Mission
Rural Development invests and provides resources to rural communities helps drive economic security and prosperity. RD fosters economic development by providing loans, grants, and technical assistance to build critical infrastructure like broadband, water systems, and hospitals. Since 2009, Rural Development has financed nearly 8,000 community facilities projects, helped save or create more than 375,000 rural jobs, aided nearly 75,000 rural businesses, improved rural electric infrastructure for more than 25 million rural residents, and supported more than 5,500 distance learning and telemedicine projects.
Designated Services
Designated Services
Filing an application under the OneRD Guarantee Loan Initiative
Launched in 2020, the OneRD Guarantee Loan Initiative provides government-backed loans through commercial lenders to rural small business owners, agricultural producers, community organizations, utility providers, and municipalities seeking to develop a project who may have challenges securing a loan without a guarantee. The OneRD initiative streamlines and standardizes the application process required to access four of RD’s flagship loan programs: the Business and Industry (B&I) Guaranteed Loan Program, Community Facilities (CF) Guaranteed Loan Program, Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Loan Guarantees, and Water and Waste Disposal (WWD) Loan Guarantees Programs. RD guarantees over $2 billion annually, fostering private investment in rural businesses and economic development.
Receiving technical assistance for broadband deployment
Through the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), RD provides hundreds of millions of dollars annually to support modern broadband e-Connectivity in rural communities. In 2018, RUS introduced the ReConnect Program, which has invested over $1 billion to expand high-speed broadband infrastructure in unserved rural areas and tribal lands. RUS is focused on funding quality, high-speed, affordable, and reliable broadband infrastructure that is deployed to rural Americans, and RUS meets this mission by providing technical assistance throughout the customer journey, including workshops, 1:1 assistance, and other resources.
Action Plans
2022 Action Plan commitments are detailed in Executive Order 14058