SBA News Release
PRESS OFFICE

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SBA Awards Grants to Help Veteran Small Business Owners

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Release Date:  March 31, 2010
Contact:  Cecelia Taylor (202) 401-3059
Release Number: 10-10
Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news

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WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration today announced the
award of grants to 10 local SBA Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs)
to increase entrepreneurial assistance to veterans.  The grants will provide
approximately $1 million to fund programs for veterans that promote business
ownership and provide services to small businesses dealing with the
deployment of key personnel overseas.

Each SBDC receiving funds will promote increased coordination of services to
veterans, and will use multimedia tools to connect veterans through distance
learning and customized online business counseling by providing services to
reach the local veteran business community.  Five of the centers were
previously awarded grant funds to provide these services, and will now receive
a second year of funding.  Five centers will receive grant funds for the first
time.

Five SBDCs will receive a second year of funding.  They are located at the
Research Foundation at the State University of New York, the University of
Arkansas at Little Rock, the University of Kentucky Research Foundation in
Lexington, the University of Texas at San Antonio, and George Mason
University in Virginia.

Five grant recipients will receive awards for the first time.  They are the
SBDCs located at the Colorado Office of Economic Development and
International Trade, the University of Southern Maine, the University of
Nebraska at Omaha, Southeastern Oklahoma State University and Lane
Community College in Eugene, Ore.  They were selected from a highly
competitive pool of applicants based on the range of services they could
provide to veterans, and will provide the services as listed below:

The Arkansas SBDC developed Arkansasveteran.com as a one-stop virtual
veterans’ center, providing information about health, education, employment,
entrepreneurship and family issues.  This portal links federal, state and local
resources available to veterans.  Several colleges and universities have joined
in this initiative and offer free online courses to veterans through the site.
The Arkansas SBDC also joins other veteran organizations to provide transition
assistance for deployment as well as for transition back to civilian life.

The Kentucky SBDC created kyvetbiz.com to provide veterans with information
about the services available through the Kentucky SBDC and other
organizations that assist veterans.  The portal provides on-line business
courses in English and in Spanish, lists events and workshops occurring
statewide, has a blog on popular topics for veteran business owners, and links
federal, state and local resources available to veterans.  The Kentucky SBDC
is also active in veterans’ transition events.

The New York State SBDC created a special “Veterans’ Business Services”
Web page at www.nyssbdc.org/services/veterans/veterans.html that links
available services to veterans in the state and also to federal, state and local
resources.  Online training and business development are also available from
the site.  The program director participates in seminars for veterans
throughout the state and plans events tailored to veterans.

The San Antonio SBDC through its newly created Web site,
http://vasp.txsbdc.org, is a one-stop reference for veterans and military
personnel who are new entrepreneurs or small business owners.  It
provides self-assessment tools, on-line counseling, distance learning, web-
based assessments, government contracting assistance, business planning and
start-up assistance and help with preparation of applications for bank loans
and financing.  The Web site connects the resources of federal, state, and
local entities that are available to veterans.

The Virginia SBDC created www.vetbizresourcecenter.com that contains easy-
access video guides for veteran business owners and prospective business
owners covering a wide range of subjects, such as transitioning from the
military to business, preparing for deployment, financing and contracting
opportunities.  The site links vets and reservists to other federal state, and
local resources available to veterans.  The Virginia SBDC also participates in
veteran’s conferences and events.

The State of Colorado SBDC, along with its existing partners, will coordinate a
multi-state effort, collaborating with strategic partners to create an integrated
one-stop virtual resource for veteran-owned small businesses.  This resource
will provide information and high quality, cost-effective small business
assistance to the veteran community through Internet-based consulting,
training, social networking and a veteran database registry.

The Maine SBDC will create a technology-based program to provide the military
business community with tools to overcome the barriers to entrepreneurship.
The project will include a marketing initiative to promote the educational
services of the Maine SBDC available to the veteran community, provide online
counseling and distance learning, and create a veterans assistance portal by
coordinating with other organizations that assist veterans.

The Nebraska SBDC will provide services to veterans by coordinating with the
Veterans Administration, the Nebraska Department of Labor, the Veterans in
Business Forum, the Nebraska National Guard, and the 55th Air Wing and
Strategic Air Command at Offutt Air Force Base.  It will use news media and
speeches to service clubs and other organizations to reach veterans,
particularly at the early stages.  The center will develop a Web site for
veterans to serve as a portal to online counseling and courses, and provide
sound and timely information on starting and running a business.

The Oklahoma SBDC, located in a state that is home to four active military
installations, will work closely with each installation to provide services to
veterans and military personnel.  They will also work closely with Army family
readiness groups and provide training and education to veterans, and their
families, who are in business or are considering starting businesses.  The
center will provide resources to military personnel that will transition to the
civilian world.  The SBDC will also offer training sessions and workshops via live
video feed through a distance learning center, and expand on established
channels of communication to reach veterans in need of assistance.

The Oregon SBDC will establish a customized Veterans Small Business
Management program engaging National Guard business owners affected by
unexpected deployment and difficult economic times.  The training will allow
peer veteran sharing of information and best practices in business while
developing strategic planning solutions to help Oregon’s veterans.  The center
will serve as a one-stop point of contact and deliver services through
traditional one-on-one counseling and simultaneous distance education, VoIP
audio and Web technology to eliminate time and distance barriers.