1,000+ Opportunities
Find the right grant
Search federal, foundation, and corporate grants with AI — or browse by agency, topic, and state.
Rural Business Development Grants (RBDG) is sponsored by USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS). The RBDG program offers grants to public entities, Indian Tribes, and nonprofit entities serving rural areas. These grants can be used for technical assistance and training for small rural businesses, supporting entrepreneurship, and community-based economic strategies.
This could include activities that support business succession and entrepreneurship through acquisition in rural communities.
Get a weekly digest of new grants like this
A free weekly digest of new foundation and federal funding opportunities as they're added to Granted. Unsubscribe anytime.
Or search similar grants →According to the current listing, eligibility includes: Public entities, Indian Tribes, and nonprofit entities primarily serving rural areas. Businesses must have fewer than 50 new employees and less than $1 million in gross revenue. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
Rural Business Development Grants (RBDG) is funded by USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS). Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
Start from the official opportunity page linked in this listing — it carries the sponsor's submission instructions.
Past winners and funding trends for this program
While applicants chase fixed federal deadlines, USDA Rural Development keeps roughly $4.1 billion moving through programs with no deadline at all — Community Facilities, Water & Waste Disposal, and Business & Industry loans that accept applications year-round. But 2026 brought a quiet shake-up: REAP grants paused, RBDG's competitive window closed. Here is the map of what's open, what's frozen, and how rural organizations should work a rolling pipeline.
Read articleUSDA opened a $27.7M Rural Business Development Grant NOFO on May 18 with two deadlines two weeks apart. The June 15 Strategic Economic and Community Development carve-out and the June 30 main pool fund different applicants under different scoring — and most rural cooperatives apply to the wrong one.
Read articleUSDA's FY2026 Rural Business Development Grant NOFO funds technical assistance and small-business support in rural communities under 50,000 residents — but the two-deadline structure (June 15 for Strategic Economic and Community Development applications, June 30 for everyone else), the enterprise vs. opportunity split, and the pass-through grantee model are what shape competitive proposals.
Read article