Georgia Rural Site Development Initiative (RSDI)

Georgia's Rural Site Development Initiative is a state economic-development grant run by the Georgia Department of Economic Development with the OneGeorgia Authority and Georgia DCA. It exists to help local communities prepare rural sites that can compete for job-creating investment, including sites that can move into the Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development program. The program has two grant paths. Site Improvement Grants can reach $2 million for GRAD-certified sites, while Survey and Due Diligence Grants can reach $250,000 for communities that need help reaching GRAD certification. Applicants are development authorities, sites must be at least 50 contiguous acres, and the state expects either public ownership or a long enough option contract to support the work. Applications are reviewed semi-annually, and the county match is 10 percent in eligible counties or 25 percent in conditionally eligible counties. It is a place-based infrastructure program, so the strongest applicants bring a specific site, local backing, and a clear path to certification rather than a broad economic-development concept.

Each grant below is a distinct funding opportunity with its own eligibility, scope, and deliverables.