SSBCI awards $50.8M in technical assistance grants in 20 states

The U.S. Department of the Treasury recently approved 20 additional state awards under the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) Technical Assistance Grant Program, totaling more than $50.8 million. These awards will provide legal, accounting, and financial advisory services to eligible small businesses applying for the SSBCI capital program and other government small business programs.

SSBCI includes funding for technical assistance to help very small businesses—defined as businesses with fewer than ten employees, including independent contractors and sole proprietors—and underserved small businesses apply for the SSBCI Capital Program and other government small business programs. The Treasury Department’s SSBCI Technical Assistance Grant Program and the newly announced SSBCI Investing in America Small Business Opportunity Program are designed to complement the SSBCI Capital Program.

Awards were made in AK, AZ, AR, ID, IN, IA, LA, ME, MD, MI, MS, NH, ND, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, WA, WI. These awards join 12 others that were announced in August 2023.

Examples of the technical assistance awards include:

• Michigan, specifically the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, approved for nearly $5.3 million in SSBCI technical assistance grant funding, will work with nine providers to deliver technical assistance. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation anticipates supporting 1,000 small businesses with this federal funding. 

• Virginia, approved for $4.1 million in grant funding, will work with the Virginia Small Business Financing Authority and its selected technical assistance providers to offer one-on-one mentoring, workshops, webinars, and more to underserved and very small businesses. The Virginia Small Business Financing Authority anticipates helping 1,000 small businesses with this federal funding. 
   
• South Carolina, specifically the South Carolina Jobs-Economic Development Authority, approved for $3.1 million in grant funding, will work with the South Carolina Small Business Development Center hosted by the University of South Carolina to offer a series of training events throughout the state, networking opportunities with lenders, and one-on-one assessments with business consultants, who will connect underserved and very small businesses. The South Carolina Small Business Development Center anticipates that it will serve upwards of 600 small businesses through classroom training, provide counseling to over 2,800 total small business clients, and that these services will result in over 360 completed SSBCI capital applications, in addition to connecting businesses to other sources of federal support. 

A complete list of award descriptions for states receiving these funds is available here.