Preface of Original Edition

Bankers are natural community leaders. The service a bank provides is the economic lifeblood of the community, and the future of the independent bank depends upon a healthy local economy.

Others in the community who are interested in local development naturally turn for assistance to their bank, which is the depository of community funds and the primary source of credit.

That's why the Independent Bankers Association of America had the community banker specifically in mind when it conceived the idea for this GUIDE TO FEDERAL PROGRAMS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT. This is a unique volume-a handbook to lead you through the wilderness of federal assistance programs that are available for the development of your community.

Big cities employ a fulltime staff of experts whose only job is to uncover sources of federal money. This GUIDE gives the rural banker and other community leaders similar expertise.

The IBAA commissioned a uniquely qualified Washington coupleJohn and Sue Baker-to slice through the bureaucratic encrustations and bring to light some 494 programs available to your community. Mr. Baker is a former Assistant Secretary of Agriculture and is now a consultant on rural development through his firm, Community Development Services in Arlington, Virginia. Mrs. Baker is a writer and former newspaperwoman.

The GUIDE is an outgrowth of the nationwide effort of the IBAA Agriculture-Rural America Committee to promote rural community development. The Committee discovered that no functional guide to federal programs existed which would tell the reader in layman's terms not only what programs are available, but also how to go after them.

The book has been divided into sections with colored paper stock for easy reference and is completely indexed and cross-referenced. An Appendix lists the government agencies (and their regional addresses) that provide rural development assistance. The contents will be updated from time to time as new programs are funded.

The IBAA hopes that this GUIDE TO FEDERAL PROGRAMS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT will help make every independent bank a local clearing house for community development information. In the process, we also hope that this volume will make a significant contribution to the revitalization of rural America.

Considering the enormous social and economic problems resulting from over-population in the cities, rural community development is vitally important not just to rural residents, but to all Americans.

ROD L. PARSCH, President,

Independent Bankers Association of America
President, Lapeer County Bank &
Trust Company, Lapeer, Michigan

DON F. KIRCHNER, Chairman,

IBAA Agriculture-Rural America Committee
President, Peoples Trust & Savings Bank,
Riverside, Iowa

Introduction to Original Edition

This GUIDE TO FEDERAL PROGRAMS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT has been prepared as a reference handbook for independent bankers and other local leaders in communities across the land. It is dedicated to the future of economic opportunity and the quality of life in rural America.

Development means profitable business, expanding job opportunities, greater capital investment higher personal incomes, modern community facilities, and a full range of public services. In rural areas, the goal is to develop sustained economic growth, while maintaining the unique character and style that is the tradition of town and country living.

Rural development depends on national and State commitment; but there is no magic formula to guarantee development for the individual community, except the inspiration of local leadership and the determination of local citizens to develop their own area. Private business and public agencies share the responsibility and the opportunity to create and promote this type of development. Success depends on the vision to set attainable goals, the resolution to work toward planned objectives, and a high degree of cooperation among all the diverse elements within a given area.

Many aspects of local development are related to similar efforts in neighboring communities, and to broader development programs within a larger area. District Planning and Development Agencies, Councils of Government, or similar organizations have been created to provide coordination and mutual assistance for both the planning and the action programs of participating jurisdictions.

Local development programs are also highly dependent upon State government for legislative authority, technical assistance, and financial aid. Throughout this handbook, reference is made to State (or Stateauthorized) programs which are financed to some degree by the Federal government through formula or project grants.

In addition to local and State development programs, forty-one different Federal Departments and agencies offer some type of financial or technical aid to localities outside of the highly urbanized sections of the country. Many of these programs are specifically designed to meet rural needs; but most are general domestic assistance programs for which both metropolitan and non-metropolitan communities are eligible. To tap these resources and bring proportional benefits to less-densely populated areas, requires broad knowledge of the Federal programs as well as special alertness and effort in making applications. Historically, the United States Department of Agriculture has taken a leadership role in rural development. Within USDA, these programs are operated by sixteen different subdivisions-such as the Extension Service, Farmers Home Administration, Rural Electrification Administration, Soil Conservation Service, and others.

Dr. T. K. Cowden, Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, is responsible for the overall coordination and planning for rural development within the Department of Agriculture, and for rural development liaison with other Federal Departments and agencies. Dr. Cowden and his associates have given invaluable encouragement and assistance to the preparation of this handbook.

Eight other Cabinet-level Departments, three Executive Offices, sixteen Independent Agencies, and twelve Special Commissions also sponsor and operate domestic assistance programs that are available to rural areas either nationwide, or in designated geographic areas.

These administrative separations are not part of the overall view of Federal assistance for rural development, and the bureaucratic distinctions are often a source of frustration and confusion to local officials and private citizens who are starting out to seek assistance.

To make this GUIDE useful as an introduction to Federal assistance and as a "locator" of specific programs, we have departed from the usual organizational structure of government catalogs and manuals-except for listings in the Appendix.

There are four general categories covered in this Guide: Part IBusiness, Industry and Agriculture; Part II-Community Facilities; Part III-Community Functions and Services; Part IV-Planning. Each category (or section) is printed on a different colored paper stock in order to make the guide-book as "easy-to-use" as possible.