Rural cooperative development initiative grants

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded a $250,000 Project Grant through the Community Facilities Loans and Grants program (CFDA 10.766) to the Knoxville Leadership Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Tennessee. The grant funds will be used to construct, enlarge, extend, or otherwise improve community facilities providing essential services to rural residents across the region. Typical projects funded under this program include healthcare facility improvements, fire station upgrades, and community center renovations, with a focus on ensuring reasonable user costs for rural infrastructure initiatives. The grant was awarded on Sep 28, 2023 and is scheduled for completion by the same date. As a subrecipient, the Knoxville Leadership Foundation has also participated in the Mentoring Youth for Leadership Initiative and received funding for the Knoxville Area Mentoring Initiative and Appalachian Opioid Affected Youth Initiative from the Department of Justice to deliver youth mentoring, prevention curriculum, and resources to communities impacted by the opioid epidemic.