USDA Rural Development · Economic Development
Rural Business Development Grants (RBDG)
Grants for technical assistance, training, and other activities that support small and emerging businesses in rural areas. Cities and tribes can apply on behalf of their business communities.
Program facts
- Typical award
- $10K – $500K
- Non-federal match
- Varies by NOFO
- Audience
- Cities, towns, counties, and tribal governments
- Application window
- Annual; typically opens fall.
- Typical prep time
- 6–12 weeks
- Statutory authority
- Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act §310B
Catalog entry last verified 2026-05-24 · Verify on the agency page →
Eligibility at a glance
- Cities are eligible applicants.
- Rural eligibility: population under 50,000 (USDA threshold).
- Population ceiling: no more than 50,000.
Rural areas; may extend to communities up to 50,000 outside MSAs. Amounts and timing approximate; verify directly with administering agency.
How Strategic Pursuit scores this program
When you run a city dossier, Strategic Pursuit cross-checks the city's demographics, federal award history, disaster history, and CEJST burden categories against this program's eligibility and strategic-fit signals. You see an explicit eligibility / strategic / competitive grade — backed by source citations — instead of a generic "match" badge.
Planning purposes only. Award ranges, match percentages, and application windows on this page summarize the latest publicly available agency guidance and are approximate. Always verify the binding NOFO on the administering agency's page before applying.