Socially-Disadvantaged Groups Grant

The primary objective of the Socially Disadvantaged Groups Grant program is to provide technical assistance to socially-disadvantaged groups through cooperatives and Cooperative Development Centers. Each fiscal year, applications are requested through a Notice published in the Federal Register

Eligible applicants are cooperatives, groups of cooperatives, and cooperative development centers that serve socially-disadvantaged groups and whose governing board is comprised of a majority of individuals who are members of a socially-disadvantaged group. Applicants are not eligible if they have been debarred or suspended or otherwise excluded from participation in Federal assistance programs under Executive Order 12549, “Debarment and Suspension.” Applicants are not eligible if they have an outstanding judgement obtained by the U.S. in a Federal Court (other than U.S. Tax Court), are delinquent on the payment of Federal income taxes, or are delinquent on a Federal debt. Any corporation that has been convicted of a felony criminal violation under any Federal law within the past 24 months or that has any unpaid Federal tax liability that has been assessed, for which all judicial and administrative remedies have been exhausted or have lapsed, and that is not being paid in a timely manner pursuant to an agreement with the authority responsible for collecting the tax liability, is not eligible for funding.

Applications are evaluated for eligibility for the program. Eligible applications are reviewed by a panel of experts and ranked according to published evaluation criteria. Applications are funded in rank order until available funds have been expended.

Applications are typically approved/disapproved within 60-90 days of receipt.