USDA Opens FY2026 Rural Microentrepreneur Grants and Loans Up to $500K
February 26, 2026 · 2 min read
David Almeida
The USDA's Rural Business-Cooperative Service published a Notice of Funding Opportunity on February 25 for the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program, opening the door for nonprofits, tribes, and universities to channel federal dollars to the smallest businesses in rural America.
RMAP targets microenterprises — businesses with 10 or fewer full-time employees in communities of 50,000 or less. The program doesn't fund businesses directly. Instead, it funds Microenterprise Development Organizations (MDOs) that provide training, technical assistance, and microloans to rural entrepreneurs.
Two Funding Tracks
Grants of up to $100,000 per year support technical assistance programs — business planning, financial literacy, marketing, and management training for rural microentrepreneurs. MDOs must provide at least 15% in matching funds.
Loans of $50,000 to $500,000 establish revolving microloan funds that MDOs use to make small loans to individual businesses. Those microloans can cover working capital, equipment, supplies, real estate improvements, or debt refinancing.
Applicants can also submit combined grant-and-loan applications.
Who Should Apply
Eligible MDOs include 501(c)(3) nonprofits, federally recognized tribes, and institutions of higher education with a track record of serving rural microenterprises. The program is administered through USDA Rural Development state offices.
The full NOFO is available on Grants.gov under Funding Opportunity Number RD-RBCS-26-RMAP (Assistance Listing 10.870).
A Note on Future Notices
USDA flagged that this may be the last year the RMAP funding opportunity appears in the Federal Register. In future years, announcements will only be posted on the agency website and Grants.gov. Organizations that rely on Federal Register alerts should update their monitoring accordingly — or use a discovery tool like Granted to catch opportunities as they post.