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Intermediary Relending Program (IRP) - FY 2025

Agency: U.S. Department of Agriculture
CFDA: 10.767
Office: Rural Development (RD) Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS)
Multipart Grant: No
Next Due: 06/30/2025 (Multiple)
Solicitation Date: 08/08/2024
   
Match Required: Recommended
Match Type: Cash
Actual Funds: Unspecified
Award Range: $1,000,000 (Max)
Summary:

The purpose of this program is to alleviate poverty and increase economic activity and employment in rural communities, especially disadvantaged and remote communities. This purpose is achieved through low-interest loans made to local lenders, also known as intermediaries, that establish a revolving loan fund for the purpose of providing loans to ultimate recipients to promote community development, establish new businesses, establish and support microlending programs, and create or retain employment opportunities in rural areas.

To be eligible for a loan from an intermediary under this program, an ultimate recipient must be a legal entity that can incur debt, including an individual, a public organization, a private organization, or other legal entity. The ultimate recipient project must be located in an eligible rural area, as defined on pages 4-6 of the Regulations file, although funds may also be used for community projects that predominantly serve rural residents of a state.

Eligible funding uses include:

  • Business and industrial acquisitions when the loan will keep the business from closing, prevent the loss of employment opportunities, or provide expanded job opportunities
  • Business construction, conversion, enlargement, repair, modernization, or development
  • Purchase and development of land, easements, rights-of-way, buildings, facilities, leases, or materials
  • Purchase of equipment, leasehold improvements, machinery, or supplies
  • Pollution control and abatement
  • Transportation services
  • Startup costs and working capital
  • Interest, including interest on interim financing, during the period before the facility becomes income-producing, but not to exceed three years
  • Feasibility studies
  • Debt refinancing

Refer to pages 11-13 of the Regulations file for additional information regarding eligible funding uses.

Applicants are encouraged to consider projects that will advance the following key priorities:

  • Creating more and better markets: assist rural communities to recover economically through more or better market opportunities and through improved infrastructure
  • Addressing climate change and environmental justice: reduce climate pollution and increase resilience to the impacts of climate change through economic support for rural communities
  • Advancing racial justice, place-based equity, and opportunity: ensure all rural residents have equitable access to RD programs and benefits from RD funded projects
Eligibility Notes:

Eligible applicants, also known as local lenders or intermediaries, may include:

  • Private nonprofit corporations
  • Public agencies
  • Federally recognized Indian tribes
  • Cooperatives, which for the purposes of this program are defined as entities that are legally chartered by a state in which they operate as cooperatively operated businesses, or entities that are not legally chartered as cooperatives but are owned and operated for the benefit of their members, with the return of residual earnings paid to such members on the basis of patronage

Applications will only be accepted from eligible intermediaries that will establish, or have established, revolving loan programs for the purpose of providing loans to ultimate recipients for business purposes and community development in a rural area, as defined on pages 4-6 of the Regulations file. In addition, intermediaries must:

  • Have the legal authority necessary for carrying out the proposed loan purposes and for obtaining, giving security for, and repaying the proposed loan
  • Have a proven lending record of successfully assisting rural business and industry or, for intermediaries that propose to finance community development, a proven lending record of successfully assisting rural community development projects of the type planned
  • Employ a staff with loan-making and servicing expertise acceptable to the funding agency
  • Have a balance sheet with capitalization or equity acceptable to the funding agency and deemed sufficient to sustain lending and business operations
  • Be unable to finance the continuation or establishment of an effective IRP revolving loan fund from their own resources, or through commercial credit, or from other federal, state, or local programs at reasonable rates and terms

For non-public body intermediaries, at least 51 percent of the outstanding interest or membership must be composed of citizens.

No more than one loan will be approved by the funding agency for an intermediary in any single fiscal year unless the additional request is from this program's set-aside funds.

Applications for renewal or supplemental awards will not be considered.

Intermediaries are not eligible to apply if they or any of their principals have any delinquent debt to the federal government.

Intermediaries established for the purpose of, or that predominantly use IRP loan funds for, the financial benefit of an affiliate through loan participations or other funding methods are not eligible to apply.

Previous award recipients include:

  • Redevelopment Authority of the City of Titusville (PA)
  • Woodlands Community Lenders, Inc. (WV)
  • Southeast Kentucky Economic Development Corporation, Inc. (KY)
  • Sheldon Chamber and Development Corporation (IA)
  • Addison County Economic Development (VT)

Refer to the Award file for additional information regarding previous award recipients.

Eligible Applicants:
Local Government
Native American Tribe
Non Profits
State Government
Application Notes:

Applications must be received by 4:30 p.m. local time on one of the following dates:

  • First quarter: September 30, 2024
  • Second quarter: December 31, 2024
  • Third quarter: March 31, 2025
  • Fourth quarter: June 30, 2025

Applications for set-aside funds for projects and intermediaries serving federally recognized Indian tribes and for Mississippi Delta Region counties must be received by 4:30 p.m. local time on May 31, 2025.

Applications for set-aside funds for projects located in Rural Empowerment Zones, Enterprise Communities, and Rural Economic Area Partnership areas must be received by 4:30 p.m. local time on July 15, 2025.

Applications must be submitted in paper or electronic format to the appropriate Rural Development (RD) state office listed online at www.rd.usda.gov. Applicants are encouraged to contact their respective RD state office for an email contact to submit an electronic application.

Applicants must contact the appropriate RD state office to obtain copies of the application package. In general, applications must include:

  • Requested forms
  • Work plan/narrative that demonstrates the feasibility of the intermediary's program to meet the objectives of this program
  • Pro forma balance sheet at startup and projected balance sheets for at least three additional years including the accumulated debt service reserve; financial statements for the least three years, or from inception of the operations of the intermediary if less than three years; and projected cash flow and earnings statements for at least three years supported by a list of assumptions showing the basis for the projections
  • Documentation of any funds pledged and intermediary equity contribution that will be contributed into the IRP revolving loan fund to serve as security for the IRP loan and to pay for part of the cost of the ultimate recipient projects
  • Written agreement of the intermediary to abide with the funding agency's audit requirements
  • Organizational documents, including:
    • Articles of incorporation (if applicable)
    • Bylaws
    • Certificate of good standing
    • List of board members with contact and lending experience information
    • Evidence of authority to conduct the proposed lending activities
  • Documentation of the intermediary’s ability to commit financial resources under the control of the intermediary to the establishment of an IRP program
  • Documentation of secured commitments of significant financial support from public agencies and private organizations
  • Evidence that the intermediary has a proven record of obtaining private or philanthropic funds for the operation of similar programs to the IRP
  • Latest audit report (if available)
  • IRP revolving loan fund plan
  • Credit Elsewhere certification
  • Resolution by the intermediary’s board of directors

The following are required in order to submit an application:

  • Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number
  • SAM (System for Award Management) registration
  • SPOC (state Single Point of Contact) notification

Applicants may obtain a UEI number and verify or renew SAM registration status at www.ecivis.com/sam. Applicants in states participating in the SPOC program must contact the relevant SPOC listed in the SPOC file before applying.

Applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

  • Intermediary equity contribution (35 points)
  • Community representation (10 points)
  • Leveraging (25 points)
  • Median household income (15 points)
  • Unemployment (15 points)
  • Trauma (15 points)
  • Experience (30 points)
  • Size of loan request (20 points)
  • Administrator discretionary points (10 points)

Refer to the NOFA and Regulations files for additional application information.

Match Required: Recommended
Match Type: Cash
Actual Funds: Unspecified
Award Range: $1,000,000 (Max)
Match Notes:

There are no stated matching requirements for this program; however, applicants that contribute at least 5 percent of the requested loan amount via cash contributions to the IRP revolving loan fund will receive additional points during the application review process.

The IRP revolving fund share of the eligible project cost of an ultimate recipient's project funded under this program will not exceed the lesser of $400,000 or 50 percent of the originally approved IRP loan amount to an intermediary. No more than 75 percent of the total cost of an ultimate recipient's project may be funded from IRP loan funds. Applicants that contribute at least 10 percent of an ultimate recipient's total project costs will receive additional points during the application review process.

Funding Notes:

An unspecified amount of funding is available to support loans of up to an anticipated $1 million through this program. The size of the loan request will be a criterion during the application evaluation process, and applicants that request $500,000 or less will receive the most points available. Total outstanding IRP indebtedness of an intermediary to the funding agency may not exceed $15 million at any time.

Funds may be set aside for projects and intermediaries serving federally recognized Indian tribes and for Mississippi Delta Region counties. Applicants seeking such funds must demonstrate that at least 75 percent of the benefits of the approved loan will assist ultimate recipients in these designated areas.

Funds may also be set aside for projects located in Rural Empowerment Zones, Enterprise Communities, and Rural Economic Area Partnership areas.

For regular funds, awards are anticipated to be made on the following dates:

  • First quarter: December 1, 2024
  • Second quarter: March 1, 2025
  • Third quarter: June 1, 2025
  • Fourth quarter: September 1, 2025

For set-aside funds for projects and intermediaries serving federally recognized Indian tribes and for Mississippi Delta Region counties, awards are anticipated to be made on June 15, 2025.

For set-aside funds for projects located in Rural Empowerment Zones, Enterprise Communities, and Rural Economic Area Partnership areas, awards are anticipated to be made on August 1, 2025.

Loan closing between the intermediary and the funding agency must take place within six months of loan approval and obligation of funds.

The loan term will last up to 30 years. Principal and interest payments will be scheduled at least annually.

The interest rate will be a fixed rate of 1 percent per annum over the term of the loan.

Funds may not be used for:

  • Expenses incurred in developing an application
  • Delinquent debt to the federal government
  • The administrative costs and expenses of an intermediary
  • Assistance in excess of what is needed to accomplish the purpose of the ultimate recipient's project
  • Agricultural production
  • The transfer of ownership, unless the loan will keep the business from closing, prevent the loss of employment opportunities in the area, or provide expanded job opportunities
  • Community antenna television services or facilities
  • Any illegal activity
  • Loans to lending and investment institutions and insurance companies
  • Golf courses, racetracks, or gambling facilities

Refer to page 14 of the Regulations file for additional information regarding unallowable costs.

For FY 2022, a total of $6.25 million was provided via eight loans ranging from $500,000 to $1 million through this program. Refer to the Award file for details.

Contacts:

Lori Pittman
(202) 720-9815
lori.pittman1@usda.gov

Agency Address
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, D.C. 20250

Contact Notes:

Questions should be directed to Lori Pittman, or to the appropriate Rural Development (RD) state office listed online at www.rd.usda.gov.

Applications must be submitted in paper or electronic format to the appropriate RD state office. Applicants are encouraged to contact their respective RD state office for an email contact to submit an electronic application.

The agency address provided is for reference purposes only.

Files:
NOFA File: US5222_NOFA_FY2025.pdf (231.9 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US5222_Regulations_FY2025.pdf (254.2 Kb)
Award File: US5222_Award_FY2025.pdf (983.2 Kb)
Federal Forms:
SPOC (67.7 Kb)
File Notes:

The NOFA file contains the full solicitation for this program. The Regulations file contains the federal regulations governing this program. The Award file contains information on previous award recipients. The SPOC file contains information on the state Single Point of Contact program.

Grant Keywords
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Grant Categories
Community Development
Economic Development
Rural Issues