Nebraska is faced with familiar problems of rural decline: declining population and depressed economies. Some small towns are actively trying to promote entrepreneurship and development. The Blog for Rural America reports on a new program for those towns.
The Building Entrepreneurial Communities Act (BECA) program, administered by the Nebraska Rural Development Commission and Department of Economic Development (DED), was created by the 2005 Legislature to assist those entrepreneurial rural communities.
Funded at $250,000 per year, BECA is a grant process for communities and counties seeking to collaborate on economic and entrepreneurial development.
The rules are fairly simple – grants can be used for education and technical support for small business development or to facilitate small business transfers, build leadership, retain and attract youth, or retain intergenerational transfer of wealth.
So, your state or city, or even your business or organization, might contemplate such a grant program. If you happen to be in the State of Nebraska, you might want to push your community to participate.
small biz rural entrepreneurship grants economic development
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