On Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury Department made available an additional $10 million in technical assistance funding as part of the American Rescue Plan Act’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) TA Grant program.
The funding, awarded to four states, two territories, the District of Columbia and one Tribal government will support programs that provide legal, accounting and financial advisory services to small businesses that qualify. The Treasury allocated $200 million initially. This announcement brings the total awards so far this year to over $145 million.
“Today’s announcement reinforces President Biden’s commitment to invest in small businesses and entrepreneurs,” U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said. “Providing help to entrepreneurs like accounting services and legal advice is critical to unlocking their potential for growth and to continuing the nation’s historic small business boom.”
The SSBCI TA program supports small businesses and entrepreneurship across the U.S. to promote stability and growth. The Treasury Department also administers the SSBCI Capital Program to help participating jurisdictions implement credit and equity/venture capital programs for small businesses.
As part of the award announced Tuesday, Minnesota was approved for nearly $2 million in TA grant funding for the Minnesota Small Business Development Center with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. Levelock Village in Alaska was the first Tribal government to receive TA funding and was awarded $65,327 to provide legal and financial advisory services to underserved and very small businesses participating in the Tribe’s SSBCI-supported investment program.