Some Women's Centers Get Funds, Most in Doubt The Small Business Administration has approved annual funding for 34 existing Women’s Business Centers, but the future of more than 50 others remains uncertain. The 34 centers will share $5.1 million in SBA money. Each site is required to match a portion of the federal funds with private contributions. Each center has been in operation for less than five years. SBA and the small business committees in Congress are at odds over the future of more than 50 other centers that are over five years old. They have been receiving so-called sustainability grants, but SBA has proposed killing those grants and using the money to open new centers. Without federal funding, some of the centers would be forced to close and others would have to cut back services, said a spokeswoman for the Association of Women’s Business Centers. The centers provide training and technical assistance to women entrepreneurs. The Senate passed legislation in April that would continue the sustainability grants and earmark a greater share of the federal appropriation for existing centers, but the House has not acted. A bipartisan group of senators asked SBA Administrator Hector Barreto to hold off awarding grants to new women’s centers until Aug. 1, to give Congress time to change the funding formula. (SAA, 7/9) An SBA spokesman, Raul Cisneros, said, “We are not going to fund any new centers until this is resolved.” He said discussions are continuing between the agency and Congress. The following centers received the SBA matching grants: Birmingham,AL; Pago Pago, AS; Tucson, AZ; Los Angeles, CA; San Bernardino, CA; San Diego, CA; Santa Barbara, CA; Lenexa, KS; New Orleans, LA; Worcester, MA; Grand Rapids, MI; St. Paul, MN; Kansas City, MO; Ashville, NC; Durham, NC; Lyons, NE; Reno, NV; Bronx, NY; Brooklyn, NY; Buffalo, NY; Queens, NY; Utica, NY; White Plains, NY; Cleveland, OH; Durant, OK; Norman, OK; Oklahoma City, OK; Lancaster, PA; Sioux Falls, SD; Chattanooga, TN; El Paso, TX; Springfield, VA; Richmond, VA; and Everett, WA.