The Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service awarded $400,000 to the National Rural Water Association on September 29, 2025, under the Grant Program to Establish a Fund for Financing Water and Wastewater Projects (CFDA 10.864), a revolving loan fund program supporting qualified nonprofits that finance water and wastewater system improvements in rural areas.
The recipient, doing business as Gene's Place, is a tax-exempt nonprofit based in Duncan, Oklahoma, operating 50 state affiliate offices nationwide that deliver technical assistance, operator training, and infrastructure planning to rural and small water systems serving populations under 10,000. The award period runs through September 29, 2027, with place of performance in Empire City, Oklahoma. The program directs assistance toward truly rural areas and rural communities, emphasizing criteria including population, low income, unemployment, and health and sanitary problems. Recipients must maintain records and accounts ensuring authorized use of funds in accordance with 2 CFR 200.334 and submit audits or annual financial statements under 2 CFR Part 200 requirements depending on expenditure thresholds.