SBA’s SBDCs, WBCs got a huge funding boost in the CARES Act

Their total funds more than doubled from FY2019 levels

      The Small Business Administration’s programs for entrepreneurial development won a huge increase in funding in the “CARES Act” coronavirus relief bill.

      Congress added $265 million to the CARES Act to support the SBA programs that provide training and technical assistance to small firms and startups.

      That is in addition to the regular appropriations of $239 million for those programs for fiscal 2020, resulting in more than double their taxpayer funding.

      The CARES Act allocation included $192 million this year for SBA’s 63 Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) and their hundreds of outreach locations.

      That is a supplement to the $135 million already appropriated for fiscal 2020, bringing the total for the year to $327 million, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service.

      The SBDCs’ allocation is more than double last year’s allocation, and more than triple the $88 million previously requested by President Trump for fiscal 2021.

      Similarly, the 125 Women’s Business Centers (WBCs), also under SBA’s umbrella, will receive an additional $48 million under the CARES Act. That is in addition to their fiscal 2020 appropriation of $22.5 million, bringing total funding to $70.5 million, according to the CRS report.

      The president previously had requested only $17 million for the WBCs in fiscal 2021.

      The CARES Act also included $25 million for a new program, COVID-19 Partner Resource Association Grants, under the SBA’s jurisdiction.

      The purpose of the new COVID-19 grants program is “to establish a single, online centralized hub for COVID-19 information and a COVID19-related training program for SBDC, WBC, SCORE, and veteran business outreach center (VBOC) counselors, the CRS report said.

More information:
CRS report: https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R41352

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