Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program
Community Facilities finances essential rural facilities: clinics and hospitals, fire and police stations and vehicles, schools, libraries, child care centers, community centers and food banks. Most financing is through low-interest direct loans, with grants reserved for the smallest, lowest-income communities on a sliding scale up to 75% of cost. Grant selection uses priority points for population, median household income and priority project types, plus discretionary points.
Program facts
- Agency
- Rural Development, Rural Housing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Assistance Listing
- 10.766
- Statutory authority
- Section 306 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926); regulations at 7 CFR Part 1942 (loans) and 7 CFR Part 3570, Subpart B (grants)
- Award ceiling
- Direct loans have no fixed maximum and are sized to repayment capacity; grants cover 15% to 75% of eligible project cost depending on population and median household income
- Awards
- Hundreds of loans and grants each year through state Rural Development offices; grant awards are usually small relative to loans and often paired with them
- Period of performance
- Loan terms up to 40 years, limited to the useful life of the facility; grant funds are used for the approved construction or equipment project
- Cost share
- Grant share is capped at 75%, 55%, 35% or 15% of project cost by population and income tier, so applicants fund the balance with loans, local funds or other grants
- Cycle
- Applications are accepted year-round through state Rural Development offices; funding depends on each state's annual allocation and is often committed by late summer, with priority point scoring used when requests exceed funds
Program goals
- Build, improve or equip essential community facilities in rural areas
- Expand access to health care, public safety, education and public services
- Provide affordable long-term financing that rural communities cannot get elsewhere
- Support community and economic development through public infrastructure
Scoring rubric
Population priority25
The population of the community served, with the most points for the smallest communities of 5,000 or fewer.
Median household income priority25
Service-area median household income compared with the state nonmetropolitan median; lower income earns more points and a higher grant percentage.
Priority project type20
Health care, public safety, education and other essential services the agency prioritizes in the current fiscal year.
Financial feasibility and credit elsewhere20
Audited financials, a feasibility study where required, a repayment source for any loan, and documentation that commercial credit is unavailable.
Project readiness10
Preliminary architectural or engineering report, environmental review documentation, site control and committed other funding.
USDA scores CF grant requests with priority points under 7 CFR 3570.67 (population, income, other priorities and discretionary points). The weights shown are ELIXIR CONSUMERS' readiness weighting of those factors and the loan underwriting elements, not USDA's point schedule; confirm current points with your state Rural Development office.
Eligibility
- Public bodies such as municipalities, counties, special-purpose districts and authorities
- Community-based nonprofit corporations with ties to the local community
- Federally recognized Tribes
- Facilities must primarily serve rural areas: cities, villages, townships and towns, including federally recognized Tribal lands, with populations of 20,000 or fewer
- Applicants must be unable to obtain sufficient credit elsewhere at reasonable rates and terms
Required attachments
- SF-424 and Form RD 3570-3 or the state office's CF application package
- Preliminary architectural report (PAR) or preliminary engineering report (PER)
- Environmental review documentation (Form RD 1970 series)
- Three years of audited or reviewed financial statements and the current budget
- Feasibility study for larger or revenue-dependent projects
- Organizational documents, board resolution and evidence of community support
- Credit elsewhere documentation and other funding commitment letters
Formatting rules
- No fixed narrative page limit; the state office specifies forms and supporting documents
- Many state offices require a pre-application meeting before a full application
- Environmental review must be complete before obligation of funds
Why applications lose points
- Facility primarily serves an area over 20,000 population
- No credit elsewhere documentation for a loan request
- Starting construction before environmental review is complete
- Incomplete PAR or PER that does not support the cost estimate
- Applying late in the fiscal year after the state allocation is committed
How ELIXIR CONSUMERS helps with USDA CF
- 1.Computes the likely grant percentage tier from census population and income data before you request a grant
- 2.Drafts the project description and need statement from your feasibility study and board minutes in the vault
- 3.Builds a sources-and-uses table that pairs the CF loan, CF grant and other funds
- 4.Tracks environmental review steps and pre-application meetings with your state office
Questions, answered
Is this program competitive?
Applications are accepted year-round, but grant requests compete within each state using priority points, and funds are limited by the state allocation.
Can a rural nonprofit clinic apply?
Yes, if it is a community-based nonprofit serving an eligible rural area of 20,000 or fewer and can show it cannot get commercial credit on reasonable terms.
Can CF buy a fire truck?
Yes. Public safety vehicles and equipment are eligible, and many small departments combine a CF loan with a CF grant.
$ elixir trial --days 14
Stop letting high-value grant deadlines pass you by.
Upload a past 990 and a target NOFO. Watch ELIXIR CONSUMERS draft a cited Section 1 narrative in 90 seconds.