12 2 STA T . 11 9 1 PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 2 34—M A Y 22 , 200 8‘ ‘ (1)AMOUNTREC E IV E D.— A RegionalB oa rdm a y no t re c ei v e more t h an $6,0 00,000 in regional innovation grant su nder this section during any 5- year p eriod. ‘‘( 2 ) D ETERMIN A TION O F AMOUNT.— T he S ecretary shall determine the amount o f a regional innovation grant b ased on— ‘‘(A) the needs of the region being addressed by the applicable regional rural investment strategy consistent w ith the purposes described in subsection (f)(2)
and ‘‘(B) the si z e of the geographical area of the region. ‘‘( 3 ) G EO G RA PH IC DIVER S IT Y .—The Secretary shall ensure that not more than 10 percent of funding made available under this section is provided to Regional Boards in any State. ‘‘(d) C OST-SHARING.— ‘‘(1) L IMITATION.—Sub j ect to paragraph (2), the amount of a grant made under this section shall not e x ceed 50 percent of the cost of the project. ‘‘(2) W AIVER OF GRANTEE SHARE.—The Secretary may waive the limitation in paragraph (1) under special circumstances, as determined by the Secretary, including— ‘‘(A) a sudden or severe economic dislocation; ‘‘(B) significant chronic unemployment or poverty; ‘‘(C) a natural disaster; or ‘‘(D) other severe economic, social, or cultural duress. ‘‘(3) O THER FEDERA L ASSISTANCE.— F or the purpose of deter- mining cost-share limitations for any other Federal program, funds provided under this section shall be considered to be non-Federal funds. ‘‘(e) P REFERENCES.— I n providing regional innovation grants under this section, the Secretary shall give— ‘‘(1) a high priority to strategies that demonstrate signifi- cant leverage of capital and q uality job creation; and ‘‘(2) a preference to an application proposing projects and initiatives that would— ‘‘(A) advance the overall regional competitiveness of a region; ‘‘(B) address the priorities of a regional rural invest- ment strategy, including priorities that— ‘‘(i) promote cross-sector collaboration, public-pri- vate partnerships, or the provision of interim financing or seed capital for program implementation; ‘‘(ii) exhibit collaborative innovation and entrepreneurship, particularly within a public-private partnership; and ‘‘(iii) represent a broad coalition of interests described in section 3 8 5D(a); ‘‘(C) include a strategy to leverage public non-Federal and private funds and existing assets, including agricul- tural, natural resource, and public infrastructure assets, with substantial emphasis placed on the existence of real financial commitments to leverage available funds; ‘‘(D) create quality jobs; ‘‘( E ) enhance the role, relevance, and leveraging poten- tial of community and regional foundations in support of regional investment strategies;
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