The grant is $200,000 over the next five years. (Photo from iStock)
The Delaware Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is getting $200,000 in federal money as part of a larger $9 million grant to help underserved communities access development funding and innovative research.
The grant is part of a five-year federal program that runs through 2029, said Mike Bowman, director of the center and associate director of the Office of Economic Innovation and Partnerships at the University of Delaware.
While the number may seem small, it will increase the SBDC’s annual $1.5 million budget by 13%. The SBDC helps small businesses start, grow, and succeed with no-cost business advising.
Bowman said the money will help fund its current tech staff, provide clients with registration fees to specific tech conferences, cover the cost of professional grant writing services, and fuel the ongoing development of SBDC online services.
SBDC has two full-time tech staff members but can call on partners in the Delaware community to assist with specific projects or clients.
The federal program aims to improve outcomes for underserved communities by increasing participation from woman-owned, rural-based, or socially or economically disadvantaged small businesses through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, which are known collectively as America’s Seed Fund.
“There’s a very strong focus on women and minority businesses” and we work closely with Delaware State University, Bowman said. “[SBDC] will help clients with their idea and take it forward into a more applicable stage of applying and coaching them afterward.”
Since Delaware is such a small state, the $200,000 tends to go further for them than it would in another state, Bowman said.
“Some other big state might have a tremendous population, and it might not be able to do very much,” he said, adding that the money can have more impact as the SBDC can form close-knit partnerships in a smaller state.
The grant was officially awarded to “SBDC hosted by UD.” The Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program FAST funds allow SBDC to counsel about 100 clients per year, with about 60 categorized as coming from underserved communities.
FAST’s objective is to improve outcomes for underserved communities by increasing participation from woman-owned, rural-based, or socially or economically disadvantaged small businesses through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, which are known as America’s Seed Fund.
“Our clients have been awarded more than $6M in federal and state grants so far in 2024,” Bowman said.
Raised in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Jarek earned a B.A. in journalism and a B.A. in political science from Temple University in 2021. After running CNN’s Michael Smerconish’s YouTube channel, Jarek became a reporter for the Bucks County Herald before joining Delaware LIVE News.
