TAT Grant Program

Funds may be used to pay expenses associated with providing technical assistance and/or training (TAT) to identify and evaluate solutions to water problems relating to source, storage, treatment, or distribution; to identify and evaluate solutions to waste problems relating to collection, treatment, or disposal; assist applicants that have filed a pre-application with RUS in the preparation of water and/or waste loan and/or grant applications; and to provide training that will improve the management, operation, and maintenance of water and waste disposal facilities.  Grant funds may...

Eligibility criteria for TAT grants is as follows: (a) Entities eligible for grants must be private nonprofit organizations with tax exempt status, designated by the Internal Revenue Service. A nonprofit organization is defined as any corporation, trust, association,cooperative, or other organization that: (1) Is operated primarily for scientific, education, service, charitable, or similar purposes in the public interest. (2) Is not organized primarily for profit. (3) Uses its net proceeds to maintain, improve, and/or expand its operations. (b) Entities must be legally established and located within a state as defined in� 1775.2. (c) Organizations must be incorporated by December 31 of the year the application period occurs to be eligible for funds. (d)Private businesses, Federal agencies, public bodies, and individuals are ineligible for these grants.(e) Applicants must also have the proven ability, background, experience (as evidenced by the organization's satisfactory completion ofproject(s)similar to those proposed), legal authority, and actual capacity to provide technical assistance and/or training on a regional basis to associations as provided in 7 CFR 1775.33. To meet the requirement of actual capacity, an applicant must either:(1) Have the necessary resources to provide technical assistance and/or training to associations in rural areas through its staff, or (2) Be assisted by an affiliate or member organization which has such background and experience and which agrees, in writing, that it will provide the assistance, or (3) Contract with a non-affiliated organization for not more than 49 percent of the grant to provide the proposed assistance.

LAVONDA PERNELL Community Programs Specialist Phone 202-720-9635