In case you missed it! On July 29, 2021, Vice President Kamala Harris and Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman joined small business owners from across the country as part of the Getting Back on Track Webinar Series by Small Business Administration (SBA) to discuss government resources and tools that are helping small business owners recover from the pandemic and build back better.
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, Chair of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on July 8th announced that MBDA Tacoma received a $2 million award to support their operations for the next five years. The announcement came during a roundtable discussion with minority-owned small business leaders and entrepreneurs from across Washington who shared their own successful experiences with the Center.
The MBDA-Tacoma Business Center and Business Impact Northwest hosted the meeting which included Senator Cantwell, Commerce Secretary Raimondo, Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards and a panel of minority-owned firms. CMBDA clients voiced their experiences and feedback about the importance of MBDA’s role in assisting minority-owned businesses and federal support for the agency. Read more
Launched on June 30th, the Small Business Flex Fund, developed in response to COVID-19, is designed to get financial support into the hands of Washington State’s smallest businesses and nonprofits.
To be eligible to apply, small businesses and nonprofits must employ 50 or fewer full-time equivalent (FTE) employees, have annual revenues of less than $3 million per year, and experience a direct economic disruption as a result of COVID-19.
Details below:
MBDA is proud to collaborate with Amazon on its Black Business Accelerator.
Amazon is launching the Black Business Accelerator (BBA) to help build sustainable equity and growth for Black-owned businesses. The initiative—which explicitly targets barriers to access, opportunity, and advancement created by systemic racism across America—was created in partnership with Amazon’s Black Employee Network and a coalition of strategic partners.
See available benefits below. Read more
Please join Washington PTAC in wishing the “Beta” in Beta.Sam.Gov a fond farewell! That’s right, “Beta” is going away and the end of this month at which point SAM.gov will fully merge with Beta.Sam.Gov. Why does this matter?
The sharks are out! Watch for scammers who want to sell you SAM registration. The official site is free. If you get stuck your local PTAC can assist.
Here are a few free webinars where you can learn more about SAM.gov:
> Washington PTAC will be hosting a workshop on the updated platform functions June 9, 11:00 a.m. PDT. Click here to register.
> GSA: In preparation for the upcoming integration of SAM.gov, you are invited to participate in the next Integrated Award Environment online Stakeholder Forum on Wednesday, May 5, 2021, from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PDT. Register here.
The Port of Seattle continued its investment in an equitable recovery today announcing a new accelerator for women- and minority-owned small businesses looking to innovate and grow. The Port’s first-ever PortGen Accelerator begins accepting applications for this intensive two-month business development program today. Businesses accepted into this inaugural cohort will access mentorship and programming from the Seattle entrepreneurship community and increase their contracting opportunities from the Port.
Applications for the PortGen Accelerator are open through May 15. Interested applicants may select this link to learn more about the accelerator and apply for the 2021 opportunity.
Your small business must meet some basic requirements before you can compete for government contracts. See following criteria to learn about requirements:
System for Award Management entity registration training WEBINAR. Providing step by step guidance on registering your entity, be it a business, individual, or organization, in the System for Award Management, also known as SAM.gov for Federal Assistance Awards Only.
Click here to watch the training provided by SBA.gov
The Shuttered Venue Operators (SVO) Grant program was established by the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act, signed into law on December 27, 2020. The program includes $15 billion in grants to shuttered venues, to be administered by the SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance.
Eligible applicants may qualify for SVO Grants equal to 45% of their gross earned revenue, with the maximum amount available for a single grant award of $10 million. $2 billion is reserved for eligible applications with up to 50 full-time employees.
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