Missoula Idea Wins $150,000.00 Grant

Photo courtesy of Altopower/flickr

The United States Department of Agriculture announced today the winners of its new grant program.  Businesses in 44 states and Puerto Rico received money for business development assistance including three companies in Montana. Public Affairs Specialist for USDA Rural Development in Montana, J. P. Pendleton explains the grants.

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Although most of the recipients of the grant were only awarded a few thousand dollars, one Missoula start-up business was awarded a $150,000.00 matching grant. The grant was awarded to an idea called the Omnibar. The owner of Omnibar, Cooper Burchenal took the time to explain how his company got off the ground and what the Omnibar is.

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Because of the need for a USDA inspected facility, we won’t be seeing Omnibars manufactured in Missoula for a while, but there could be other sales and networking jobs available for Missoulians in the near future.