USDA Rural Development currently lists the Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Programs as open, with FY2027 quarterly deadlines beginning September 30, 2026. USDA also states that the FY2027 Notice of Funding Opportunity is still in clearance, so all FY2027 submission controls remain contingent on publication of the final NOFO.
Rural healthcare and education relevance
The program finances rural economic-development and job-creation projects through eligible local utility intermediaries. USDA expressly identifies eligible downstream uses including facilities and equipment for medical care for rural residents, facilities and equipment to educate and train rural residents, community-development assistance to nonprofits and public bodies, and other job-creating rural projects. This makes the program relevant to qualifying rural healthcare, school, workforce-training and community-access projects when an eligible utility intermediary is willing to sponsor the project.
Who applies
The direct USDA applicant must be a current Rural Utilities Service electric or telecommunications borrower, a former RUS borrower that has repaid or prepaid a qualifying Rural Electrification Act loan, or a not-for-profit utility eligible to receive an insured or direct loan under that Act. USDA describes these entities as intermediaries that pass financing to local ultimate recipients. Ordinary hospitals, clinics, schools and vendors should not be represented as the direct federal applicant unless they independently satisfy the utility-intermediary eligibility rules.
Funding structure
USDA currently lists a maximum REDLG loan of $1 million and a maximum grant of $300,000 to establish a revolving loan fund. The USDA loan to the intermediary is for 10 years at zero percent interest. For a loan project, the ultimate recipient or intermediary must provide supplemental funds equal to at least 20 percent of the USDA loan. For a grant, the intermediary must contribute at least 20 percent of the grant to the revolving loan fund. USDA states that first-time loans from the intermediary to the ultimate recipient are at zero percent interest and may cover up to 80 percent of project costs.
Current FY2027 timing
The USDA program page currently shows quarterly deadlines of September 30, 2026; December 31, 2026; March 31, 2027; and June 30, 2027, each no later than 4:30 p.m. local time at the applicable Rural Development State Office. However, USDA expressly states that the FY2027 NOFO is still in clearance and that these deadlines are contingent on publication of that notice. Final scoring criteria, application package details, appropriations and any FY2027-specific changes must therefore be reverified against the published FY2027 NOFO before a package is produced or submitted.
Atlas assessment and routing
Atlas Opportunity Score: 91/100. The program is unusually relevant because USDA specifically authorizes financing for medical-care facilities and equipment and for education and training facilities and equipment. The principal constraint is structural: the federal applicant is the eligible utility intermediary, not the healthcare or school organization that ultimately uses the financing.
Develop qualifying projects within this federal workflow by identifying eligible rural healthcare, education or community-access projects together with qualifying RUS or not-for-profit utility intermediaries. Do not treat a healthcare organization or technology vendor as the direct USDA applicant merely because it is the ultimate project beneficiary.
Application controls
USDA directs interested applicants to work with the Rural Development State Office serving the project. The program is governed by 7 CFR Part 4280, Subpart A, and Assistance Listing 10.854. The prior FY2026 NOFO required active SAM registration and a Unique Entity Identifier and used quarterly state-office submissions, but FY2027 package requirements must be confirmed again when the new NOFO is published.
Official sources: USDA Rural Development — Rural Economic Development Loan & Grant Programs; USDA Rural Development — FY2026 REDLG NOFO (historical control reference only; FY2027 NOFO is pending).