RALEIGH – There’s a new source of funding support for rural economic development, and the program is now accepting applications, the North Carolina Department of Commerce announced today.

The $48 million fund, known as the Rural Transformation Grant Fund, is administered through the Rural Economic Development Division.

“As we emerge from the pandemic, we must help our rural communities become stronger, vibrant, and resilient places to live and work,” said North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper in a statement.  “This new fund will supply both grants and expertise to help transform and expand our rural economies.”

The fund will award grants across four categories, selecting from applications from local governments that are “seeking to overcome challenges that limit their economic competitiveness,” according to the statement.

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Categories of funding

The categories are:

  1. Downtown Revitalization, which supports downtown development initiatives;
  2. Resilient Neighborhoods, which will offer grants that the Department of Commerce noted in a statement will be “focused on community development and quality of life improvements, such as eliminating food deserts, creating healthy living initiatives, and increasing access to affordable housing options, among other initiatives.”
  3. Community Enhancements for Economic Growth, for local governments to “smooth the way for economic development opportunities, such as the acquisition of land and buildings, the preparation of business sites, and the removal of structural and physical barriers that may be limiting development,” according to the statement.

The final category, known as the Rural Community Capacity, or RC2 for shorthand, will begin as a pilot initiative in partnership with Appalachian State University’s Walker College of Business, the Department of Commerce statement noted.  This initiative will involve “educational programming, technical assistance, and focused guidance to local government staff in rural and distressed communities,” the statement said.

The Department of Commerce maintains a focus on assisting communities across the state in preparing for economic growth, North Carolina Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders said in the statement.  The Department of Commerce launched a digital tool in 2021, for instance, that aimed to spur “Main Street” economic activity.

“Now, with the Rural Transformation Grant Fund in place, we can tap additional resources to turbocharge the approaches we know work well and that can take rural North Carolina to the next level of prosperity,” Sanders said.

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