Initial Notice of Funds Availability Inviting Applications for the Implementation of an American Indian Targeted Credit Outreach Program

Resumen

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) announces it is taking applications for a competitive cooperative agreement for Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 to initiate a credit outreach initiative targeted to American Indian farmers, ranchers, and youth residing primarily on Indian reservations within the contiguous 48 States. FSA requests proposals from eligible non-profit organizations, land grant institutions, and federally-recognized Indian tribal governments interested in a competitively-awarded cooperative agreement to create and implement a mechanism that will provide credit outreach and promotion, pre-loan education, one-on-one loan application preparation assistance, and other related services as proposed by the successful applicant that are specific to FSA's Agricultural Credit Programs. This is a request for proposals for applications for the American Indian Targeted Credit Outreach Program (AITCOP) for FY 2005, subject to the availability of funds. FY 2004 funding for the AITCOP was $1,599,951. This notice is being issued prior to passage of a final appropriations bill to allow applicants sufficient time to submit proposals, give the Agency maximum time to process applications and to permit th