Rural Development Finance Corporation Grant (RDFC)
The Rural Development Finance Corporation (RDFC) is pleased to announce it has approved a 2026 grant allotment of $2,000 per member-cooperative to be used to support community owned entities, non-profits and community-based projects.
Guidelines:
- Eligible projects: community owned businesses (café, grocery store, motel, other); community facilities (such as ambulance services, fire districts, recreation, hospital/clinic, community center, etc.); workforce development or community-based projects (such as school/youth projects) that benefit rural areas and lead to community betterment.
- RDFC does not provide funds for medical fundraisers or general operating costs.
- Matching funds: $4 of other funds to every $1 of RDFC funds. (for example: $8,000 in matching funds needed for a $2,000 grant request)
- Maximum/minimum grant amounts: The minimum grant amount is $1,000; the maximum is $2,000.
Sharing Success Grant
Burke-Divide Electric Cooperative is partnering with CoBank and Basin Electric Power Cooperative in the Sharing Success matching grant program once again this year.
Burke-Divide Electric will award up to three (3) grants totaling $7,500. Matching funds will be applied for through CoBank’s Sharing Success program and Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s matching grant fund.
To qualify for the grants, an organization must be a certified 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization, school, or fire/ambulance department, and be located within Burke-Divide Electric Cooperative’s service territory. Funds may not be used for general operating expenses
CoBank is a cooperative lending institution that provides loans and other financial services to vital industries throughout rural America including agribusiness, water, communications, and power providers. CoBank is headquartered outside Denver, CO, serving customers from regional banking centers across the U.S. The Sharing Success matching grant program is designed to celebrate the vital role that cooperatives play in individual communities across the country.
Basin Electric Power Cooperative is a wholesale electric generation and transmission cooperative headquartered in Bismarck that provides electricity to electric cooperatives in nine states, including Burke-Divide Electric Cooperative. Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s Charitable Giving Program mission statement is to distribute Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s charitable gifts to a wide range of programs for the greatest social and economic benefit for the Cooperative’s membership, employees, and communities.
The application deadline for both grants is July 1. Qualifying organizations may apply for both grants.
Contact Heidi Haugen-Grohs, member services manager, at (701)939-6671 or heidi@bdec.coop with questions.