U.S. Small Business Administration/Office of Women's Business Ownership Women's Business Centers (WBC) Sustainability Pilot Program to Provide Financial Counseling and other Management and Technical Assistance Services

The summary for the U.S. Small Business Administration/Office of Women's Business Ownership Women's Business Centers (WBC) Sustainability Pilot Program to Provide Financial Counseling and other Management and Technical Assistance Services grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the Small Business Administration, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

U.S. Small Business Administration/Office of Women's Business Ownership Women's Business Centers (WBC) Sustainability Pilot Program to Provide Financial Counseling and other Management and Technical Assistance Services: The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) plans to issue Program Announcement No. OWBO-2003-020 to invite applications from eligible nonprofit organizations to conduct Sustainability women's Business Center (WBC) projects. An eligible applicant is a previously funded WBC recipient that completed a full project term or a currently funded WBC recipient that is in the final year of its 5-year project term. Awards issued under this program announcement will mark the fourth year of funding for this 4-year Sustainability Pilot Program. The successful applicant will receive a cooperative agreement award to provide counseling, training and other technical assistance to women and others sho want to start or expand businesses. The authorizing legislation is the Women's Business Center Sustainability Act of 1999 (P.L. 106-165). A Women's Business Center is a 5-year community-based project that is funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration through a grant that requires matching funds. The project is a planned scope of activities that provide business skills services targeted to women and others. The project must operate as a distinct unit of the recipient's organization having its own budget for staff, facilities, equipment and resources to carry out project activities. The WBC services must include long-term training and counseling pertaining to financial, management and marketing assistance to benefit small business concerns owned and controlled by women and others. The application period will be from February 19, 2003 to March 27, 2003. SBA Headquarters must receive applications/proposals by 4:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, on the application closing date of March 27, 2003. SBA will determine the successful applicant using a competitive technical evaluation process. Service areas must include financial, management, marketing, loan, eCommerce and government procurement/certification assistance. Applicants must plan to include women who are socially and economically disadvantaged in the target group. The applicant may focus on specialized business categoies to assist women and others who are veterans, have disabilities, are in agribusiness, in home-based businesses and those living in Empowerment Zones, rural and urban areas. SBA will require award recipients to provide content and support to the SBA-funded Online Women's Business Center (www.onlinewbc.gov) and provide training on the business uses of the Internet. Each applicant must submit a five-year plan that describes proposed fund-raising, training and technical assistance activities. The WBC Sustainability Pilot Program is authorized for only four years, FY 2000 - FY 2003. This is the fourth year of the four-year pilot program. Further funding is subject to continued authorization and appropriations. If funds are available, a center may receive financial assistance annually, through a five-year term without re-competition with satisfactory performance. Award recipients must provide non-Federal matching funds in project years one through five that are equal to one non-Federal dollar for each Federal dollar. Up to one-half of the non-Federal match funds may be in the form of in-kind contributions (i.e., 50% of match must be in cash). Previously funded WBC's and current WBC's that are completing the final project year may access Program Announcement No. OWBO-2003-020 and application materials on the application opening date of February 19, 2003 at http://www.onlinewbc.gov/grants.html. Questions about this program announcement should be directed to Sally Murrell, WBC Program Manager at (202) 205-6673. Questions about budget of funding matters should be directed to Mina Bookhard, Grant Officer at (202) 205-7080.