In a groundbreaking move to support rural communities, U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development has awarded a $100,000 grant to Syncurrent, a startup leveraging artificial intelligence to help local governments and tribal nations access critical grant funding.
With rural communities often facing significant resource constraints, this initiative aims to level the playing field by providing AI-powered tools to identify and secure much-needed funding. Six communities in Michigan will be selected for a pilot program to test and refine this innovative technology. The $100,000 grant funding the pilot is part of a rural business-cooperative service agreement.
“Michigan’s rural communities have told us time and again they struggle with awareness of federal funding sources available to them, and with the capacity to apply for funding when they become aware of it,” said USDA Rural Development Acting State Director for Michigan Valarie Handy in a statement. “We’re excited to support Syncurrent in this pilot program that will encourage rural communities to begin using artificial intelligence in seeking out federal and state investment dollars.”
Syncurrent is a Michigan-based platform that uses AI to search databases and to identify relevant state, federal and philanthropic funding and deliver a list of potential grants.
“Our AI platform empowers local governments and communities to more thoughtfully pursue the funding they are eligible for by allowing them to skip right to the application process for ideal grants, as opposed to navigating the tens of thousands of grants from multiple different sources they may or may not qualify to obtain,” said Dhruv C. Patel, co-founder and CEO of Syncurrent, in the statement. “We are grateful for the USDA’s commitment to investing in innovation and our shared mission of lifting up rural communities.”
Syncurrent specializes in working with tribal governments and helping them navigate securing tech solutions that protect their data sovereignty, as each tribe has unique policies to how they govern their data. In Michigan alone, there are 12 different tribal governments.
As part of the USDA Rural Development grant, six Michigan-based communities will be selected for a pilot program and receive access to Syncurrent’s platform and have the ability to collaborate with the company’s implementation team and USDA Rural Development. Interested rural communities and tribal nations can apply by emailing pilot@syncurrent.com. Participants will be selected by Dec. 11.
“Syncurrent is driven by a commitment to make a positive impact for underserved communities, specifically through helping them access resources, govern their data and drive local economic growth,” said Matthew Jaquez, co-founder and COO of Syncurrent, in the statement. “By working closely with these communities and governments, we intend to use their direct feedback to modify and build Syncurrent around their needs.”