[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 160 (Thursday, August 17, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 50264]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-20872]


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SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION


Federal Assistance for Women's Business Centers (WBC) 
Sustainability Pilot Program To Provide Financial Counseling and Other 
Technical Assistance to Women

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration.

ACTION: Program Announcement No. OWBO-2001-016.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) plans to issue 
program announcement No. OWBO-2001-016 to invite applications from 
eligible nonprofit organizations to conduct Women's Business Center 
(WBC) projects. Eligible applicants are nonprofit organizations that 
have received financial assistance from SBA under its WBC Program. To 
be eligible the applicant must be either in the final year of its WBC 
5-year project or have completed a WBC project financed by SBA which 
continues to provide assistance to women entrepreneurs. Funds will be 
provided to continue business training, counseling and technical 
assistance to women for an additional 5-year period. The authorizing 
legislation to establish this 4-year pilot program is the Women's 
Business Center Sustainability Act and the Small Business Act, 
Secs. 2(h) and 29, 15 U.S.C. Secs. 631(h) and 656. SBA Headquarters 
must receive applications/proposals by 4:00 p.m., Eastern Standard 
Time, on the closing date of the application period. SBA will select 
successful applicants using a competitive process. Applications will be 
reviewed and awarded simultaneously with other applications for first-
time WBCs submitted under Program Announcement No. OWBO-2001-015.
    Service and assistance areas must include financial, management, 
marketing, loan packaging, eCommerce and government procurement/
certification assistance. Applicants must plan to include women who are 
socially and economically disadvantaged in the target group. The 
applicant may propose specialized services that will assist women in 
Empowerment Zones, women who are veterans, women with disabilities, 
women with home-based businesses, women in agribusiness, or women in 
rural or urban areas. SBA will require award recipients to provide 
content and support to the SBA-funded Online Women's Business Center, 
(www.onlinewbc,org) and provide training on the business uses of the 
Internet. Applicants' technical proposal must contain information about 
its current status and past performance, and a 5-year plan for service 
delivery, fund-raising, training and technical assistance activities. A 
center may receive financial assistance up to three years (this is the 
second year of the four year pilot program) during the pilot's 
authorization period, however, the award will be issued annually to 
conduct a 12-month project.
    The non-Federal match requirement is one non-Federal dollar for 
each Federal dollar in years 1 through 5 of the project. Up to one-half 
of the non-Federal matching funds may be in the form of in-kind 
contributions.

DATES: The application period will be from late September 2000 to mid-
November 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sally Murrell, (202) 205-6673 or Mina 
Wales (202) 205-7080.

Sherrye P. Henry,
Assistant Administrator, SBA/Office of Women's Business Ownership.
[FR Doc. 00-20872 Filed 8-16-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8025-01-P