---
kind: "section"
citation: "42 U.S.C. § 9810"
title: "42"
title_heading: "The Public Health and Welfare"
number: "9810"
heading: "Financial assistance to low-income families, local cooperative associations, and local public or private nonprofit organizations or entities; amount, purposes, etc."
release: "119-102"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/42/9810"
units:
  - "Chapter 105 — Community Services Programs"
  - "Subchapter I — Community Economic Development"
  - "Part B — Special Rural Programs"
---

# §9810. Financial assistance to low-income families, local cooperative associations, and local public or private nonprofit organizations or entities; amount, purposes, etc.

- (a) The [Secretary](/usc/42/242q–4.md?p=2) is authorized to provide financial assistance, including loans having a maximum maturity of fifteen years and in amounts not resulting in an aggregate principal indebtedness of more than $3,500 at any one time, to any low-[income](/usc/42/292s.md?p=c-4) rural [family](/usc/42/290ff–4.md?p=d-2) where, in the judgment of the [Secretary](/usc/42/242q–4.md?p=2), such financial assistance has a reasonable possibility of effecting a permanent increase in the [income](/usc/42/292s.md?p=c-4) of such [families](/usc/42/12704.md?p=11), or will contribute to the improvement of their living or [housing](/usc/42/1490p–2.md?p=r-3) conditions, by assisting or permitting them to—
  - (1) acquire or improve real estate or reduce encumbrances or erect improvements thereon;
  - (2) operate or improve the operation of farms not larger than [family](/usc/42/290ff–4.md?p=d-2) sized, including but not limited to the purchase of feed, seed, fertilizer, livestock, poultry, and equipment; or
  - (3) participate in cooperative associations, or finance nonagricultral[^1] enterprises which will enable such [families](/usc/42/12704.md?p=11) to supplement their [income](/usc/42/292s.md?p=c-4).
- (b) The [Secretary](/usc/42/242q–4.md?p=2) is authorized to provide financial assistance to local cooperative associations or local public and private nonprofit organizations or agencies in rural areas containing concentrations or substantial numbers of low-[income](/usc/42/292s.md?p=c-4) [persons](/usc/42/1320a–7k.md?p=d-4-C-i) for the purpose of defraying all or part of the costs of establishing and operating cooperative [programs](/usc/42/274l–1.md?p=4) for farming, purchasing, marketing, processing, and to improve their [income](/usc/42/292s.md?p=c-4) as producers and their purchasing power as consumers, and to provide such essentials as credit and health services. Costs which may be defrayed shall include—
  - (1) administrative costs of staff and overhead;
  - (2) costs of planning and developing new enterprises;
  - (3) costs of acquiring technical assistance; and
  - (4) initial capital where it is determined by the [Secretary](/usc/42/242q–4.md?p=2) that the poverty of the [families](/usc/42/12704.md?p=11) participating in the [program](/usc/42/274l–1.md?p=4) and the social conditions of the rural area require such assistance.

## Footnotes

[^1]: So in original. Probably should be “nonagricultural”.

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 97–35, title VI, § 621, Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 493.)