SBA accepting ‘Navigator’ applications

Grant program will strengthen outreach to businesses in underserved areas

The $100 million grant program was enacted through the American Rescue Plan Act.

WASHINGTON, D.C. >> The U.S. Small Business Administration has begun accepting applications for its new Community Navigator Pilot Program.

The $100 million grant program was enacted through the American Rescue Plan Act. It will provide counseling, networking and assistance to the nation’s smallest businesses, and will have a priority focus on businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, as well as women and veterans.

The Small Business Administration is accepting applications through July 12, and anticipates making award decisions by August 2021.

Isabella Casillas Guzman, administrator of the Small Business Administration said the program is a “crucial addition” the agency’s programs, because it helps connect with small businesses that have been historically left behind.

“These businesses — the smallest of the small in rural and urban America, and those owned by women, people of color, or veterans — have suffered the greatest economic loss from this pandemic,” she said in a statement. “We’ll be using a hub and spoke model in local regions across the nation to bridge the gap between local entrepreneurs and SBA’s resources and programs. If we’re going to build back better, we need to ensure that all entrepreneurs have the support they need to recover.”

The Community Navigator Notice of Funding Opportunity is open to applications from nonprofit organizations, state, local, and tribal governments, Small Business Administration resource partners, and other organizations. Selected partners will engage in targeted outreach for small businesses in underserved communities to help small businesses get the resources and support they need to get back on track as the economy continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Competitive grant awards will range from $1 million to $5 million for a two-year performance period.

“Our small business owners — especially those owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, people of color, women, veterans, and Native

Americans — they need us the most, and they need us now,” Mark Madrid, Small Business Administration associate administrator for the Office for Entrepreneurial Development, said in a statement. “This initiative underscores our agency’s commitment to connecting distressed small business resources with SBA resources and grant funding.”

“The SBA understands the importance of partnering with organizations as well as smaller, local institutions that are already embedded in the fabric of the Main Street business communities they serve,” said Natalie Madeira Cofield, assistant administrator for the Office of Women’s Business Ownership, said in a statement. “Community Navigators are the backbone of aiding underserved and underrepresented communities across the nation with recovery.”

Key in the initiative are partners and people in the community, serving as a two-way information stream, enabling enterprising business owners to receive the help needed from the Small Business Administration, according to a press release.

“Serving as the foundation of America’s economy, these underserved businesses have areas of concern that need to be addressed,” the release stated.

Applicants have until July 12, 2021, to submit their applications at grants.gov. Performance periods are projected to commence in September 2021. Those eligible to apply must meet and demonstrate abilities to support the requirements of this funding opportunity.

For more information on the Community Navigators Initiative, please visit www.sba.gov/ navigators.