USDA Grant writing sessions benefit Missouri small business owners

12/9/2011

For the past week and a half, the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Development Program has been hosting grant writing sessions in Missouri in partnership with state senator Claire McCaskill, the Truman State University Index reports.

According to McCaskill's press secretary John LaBombard, the goal of the informative sessions is to "make sure that Missouri businesses are equipped with the tools needed to succeed and to keep creating jobs," he told the media outlet.

USDA loans and grants, community facility programs, housing loans programs and home repair loans and grants were among the topics discussed at the events, as well as programs involving revolving loan funds.

The session gave Sherry Stacey, owner of Hidden Treasures in Kirksville, a "starting point to begin looking for money," she told the news source.

One program that's utilizing grant dollars to its benefit is University of Southern Indiana's Division of Outreach and Engagement's BreakOut initiative, which is using money from the Rural Development Office to provide "high-level" resources to small businesses in the state, the Courier Press reports.