita income below the statewide average per capita income; or
3. A population loss between the two most recent federal decennial censuses.

Note: see section following the Application Form for the distress criteria information

Eligible activities must be projects that address one (or more) of the following:

1. Provide education and technical assistance to energize small business development and entrepreneurship;
2. Provide technical assistance to facilitate small business transfer;
3. Build community business capacity and leadership programs;
4. Generate opportunities that will attract and retain young people and families;
5. Provide education about philanthropy and intergenerational transfer of wealth; and
6. Build community endowments to support these activities.

for more information, got to www.cfra.org/pdf/ActionAlert_BECA020907.pdf

...post a comment here or contact John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org

Center for Rural Affairs
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