Helping Hand – USDA Rural Development

Occasionally Rural Resurrection will highlight sources of technical or financial assistance in our “Helping Hand” posts. Although many of these sources may be well known, it’s a good idea to check in on them once in a while. These helping hands may have new services that have become available since last check. It’s also possible that their website may also be highlighting a project that piques your interest.

As a young whippersnapper in the summer of 1998 I took an internship with the USDA Rural Development office in Atlantic, Iowa. My official title was “Housing Specialist”. Basically, this just meant that I did all the housing-related stuff the regular staff didn’t want to do. I conducted housing comparable studies, assisted in application reviews, and inspected recently abandoned houses (oh the stories…). That was until they found out how much of a computer geek I was.

They decided to send me around to the other western Iowa offices updating the Windows operating systems of staff computers.

I barely knew anything about USDA Rural Development before I started. But I walked away from that job and back to Ames that fall with a greater knowledge of what they were about. I also held a greater respect for what they do to help the rural Midwest.

USDA-RD provides funding in a variety of ways that can help out small towns. Loans and grants are available to communities for community facilities, water and waste disposal, and business development assistance.

Additionally, residents can take advantage of funding for buying or building home. There is also funding to repair or rehabilitate housing. Applicants do have to meet specific guidelines of course, but the hoops to jump through are often worth it. Although the housing programs are directed towards private applicants, the funding helps communities as well. Whether it is for the repair of existing housing stock, or adding to it with a construction loan, the property tax base of a community benefits.

The best thing to do is to have a few of their brochures available in a rack at City Hall. Although you can print the brochures from USDA-RD website, your local USDA office may be open to sending a few professionally printed copies.

Regardless if you have USDA-RD flyers out or flyers from some other assistance entity, it is good to have something readily available for those residents in need of help.