Federal Grant Award Summary

North West Rural Electric Cooperative received a $300,000 Project Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Business Cooperative Services under the Rural Economic Development Loans and Grants program (CFDA 10.854), awarded on June 8, 2026. This grant funds rural economic development initiatives designed to promote job creation and economic opportunity in rural Iowa communities through the establishment and operation of a Revolving Loan Fund. Under this program structure, the cooperative serves as a utility intermediary, administering the grant funds to provide zero-interest loans to eligible rural businesses and projects within its service territory.

The grant award, which carries an ultimate completion date of June 8, 2028, supports the cooperative's role in facilitating rural economic development by enabling it to extend financing to rural entrepreneurs and businesses that might otherwise lack access to affordable capital. As a not-for-profit electric utility with longstanding experience in federal grant administration and disaster recovery efforts, North West Rural Electric Cooperative leverages this funding to strengthen economic resilience in underserved rural areas of Iowa while fulfilling the program's dual mandate of employment retention and rural community development.