A Guide to Women- and Minority-Owned Business Funding ...

A Guide to Women- and Minority-Owned Business Funding Opportunities

How to Navigate the Funding Process

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

New York

2015

*Note: This document will be updated as information becomes available.

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Table of Contents

Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 5 Federal Section I........................................................................................................................6 Small Business Administration .................................................................................................6 1) 7(a) Loan Program.....................................................................................................................................6 2) CDC/504 Loan..........................................................................................................................................7 3) Surety Bond Guarantee Program ............................................................................................................7 4) Microloans ..................................................................................................................................................8 5) Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs) ...................................................................................8 6) Mentor-Prot?g? program..........................................................................................................................9 7) Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program ...............................................................9 8) Small Business Development Centers ..................................................................................................10 9) SCORE Association................................................................................................................................10 10) Office of Native American Affairs ...................................................................................................10 11) Office of Veterans Business Development .....................................................................................11 12) Small Business Learning Center ........................................................................................................11 13) Disaster Assistance:.............................................................................................................................11 14) HUB Zone............................................................................................................................................12 15) The Office of Women's Business Ownership ................................................................................13 16) U.S. Export Assistance Centers.........................................................................................................14 17) Export Express Loans ........................................................................................................................15 18) Export Transaction Financing...........................................................................................................15 19) International Trade Loans..................................................................................................................16 Federal Section II .................................................................................................................... 17 The National Women's Business Council .............................................................................. 17 1) Resources for Women in Business........................................................................................................17

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Federal Section III................................................................................................................... 18 United States Department of Agriculture ............................................................................... 18 1) Women and Minorities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Fields Program (WAMS)............................................................................................................................................................. 18

1) Rural Business Opportunity Grants (RBOG) .....................................................................................19

2) Rural Economic Development Loans and Grants .............................................................................19

3) Rural Business Enterprise Grants .........................................................................................................20

Federal Section IV ................................................................................................................... 21 National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)...................................................... 21 1) Mentor-Prot?g? Program .......................................................................................................................21

Federal Section V.....................................................................................................................22 United States Department of Veterans Affairs ........................................................................ 22 1) Mentor ? Prot?g? Program ....................................................................................................................22

Federal Section VI ................................................................................................................... 23 Department of Defense ........................................................................................................... 23 1) Depart of Defense Procurement Technical Assistance Program (PATP)......................................23

State Section I .......................................................................................................................... 24 Empire State Development ..................................................................................................... 24 1) Minority and Women Business Enterprise in New York State Certification .................................24

2) Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) Development & Lending Program .............................................................................................................................................................24

3) Procurement Assistance Program .........................................................................................................25

4) Minority and Women Revolving Loan Trust Program......................................................................25

5) Community Development Financial Institution Assistance Program (CDFI)...............................26

6) Entrepreneurial Assistance Program (EAP)........................................................................................26

State Section II ........................................................................................................................ 28 New York State Agencies Mentor Prot?g? Programs............................................................. 28 1) Metro Transit Authority Small Business Mentoring Program ..........................................................28

2) The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Mentor-Prot?g? Program ..................................28

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3) Dormitory Authority of the State of New York.................................................................................29

State Section III ....................................................................................................................... 30 New York State Business Development Corporation ............................................................. 30 Additional Resources............................................................................................................... 31 1) Small Business Agency List....................................................................................................................31

2) Women and Minority-Owned Research Sources................................................................................33

Business Certifications ............................................................................................................ 34 1) National Women Business Owners Corporation (NWBOC)...........................................................34

2) Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) ............................................................34

Letters of Support from Senator Gillibrand............................................................................. 35 Grant Guide Order Form......................................................................................................... 37 Casework Form........................................................................................................................ 38

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Introduction

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Dear Fellow New Yorker,

America's economic recovery will, in part, rest on our ability to unlock the economic potential of women and minority entrepreneurs. If we can promote the talent of women and minority business leaders and foster the success of a new generation of entrepreneurs, then America's economy will be stronger than ever. Today, there are nearly 20 million women and minority-owned businesses in the United States. During these difficult economic times, the costs of doing business can sometimes become a tremendous burden for our entrepreneurs and small business owners, particularly for women and minority owners that continue to face unfair disadvantages. To help with these costs, agencies throughout the Federal and New York State Governments are utilizing programs to offer loans, grants, tax incentives and other types of assistance to startup, growing, and established women and minority-owned businesses to allow for success and expansion of their enterprises.

Finding the resources that meet your needs in the complex web of agencies can be an impossible task. For this reason, I have created this guidebook to serve as a starting point in providing information from relevant federal agencies about what resources are available to individuals, businesses, community organizations and local governments. The information in this guidebook details energy program grants, loans, and tax credits. Its contents are by no means comprehensive, and as new programs and opportunities emerge, its contents will be updated to provide New Yorkers with the most up-to-date information possible.

My Senate website (gillibrand.) is continually updated with critical information about various funding opportunities that are available to you, how to access them, and where to apply. You can also request hard copies of this guidebook, and other thematic funding guidebooks, by filling out the guidebook order form at the end of this guidebook and mailing it back to my New York City office or by emailing an electronic copy to grants@gillibrand.. Furthermore, if you need assistance from a federal agency or with an immigration case, please refer to the casework form at the end of the GOAL or visit . As you move forward with any grant opportunities, please contact Andrew Usyk, my Grants Director, for letters of support, when applicable. You can reach him in my Washington, D.C. Office at grants@gillibrand., or (202)-224-4451.

A

Sincerely,

Kirsten Gillibrand United States Senator

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Federal Section I

Small Business Administration

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was created in 1953 as an independent agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation

The SBA helps Americans start, build and grow businesses. Through an extensive network of field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations, SBA delivers its services to people throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U. S. Virgin Islands and Guam.

1) 7(a) Loan Program

The 7(a) Loan Program is SBA's primary program to help start-up and existing small businesses obtain financing when they might not be eligible for business loans through normal lending channels. The name comes from section 7(a) of the Small Business Act, which authorizes SBA to provide business loans to American small businesses. SBA itself does not make loans, but rather guarantees a portion of loans made and administered by commercial lending institutions.

Additional information: 7(a) loans are the most basic and most commonly used type of loans. They are also the most

flexible, since financing can be guaranteed for a variety of general business purposes, including working capital, machinery and equipment, furniture and fixtures, land and building (including purchase, renovation and new construction), leasehold improvements, and debt refinancing (under special conditions). All 7(a) loans are provided by lenders who are called participants because they participate with SBA in the 7(a) program. Not all lenders choose to participate, but most American banks do. There are also some non-bank lenders who participate with SBA in the 7(a) program.

Eligibility: Eligibility requirements are designed to be as broad as possible in order that the lending

program can accommodate the most diverse variety of small business financing needs. All businesses that are considered for financing under SBA's 7(a) loan program must meet SBA size standards, be for-profit, not already have the internal resources (business or personal) to provide the financing and be able to demonstrate repayment. Eligibility factors for all 7(a) loans include: size, type of business, use of proceeds, and the availability of funds from other sources.

Contact information For more information, please visit:



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2) CDC/504 Loan

The CDC/504 loan program is a long-term financing tool for economic development within a community. The 504 Program provides growing businesses with long-term, fixed-rate financing for major fixed assets, such as land and buildings. A Certified Development Company is a nonprofit corporation set up to contribute to the economic development of its community. CDCs work with the SBA and private-sector lenders to provide financing to small businesses. There are about 270 CDCs nationwide, with each covering a specific geographic area.

Additional information: Proceeds from 504 loans must be used for fixed asset projects such as: purchasing land and

improvements, including existing buildings, grading, street improvements, utilities, parking lots and landscaping; construction of new facilities, or modernizing, renovating or converting existing facilities; or purchasing long-term machinery and equipment. The 504 Program cannot be used for working capital or inventory, consolidating or repaying debt, or refinancing. Interest rates on 504 loans are pegged to an increment above the current market rate for five-year and 10-year U.S. Treasury issues. Maturities of 10 and 20 years are available. Fees total approximately three (3) percent of the debenture and may be financed with the loan.

Eligibility: To be eligible, the business must be operated for profit and fall within the size standards set

by the SBA. Under the 504 Program, the business qualifies as small if it does not have a tangible net worth in excess of $7.5 million and does not have an average net income in excess of $2.5 million after taxes for the preceding two years. Loans cannot be made to businesses engaged in speculation or investment in rental real estate.

Contact information: US Small Business Administration

409 3rd St, SW Washington DC 20416 Telephone: (800) 827-5722 For more information, please visit:

3) Surety Bond Guarantee Program

The U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) Surety Bond Guarantee (SBG) program can guarantee bid, performance and payment bonds for individual contracts of $5 million or less. This Federal guarantee encourages companies to bond small businesses having difficulty obtaining bonding on their own.

Additional information: There is no limit to the number of bonds that can be guaranteed for any one contractor.

SBA's guarantee gives sureties an incentive to provide bonding for eligible contractors, and thereby provides greater access to contracting opportunities. A surety guarantee, an agreement between a surety and the SBA, provides that SBA will assume a predetermined percentage of loss in the event the contractor should breach the terms of the contract.

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Eligibility: Small and emerging contractors who cannot obtain surety bonds through regular commercial

channels. The contractor's business must be independently owned and operated and qualify as a small

business under federal regulations.

Contact information: Pam Swilling

Office of Surety Guarantees 409 Third Street SW, suite 8600 Washington, D.C. 20416 Email: pam.swelling@ Telephone: (202) 205 6546

4) Microloans

The Microloan Program provides very small loans to start-up, newly established, or growing small business concerns. Under this program, SBA makes funds available to nonprofit community based lenders (intermediaries) which, in turn, make loans to eligible borrowers in amounts up to a maximum of $35,000. The average loan size is about $13,000. Applications are submitted to the local intermediary and all credit decisions are made on the local level.

Additional information: The maximum term allowed for a microloan is six years. However, loan terms vary

according to the size of the loan, the planned use of funds, the requirements of the intermediary lender, and the needs of the small business borrower. .

Contact information: Small Business Administration

Telephone: (800) 827 5722 Website:

5) Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs)

Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs) are privately owned companies that are licensed by the SBA to provide debt and equity capital to small businesses. They can obtain loans from the SBA to supplement their own capital.

Additional information: For the SBIC program, a small business is a business with net worth of $18 million or less

and an average after-tax income for the two preceding years of $6 million or less. There are alternative size standards in some industries. The SBIC sells a debenture to the SBA, which guarantees repayment and creates a pool of these debentures for resale on the secondary market. SBICs can borrow three times their private capital to a maximum of $113 million.

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