Rural Innovation Stronger Economies (RISE) | RD RBS 23 01 RISE

Opportunity Information: Apply for RD RBS 23 01 RISE

The Rural Innovation Stronger Economies (RISE) program is a discretionary USDA Rural Development grant opportunity administered by the Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS). For FY 2023, USDA set aside a total of $2,000,000 for this program, with an expectation of making about four awards. Individual awards can be as large as $2,000,000 (the listed award ceiling), and the funding instrument is a grant. The program is cataloged under CFDA/Assistance Listing 10.755 and falls under activity areas that include agriculture, business and commerce, and regional development.

RISE is designed to strengthen economically distressed rural communities by supporting efforts that lead to higher-wage job creation and more resilient local economies. The core idea is to fund projects that provide financial assistance connected to innovation centers and job accelerator programs. In practical terms, this points to initiatives that help communities incubate or accelerate businesses, build entrepreneurship support systems, and create structured pathways for new ventures to start, scale, and hire. The opportunity emphasizes outcomes like accelerating the formation of new businesses, improving a community's ability to create high-wage jobs, and helping rural regions identify and maximize local assets, which can include workforce strengths, industry clusters, natural resources, existing employers, educational institutions, and other place-based advantages.

Eligible applicants include state governments, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, federally recognized Native American tribal governments, and nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in that nonprofit category). The notice also lists an "Others" category, with the expectation that applicants consult the opportunity's additional eligibility details for clarification on what other entities may qualify. The awarding agency is the U.S. Department of Agriculture, specifically RBCS within Rural Development.

The opportunity was created on January 27, 2023. Applications were required to be submitted electronically through Grants.gov, and they had to be received and accepted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on April 20, 2023 to be considered. The announcement also provided an optional concept proposal step: prospective applicants could submit a concept proposal for agency review via Grants.gov by 4:30 p.m. on February 21, 2023, consistent with the requirements referenced at 7 CFR 4284.1115(a). That concept proposal was explicitly not the full application and did not, by itself, constitute a request for program funds; it was a pre-application checkpoint meant to help potential applicants gauge fit and alignment before preparing a complete submission.

Overall, RISE is aimed at helping rural places move beyond short-term assistance and toward durable economic development capacity. By focusing on innovation centers and job accelerators, the program signals an emphasis on building local infrastructure for entrepreneurship, business growth, and talent development, especially in communities facing persistent economic challenges. The intended result is a stronger rural economic ecosystem that can generate better-paying jobs, support new enterprise creation, and more effectively mobilize local strengths into sustainable regional growth.

• The Department of Agriculture, Rural Business-Cooperative Service in the agriculture, business and commerce, regional development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Rural Innovation Stronger Economies (RISE)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.755.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jan 27, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 20, 2023 Electronic applications must be received and accepted by no later than1159 Eastern Time, April 20, 2023, or they will not be considered for funding. Potential applicants may submit a concept proposal for review by the Agency to https://www.grants.gov by 430 p.m. on February 21, 2023 in compliance with 7CFR 4284.1115(a). Submission of a concept proposal is not an application for program funds.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for RD RBS 23 01 RISE

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: