LISC was just announced as a recipient of a $5 million grant from the Community Navigator Pilot Program, part of the federal American Rescue Plan and designed to reduce barriers to capital and other support that small businesses face, especially those owned by BIPOC, women and U.S. veteran entrepreneurs. The total $100 million initiative, administered by the Small Business Administration, will help a total of 51 organizations acting as hubs to connect small businesses with federal resources.
The excerpt below was originally published on SBA.gov:
SBA Administrator Guzman, Biden-Harris Administration Announce Community Navigator Pilot Program Grantees
51 Grantees Selected Nationwide to Serve as Hubs Connecting Disadvantaged Small Businesses with Government Resources
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman announced grantees for the Biden-Harris Administration’s Community Navigator Pilot Program, an American Rescue Plan initiative designed to reduce barriers that all small businesses, including those owned by disadvantaged groups such as veterans, women, and those from rural communities and communities of color, often face in accessing critical support. The Community Navigator Pilot Program will provide $100 million in funding to 51 organizations that will work with hundreds of local groups to connect America’s entrepreneurs to government resources so they can recover and thrive.
“The Biden-Harris Administration has prioritized building our small business ecosystems back better so that all of our entrepreneurs have a fair shot at achieving the American dream of business ownership,” said Administrator Guzman. “We need to meet businesses where they are with resources to start, grow and be resilient, and the Community Navigator Pilot Program will power a trusted network of community partners to connect America’s entrepreneurs with the SBA. The program’s Community Navigators will develop strong relationships with deeply trusted community-based organizations that will tap into one-on-one, targeted support from programs designed to help them create jobs and drive innovation.”
“The unprecedented hyperlocal and national coalition-building approach of the Community Navigator Pilot Program will catalyze small businesses,” said Mark Madrid Associate Administrator for the Office of Entrepreneurial Development. “These distinguished grantees will help supercharge our U.S. small business recovery. Simultaneously, they will help close historic and current resource gaps and advance equity, which remains one of our top priorities.”
About the Community Navigator Pilot Program
Utilizing a “hub and spoke” model from public health care federal programming, the SBA’s Community Navigator Pilot Program will help level the playing field for America’s entrepreneurs, especially our underserved women, people of color, veterans, and rural and low-income communities. Grantee “hubs” will serve as centralized, lead organizations, and will incorporate “spokes” to leverage partnerships with deeply trusted community-based organizations to help small businesses navigate government resources and tap into critical resources.
The SBA conducted a competitive review process to ensure compliance, objectivity, and integrity that allowed every applicant an opportunity to demonstrate the impact the SBA’s support of their organization could have on their communities.
Organizations selected to receive funding will be ramping up their operations in the coming weeks to support local business owners.
