Rural Business Assistance for Nevadans

RuBA provides business training, mentorship, and funding up to $25K

Program to be delivered in English and Spanish

The Audacity Institute is accepting applications for the Rural Business Assistance Program (RuBA). to support small business, startups, side gigs or an amazing business idea.

Participants in the RuBA program will receive loans that will be forgiven upon completion of a nine-month online business training and mentorship program through the Audacity Institute.

“The RuBA program was designed to provide funding and support for business owners and those with amazing ideas,” said Danielle Rees from the Audacity Institute. “Audacity will provide mentoring and business training with peer support from a cohort of other Nevada rural business owners. The virtual training will require just a three-hour commitment per month over the nine-month program.”

Funds of up to $25,000 will be deposited in October after the first education session and one-on-one mentoring has been completed.

Qualified applications will:
• Have a business or business idea with less than $2 million in annual sales
• Be based in rural Nevada (which excludes the City of Reno, City of Sparks, and Clark County)
• Have been impacted by COVID-19

The online application closes on September 3rd at 11:59 p.m. Applications are available in English and Spanish and can be accessed at: RubaNV.com.

Audacity will provide application assistance in both Spanish and English at: 775-470-7789 or info@audacityinstitute.org.

RuBA is funded by a Community Development Block Grant from the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development.

Join the Nevada SBA for… Meet the Lenders Webinar

Learn How to Access Capital to Start | Grow | Expand Your Business

WHEN

Tuesday, August 17, 2021 9:00 – 10:00am Pacific Time

Register Here!

Join the Nevada Small Business Administration and Nevada Small Business Development Center to meet Nevada lenders.

This program aligns with a Western Nevada Development District Economic Recovery and Resiliency Plan strategy to connect small businesses with financial resources. These efforts continue to promote the region as a place where small businesses, entrepreneurs, and high-tech companies can start, build and grow.

The webinar features a panel discussion with loan officers from four Nevada lenders and an SBA representative. You will learn how to prepare for your next loan pitch, how lenders make their loan decisions, tips from the lenders on how to improve your loan pitch, and steps you could take to mitigate challenges when accessing capital.

Register Here!

ABOUT SBA

SBA maintains a local network of partners to counsel, mentor, and train small businesses. These independent organizations funded by the SBA provide high-quality training and counseling designed to meet the specific needs of small business owners and new entrepreneurs— for free or at a low cost. These SBA-approved experts can help create a successful business plan, get expert advice on expanding a business, or train a business team.

Five for Friday: Grant Opportunities – August 6, 2021

Collected by the Western Nevada Development District

Economic development grants and loans can help revitalize and build sustainability in urban, rural, and tribal communities. Strategic investments help support local economies, create jobs, and attract private investments to better residents’ lives. Every first Friday, the Western Nevada Development District will share our Five for Friday; grant programs from a variety of sources that can help the region navigate economic recovery from the pandemic, support volunteer fire departments or bring connectivity to tribal lands.


Investing in America’s Communities

The Economic Development Administration (EDA) is investing $3 billion from President Biden’s American Rescue Plan which will enable the EDA to provide larger, more transformational investments across the nation in six grant categories while utilizing its greatest strengths, including flexible funding to support community-led economic development. This is the largest economic development initiative from the Department of Commerce in decades and will help communities across the country impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Upcoming EDA webinars that will take a deep dive on the grant categories:
Economic Adjustment Assistance Webinar
Monday, August 9 @ 2pm EST
Indigenous Communities Webinar
Tuesday, August 10 @ 2pm EST
Good Jobs Challenge Webinar
Thursday, August 12 @ 2pm EST

EDA American Rescue Plan Programs | U.S. Economic Development Administration


Every Nevadan Recovers

The State of Nevada has launched its Nevada Recovers website to solicit ideas and projects for monies the state will receive from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) which will allocate a total of $6.7 billion to the state through a wide number of programs and services, such as K-12 education, vaccine distribution, food security, consumer protection, housing assistance, direct payments to taxpayers, and additional unemployment insurance assistance. The ARP also includes direct aid to State and local governments, which should deliver $2.7 billion to the State of Nevada, with counties and local governments expected to receive an additional $1 billion (collectively). Along with the digital survey found on the website, the State Treasurer’s office has kicked off a 75-day “Nevada Recovers Listening Tour” to connect with communities all over Nevada to get ideas on how the state could spend the money.

Two of the upcoming Town Hall meetings have been announced in the WNDD region:

August 10th, 5:00 pm: Pershing County – Pershing Community Center, Lovelock
August 12th, 1:30 pm: Mineral County – Hawthorne Ordnance Museum

Nevada Recovers 

RecupérateNevada.com


Volunteer Fire Departments

The Leary Firefighters Foundation’s Jeremiah Lucey Grant Program provides funds to paid and volunteer departments in three areas of support: training, with the goal of enhancing the professional development of departments; equipment, with the goal of providing the best equipment to help keep firefighters and the communities they serve safe; and technology, with the goal of ensuring that fire departments update along with technological advances. Grants typically range from $5,000 to $25,000. Deadline: Letters of Intent 8/15/2021; invited applications 10/1/2021. Visit the Foundation’s website to review the guidelines for the Jeremiah Lucey Grant Program.

Leary Firefighters Foundation


Urban and Community Forestry Program

This program provides funding to local governments, educational institutions, Native –American tribal governments and non-profit groups for urban forestry projects. Proposed programs should foster partnerships reflecting the ongoing effort to provide healthy, safe and livable neighborhoods are highly encouraged. This grant program is part of Nevada’s ongoing initiative to provide funding for urban tree inventory and analysis, management planning, urban forestry awareness, education and outreach projects, and new urban tree plantings. Grant applications are open, and are awarded on an open and continuing basis They range from a minimum of $2,000 to a maximum grant request for urban forestry management planning, inventory, or tree assessments of $30,000.

Urban and Community Forestry Program


Broadband Service on Tribal Land

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has grants available for broadband service on Tribal Lands that promote the use of broadband to access remote learning, telework or telehealth resources during the Covid -19 pandemic. NTIA expects to make awards under this program within the following funding ranges: Broadband Infrastructure Deployment Projects: Between $1 million and $50 million. Broadband Adoption and Use Projects: $50,000 to $2.5 million. Deadline is September 1, 2021.

Broadband Service on Tribal Land

WNDD Economic Recovery Update – August 2021

CEDS Priority Projects Identified

The Summer 2021 edition of the Western Nevada Development District (WNDD)’s Economic Recovery Update shares how WNDD’s Economic Recovery & Resiliency Plan is moving into the action phase. Plus, it details how the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Update has identified the region’s top infrastructure projects and workforce programs that promote economic recovery, community resiliency and job growth in top-paying industries. The update also shares information on the Economic Development Administration’s unprecedented $3 billion economic development initiative under the American Rescue Plan Act.

Part of a CARES Act Supplemental Award for the U.S., the Update aims to support the revitalization, expansion, and improvement of distressed communities’ infrastructure with a comprehensive goal to attract industry, encourage business retention, growth and recruitment, and generate sustainable private-sector jobs and investments.

This monthly newsletter is part of WNDD’s effort to identify and develop strategies to create and build a more resilient economy in our region, plus the latest in available grant opportunities.

Read the Update!