Unlocking Federal Funds: How Technical Assistance Empowers Rural Counties

Key Takeaways

From our Sponsor

This post is sponsored by Rural Prosperity Partners 

Rural communities across America are facing an increasingly complex funding landscape. Federal policy shifts, budget cuts and administrative hurdles make securing grants more challenging than ever. While past investments in infrastructure and development have brought progress, recent funding freezes are creating new obstacles.

For many rural counties, securing federal funds feels like navigating a maze without a map. Limited staff, tight budgets and a lack of grant-writing expertise leave crucial funding opportunities untapped. This is where technical assistance providers like Rural Prosperity Partners step in—helping communities adapt, access resources and secure transformative funding.
 

Federal Funding Challenges for Rural Counties

Rural counties face unique barriers when it comes to federal and state grants, including:

• Limited capacity – Small teams juggle multiple responsibilities, leaving little time for grant applications.
• Lack of pre-development resources – Rural counties struggle to fund the upfront planning needed to qualify for grants.
• Complex application processes – Many programs require extensive documentation and matching funds, making them difficult to access.

Compounding these challenges, rural counties often don’t hear about funding opportunities until it’s too late. Many are simply trying to keep basic services running, especially as federal funding becomes less reliable.

Yet, federal dollars remain essential for rural communities. According to the U.S. Economic Development Administration: 

• 85% of counties experiencing "persistent poverty" are rural.
• 70% of rural counties report declining tax bases as a major concern.
• Over 13% of rural roads and 10.6% of off-system bridges require federal investment.
• Rural health departments report a greater reliance on revenue from Medicare and Medicaid.

Rigid application requirements also don’t take rural context into account. According to the Brookings Institution’s report, What’s In It for Rural?, nearly 95% of rural-exclusive federal funds require matching contributions—a hurdle that cash-strapped communities often cannot overcome.

Despite these challenges, solutions exist, and technical assistance is proving to be a game-changer for many rural communities.

Bridging the Gap with Technical Assistance

Technical assistance providers are helping rural communities break through these barriers. Recently, Rural Prosperity Partners launched two groundbreaking projects to improve federal grant readiness and help communities secure funding:

• The Pathways to Securing Rural Federal Funding Initiative, funded by The Ford Family Foundation, created a toolkit of resources, including a vetted grant-writer roster, searchable grants database, training, federal readiness assessment, a 1:1 mentoring program and more.
• Another, backed by USDA Rural Development, provided federal readiness training and direct grant-writing support for rural Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to apply for federal broadband funding. Rural Prosperity Partners was the first organization in the nation to receive a USDA cooperative agreement specifically for broadband technical assistance, marking a groundbreaking step in expanding connectivity support for rural communities. 

Through these projects, Rural Prosperity Partners provided communities with the training and support they needed to apply for and secure federal funding. Successes from these projects and other efforts, include:

•  $9 million in USDA broadband funding secured for Coos-Curry Electric Cooperative in Oregon.  
• $1.5 million Community Development Block Grant to expand food bank services in the City of Umatilla, Oregon.
• $1 million in Economic Development Administration grant funding for the Economic Development Administration to boost workforce training and business development on the Oregon Coast.

Without support, many rural communities leave money on the table. Technical assistance helps bridge the gap between need and opportunity. 

Fostering Success

Technical assistance plays a crucial role in empowering rural counties to access critical funding for community needs. By partnering with organizations like Rural Prosperity Partners, rural communities can overcome capacity constraints and navigate the increasingly competitive federal funding landscape. These partnerships provide several key benefits:

• Provide expert guidance in identifying and securing funding opportunities
• Offer experienced support to overcome local capacity challenges
• Ensure compliance and successful grant management
• Build long-term expertise and knowledge  

In today's competitive funding environment, having a trusted technical assistance provider is no longer optional—it's essential. 

About Rural Prosperity Partners
Rural Prosperity Partners is a technical assistance firm with over 40 years of project development and grant experience and 25 years of telecommunications expertise. Our services include:

• Project Development
• Grant Identification & Writing
• Grant Administration
• Broadband Consulting
• Rural Technology Innovations: Training, Capacity Building, and Optimization  

For information about upcoming trainings, or to speak with a member of our team about how you can position your community to secure state and federal funding, please contact Rachael Maddock-Hughes, CEO, at rachael@ruralprosperity.com, or at 541-810-4985.