The U. S. Dept. of Education's Rehabilitation Services Administration recently funded a $1.25 million five-year national self-employment demonstration project developed by the Rural Institute Training Department. The Rural Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment Expansion Design Project (RESEED) will build self-employment capacity in rural/remote communities while addressing the needs of individuals with significant disabilities. This project addresses the Invitational Priority on Career Advancement and is unique due to its inclusive approach to consumer self-determination, Native American and minority engagement, staff training, and economic community capacity building. The project will select, with the assistance of a broad-based, Advisory Council, four nationally distributed community-based rehabilitation agencies and Native American Rehabilitation Programs (Section 121) per year (20 total sites) located in towns no larger than 15,000 population. A total of $300,000 will be distributed to demonstration sites. Each site receives a sub-contract averaging $14,000 through RESEED to build self-employment capacity in replicable ways, and receives intensive on-site technical training and consultation focused upon entrepreneurship, business planning, financing/alternative funding, and supports for individuals with disabilities.

First year sites were developed during the preparation of the proposal, but in years two through five, a national competition will be held to recruit sites. The first year demonstration sites are:

Community Entry Services in Riverton, Wyoming in partnership with the Eastern Shoshone-Red Feathered Eagle Tribal VR Program
New Horizons in Harlem, Montana in partnership with the Fort Belknap Tribal VR Program
The Center for Community in Sitka, Alaska
The ARC of Stanly County in Albemarle, North Carolina

RESEED is based on the work of the Training Department staff who have assisted, along with a host of other community entities, such as Small Business Development Centers, over 100 individuals in starting their own businesses. For further information, please contact Cary Griffin at (406) 243-2454, cgriffin@selway.umt.edu