Authorized by the Women’s Business Ownership Act of 1988, the Women's Business Center program has evolved through several long-term grant cycles. The Office of Women's Business Ownership initiated pilot programs in 1989, continued with sustainability programs in five-year cycles at the pilot grants' expiration and then was “institutionalized” in 2007. This Request for Proposals marks the first since the program became permanent. Exclusively for Women's Business Centers and with proven track records, this program invites them to take advantage of opportunities for renewing their $100,000 per year awards for another five years. Only Women's Business Centers which have successfully completed either an initial 5-year cycle or have operated for five years under a WBC sustainability grant are eligible to apply. Requiring at least a 1:1 funding match with a non-Federal source and limiting in-kind contributions, these WBC grants will continue to represent a valuable service.
During the past five years, Women's Business Centers have provided resources and technical assistance for start-up enterprises owned and operated by women. Specifically, they have helped women master finance, management and marketing, and they have offered some assistance with human resources issues and inventory control. In Fed-Speak, the WBC Project is supposed to “act as the catalyst for providing in-depth, substantive, outcome-oriented business services to women entrepreneurs, both nascent and established”. In other words, the Women's Business Centers help women make it in their own businesses: the business clients at the Women's Business Centers ought to see consistent expansion, job creation and employee retention, and steadily increasing revenues as a result of their collaboration with the WBC.
Consistent with almost all Federally-funded programs, this initiative required Women's Business Centers to serve significant numbers of disadvantaged women. Only certified non-profit (501c) organizations were eligible for the first round of these grants, so that, naturally, the same restriction applies when it comes to the second cycle.
The legislation and program standards require WBCs to coordinate their efforts with other Small Business Administration initiatives in their communities. Specifically, WBCs should team up with Small Business Development Centers and the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) to offer a comprehensive array of exemplary services without duplication. As is the case with most Federal programs, the WBCs are on the delivery end of a relatively complex hierarchy and they receive their most meaningful, effective technical assistance from their local SBA Technical Representative, who does nothing but stay abreast of and check on compliance requirements.
The winners of these awards will receive funds as of September 2009, through the end of September 2012. All recipients will receive one year's guaranteed funding - the “base year” - and then, given satisfactory compliance with the terms and conditions of the Cooperative Agreement, will receive funds for a second and a third “option year”.