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SBA Grants Will Fund 19 New Women's Business Centers, Continue Funding for 80 Existing Centers

SB Informer
Wednesday, November 15, 2006; 01:54 AM

The U.S. Small Business Administration (www.sba.gov) announced $12 million in grant funding for 19 new Women's Business Centers (WBCs) and 80 existing WBCs, broadening the reach of business training and counseling to assist women to start, grow and expand their small businesses.

The $12 million includes funding for the 19 new WBCs, continued funding for the 29 existing WBCs that are still in their first five years of funding and 51 older WBCs that were awarded sustainability grants. Each WBC is required to match a portion of the federal funds with private contributions.

WBCs are community-based and they are in nearly every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and American Samoa, serving a wide variety of economic environments including urban, suburban and rural. Each WBC tailors its services to meet the needs of the local area, and works to provide women business owners with long-term training, counseling and mentoring, as well as access to all of the SBA's programs and services.

The WBC program, established by Congress in 1988, is administered by the SBA's Office of Women's Business Ownership and promotes the growth of women- owned businesses through business training and technical assistance, and provides access to credit and capital, federal contracts, and international trade opportunities.

The new WBCs are located in the following cities: Wiscasset, Maine; Kenosha, Wis.; Seattle, Wash.; New York, N.Y.; Durant, Okla.; Philadelphia, Pa.; Greensburg, Pa.; Los Angeles, Calif.; Wilmington, Del.; San Antonio, Texas; San Luis Obispo, Calif.; Syracuse, N.Y.; Forest, Miss.; Newark, N.J.; Santa Ana, Calif.; Huntsville, Ala. (serving Northern Alabama counties); Mobile, Ala.; San Bernardino, Calif.; and Albuquerque, N.M.

With the addition of these 19 centers, women entrepreneurs now have 99 WBCs nationwide to help them start and grow their small businesses. The WBC program served more than 144,000 clients across the country last year, providing help with financial management, procurement training, marketing and technical assistance. WBCs also provide specialized programs that include mentoring in various languages, Internet training, issues facing displaced workers and rural home-based entrepreneurs.

For a complete list of all centers receiving grants, to find the location nearest to you and for additional information about the SBA's Women's Business Center program, visit online at http://www.onlinewbc.gov/wbc.pdf.

New FY 2006 Women's Business Centers
Grant Recipients, 2006

Coastal Enterprise, Inc.
36 Water Street
Wiscasset, ME

Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corp.
Racine/Kenosha Office
Tentative Location:
Kenosha Chamber of Commerce
Kenosha, WI

Seattle Business Assistance Center
(for Tacoma, WA)
1437 South Jackson, Suite 201
Seattle, WA

New York Association for New Americans, Inc.
17 Battery Place
New York, NY 10004

Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma, Inc.
(for Oklahoma City)
2912 Enterprise Blvd.
Durant, OK 74701

Empowerment Group, Inc.
2111 North Front Street
Philadelphia, PA 19143

Seton Hill University
Seton Hill Drive
Greensburg, PA 15601

CHARO Community Development Corporation
4301 East Valley Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90032 (for Riverside, CA)

YWCA Delaware, Inc.
100 W. Tenth Street, Suite 515
Wilmington, DE 19801

San Antonio Local Development Company Inc.
dba South Texas Business Fund
1901 S. Alamo, Suite 283
San Antonio, TX 78204

Mission Community Services Corporation/Mission BIC/WSP
4111 Broad Street, Suite 100
San Luis Obispo, CA 92401-7903

Syracuse Women's Business Innovation Center
Syracuse University
Skytop Office Building, Suite 124
Syracuse, NY 13244

Crudup-Ward Activity Center
656 Longview Street
Post Office Box 1113
Forest, MS 39074

Women's Venture Fund
The Latino Institute
346 Mount Prospect Avenue
Newark, NJ 07104

Rancho Santiago Community College District Foundation
2323 North Broadway
Santa Ana, CA 92706 (for Orange Co.)

Women's Business Center for North Alabama
185 Chateau Drive, 200 D
Huntsville, Alabama 35802 (for Northern AL counties)

Women's Business Center of Southern Alabama
1301 Azalea Road, Suite 201A
Mobile, AL 36693

Foundation for California State University/Coachella Valley
Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship
California State University, San Bernardino
5500 University Parkway
San Bernardino, CA 92407

Women's Economic Self-Sufficiency Team
414 Silver, SW
Albuquerque, NM 87102