Small
Business Resource Guide
This resource guide provides easy access to information on national organizations and programs that can provide assistance to small businesses on a variety of financial services. Use the Resource Guide to explore capital access and technical assistance sources for small and minority-owned businesses. The information is organized under the
following categories:
General Information and OCC
Resources
Advisory Letter on Capital Access for Minority-Owned
Businesses – This is an updated version of the original advisory letter,
released in 1998, and identifies activities and practices that assist national
banks in supporting the financing needs of minority-owned businesses.
National Bank Community Development Investments Directory
– Describes investments made under 12 CFR Part 24, the OCC’s Community
Development Investment authority. Under
“Part 24” national banks may make investments in CDCs and CD projects that are
designed primarily to promote the public welfare. Some of these CDCs and CD projects target small business as the
investment opportunity.
Strengthening America: The Small Business Advantage –
The OCC’s Winter 2003 edition of the Community Developments newsletter looks at what banks and other financial institutions are doing to support small businesses.
Capital Access
Programs (CAP) – Capital
Access Programs are pooled loan programs usually administered by state
agencies. CAPs allow banks to use their
own underwriting standards to make loans – no government approval is
required. The U.S. Treasury maintains a
report on capital access programs, Capital Access Programs: A summary of
nationwide performance that is available at
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/docs/cap01.pdf
National Commission on Entrepreneurship (NCOE) - The National Commission on Entrepreneurship is a non-profit
organization that was established to provide local, state, and national leaders
with information on how to sustain and expand a flourishing entrepreneurial
economy. Entrepreneurship is the critical force behind innovation and new
wealth creation -- the key drivers of economic growth. Through research,
publishing, conferences and other events, the NCOE promotes an agenda that
helps grow a successful entrepreneurial economy into the 21st century.
www.ncoe.org
National Small
Business Association (NSBA) - The National Small Business
Association® is a
volunteer-directed association, the primary mission of which is to advocate
state and federal policies that are beneficial to small business, the state,
and the nation; and to promote the growth of free enterprise.
www.nsbaonline.org
Education/Training/Technical Assistance
SBA Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) -
The U.S Small Business Administration (SBA) administers the Small
Business Development Center Program to provide management assistance to current
and prospective small business owners. SBDCs offer one-stop assistance to
individuals and small businesses by providing management and technical
assistance.
http://www.sba.gov/sbdc/
Small Business Development Center National Information
Clearing House (SBDCNET) - The mission of the Small Business Development
Center National Information Clearinghouse is to meet the information needs of
the SBDC community in the U.S. and its territories. SBDCNET serves as a
resource providing timely, relevant research, web-based information, and
training to SBDC counselors and their small business clients.
http://sbdcnet.utsa.edu/about.htm
National Business Incubation
Association
(NBIA) – NBIA was established to advance business incubation
and entrepreneurship. NBIA provides information, education, advocacy and
networking resources to bring excellence to the process of assisting early-stage
companies worldwide.
www.nbia.org
Small
Business and Self-Employment Service (SBSES) - SBSES is a service of the Office of Disability
Employment Policy of the U.S. Department of Labor that provides comprehensive
information, counseling and referrals about self-employment and small business
ownership opportunities for people with disabilities.
National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders
(NAGGL) - The National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders, Inc.
was established as a source of technical information for small businesses and
financial institutions on the SBA 7(a) loan program.
www.naggl.com
Senior Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) – SBA
originally sponsored the now-independent SCORE to assist in providing technical
assistance, advise, and mentoring to aspiring entrepreneurs and small business
owners. SCORE is a nonprofit
association with 11, 500 volunteer business counselors located throughout the
U.S. in 389 chapters.
www.score.org
Kauffman Foundation – Entreworld.org is a web portal
providing online resources for small business owners. It contains a search
engine that can provide articles, program information, and contacts for
entrepreneurs and small businesses.
www.entreworld.org
Government Resources
U.S. Small
Business Administration (SBA) – The SBA’s mission is to maintain and
strengthen the nation’s economy by aiding, counseling, assisting, and
protecting the interests of small businesses and by helping families and
businesses recover from national disasters.
It provides these services through a number of programs.
Office of Advocacy
– The Office of Advocacy of
the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent voice for
small business within the federal government that conducts economic research, policy analyses,
and small business outreach to help identify issues of concern. Regional Advocates and an office in
Washington, DC, support the Chief Counsel's efforts in these
areas.
SBA
7(a) Loan Guaranty Program – This loan guaranty program is designed to
help eligible small businesses obtain bank financing when they might not
qualify for traditional financing. Loan
proceeds may be used for most business purposes, including working capital,
machinery and equipment, furniture and fixtures, land and buildings, leasehold
improvements, and debt refinancing. SBA offers tips for ensuring that 7(a) loan guaranty claims get paid in full.
CAPLines
– Finances the short-term and cyclical working capital needs of small
businesses.
SBA 504 Certified Development
Company Loan Program
– Provides
subordinate financing needed by some small businesses. A certified development company, or CDC, is
a nonprofit corporation established to work with lenders who make senior debt
financing available to growing small businesses. Typically, a 504 project includes a loan secured with a senior
lien from a bank covering up to 50 percent of the project cost, a subordinate
504 loan from the CDC (backed by a 100 percent SBA-guaranteed debenture)
covering 40 percent of the cost, and the remaining 10 percent in equity from
the borrower. Loans made under the SBA
504 program are typically used for the purchase of real estate or machinery and
equipment for small business expansion or modernization.
CommunityExpress
– CommunityExpress is a
subset of the 7(a) program and provides loan guarantees of up to 85 percent on
loans up to $250,000. Unique features
of the program are that it targets low-and moderate-income geographies and
women and minority business entities (MBEs).
The program contains the requirement for pre- and post loan technical
assistance to the MBE to be provided by independent third parties.
Small Business Investment
Companies (SBIC) – SBICs are privately owned and managed
companies licensed by the SBA, The primary benefit of becoming a licensed SBIC
is that once approve, the SBA provides a 2:1 public/private-funding match on
the required minimum private capital, thereby leveraging the investor’s initial
equity contribution. Funds raised by
SBICs are then invested in firms, which meet the SBA’s definition of small
businesses.
SBA’s Office of Native American Affairs – Develops initiatives that ensure
Native Americans have access to business-development resources, training and
services in their communities. The
primary focus of the Office of Native American Affairs is economic development
and job creation through small business ownership and education. The Office works with individual and
tribally owned organizations; other federal, state, and local agencies;
non-profit organizations; and national Native American organizations.
SBA 8(a) Business
Development Certification – Small, minority-owned businesses are
certified by the SBA and then compete for government contracts. Firms end up competing against firms with
similar qualifications and size, and do not have to compete with larger, more
established businesses.
Minority Business
Development Agency (MBDA) – U.S. Department of Commerce –- The MBDA
encourages the creation, growth, and expansion of minority-owned
businesses. Technical assistance is
provided to minority-owned businesses through agency workshops, conferences and
direct technical assistance provision.
MBDA also funds Business Development Centers around the country to
assist with the start-up, expansion, and development of minority-owned
firms.
U.S.
Department of Agriculture – Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program –
The Business and Industry (B&I) Guaranteed Loan Program helps create
jobs and stimulates rural economies by providing financial backing for rural
businesses. This program provides guarantees up to 90 percent of a loan made by
a commercial lender. Loan proceeds may be used for working capital, machinery
and equipment, buildings and real estate, and certain types of debt
refinancing. The primary purpose is to create and maintain employment and
improve the economic climate in rural communities.
Rural
Business and Cooperative Service (RBCS) – The USDA's RBCS office
provides financial assistance for rural businesses and also funding assistance
for nonprofits or CDCs that in turn loan to rural businesses in their local
area.
U.S. Department
of Transportation Short Term Lending Program (STLP) – This program
assists Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE) in obtaining short-term
working capital. The Short Term Lending Program (STLP) offers certified DBEs
the opportunity to obtain short-term working capital at prime interest rates
for transportation-related projects. The primary collateral consists of the
proceeds of the contracts. Borrowings under the lines of credit are to meet the
short-term costs of performing the contract(s) being financed.
Venture
Capital
National Association of Small Business Investment
Companies (NASBIC) is the professional association for the Small Business
Investment Company (SBIC) industry. The
association campaigns for federal laws, regulations, policies, and low-cost capital
that support SBICs and their ability to invest long-term debt and equity
venture capital in small businesses.
www.nasbic.org
National Association of Investment Companies (NAIC) – The
National Association of Investment Companies is the only industry association
for investment companies dedicating financial resources to investment in an
ethnically diverse marketplace. NAIC member companies invest in privately held
minority-owned businesses that have a high probability of growth and the
ability to generate significant returns for investors and shareholders.
www.naicvc.com
National Association of Seed and Venture Funds (NASVF) – The
National Association of Seed and Venture Funds is an organization of private,
public and nonprofit organizations committed to building their local economies
by investing and facilitating investment in local entrepreneurs.
www.nasvf.org
Community Development Venture Capital Alliance (CDVCA)
is the trade association for the rapidly growing community development venture
capital industry. CDVCA promotes use of
the tools of venture capital to create jobs, entrepreneurial capacity and
wealth to advance the livelihoods of low-income people and the economies of
distressed communities.
www.cdvca.org
Mezzanine Funds – Mezzanine financing is a form of
investment with risks and returns between those of secured bank loans and
equity investments. Traditional mezzanine funds provide subordinated debentures
with warrants to purchase stock. Several multibank small business mezzanine
funds now provide a similar type of capital for smaller companies – but with
changes that are appropriate to their smaller deal sizes. For more information
on mezzanine funds, click on the link below which will take you to an article
from our Winter 2000/2001 newsletter.
http://www.occ.treas.gov/cdd/mezfund.pdf
Small Business Investment Companies – see Small
Business Administration in the Government Resources section.
Microenterprise
Fund for Innovation, Effectiveness, Learning and
Dissemination (FIELD) – A program of the Aspen Institute, the mission of
FIELD is to identify, develop and disseminate best practices and to educate
policymakers, funders, and others about microenterprise and an anti-poverty
intervention. FIELD conducts research,
on microenterprise and provides a microenterprise directory, listing program
and resources for micro businesses and investors.
www.fieldus.org
ACCION International – The mission of ACCION International is to provide "micro"
loans and business training to poor women and men who start their own
businesses.
www.accion.org
Association for Enterprise Development (AEO) - AEO
supports the development of strong and effective U.S. microenterprise programs
to assist underserved entrepreneurs in starting, stabilizing, and expanding
businesses. Through workshops and on-going research, AEO puts entrepreneurs in
touch with organizations that can help.
www.microenterpriseworks.org
Minority and Women-owned Business
Womenbiz.gov –
This is the gateway for women-owned businesses seeking access to procurement
contract with the Federal government. The site offers links to assist in
finding markets and business opportunities and provides key contacts for the
woman entrepreneur.
Office of
Women’s Business Ownership - OWBO promotes the growth of women-owned
businesses through programs that address business training and technical
assistance, and provide access to credit and capital, federal contracts, and
international trade opportunities. With a women's business ownership
representative in every SBA district office, a nationwide network of mentoring
roundtables, women's business centers in nearly every state and territory,
women-owned venture capital companies, and the Online Women's Business Center,
OWBO is helping unprecedented numbers of women start and build successful
businesses.
Women Entrepreneurs - The
Department of Labor and the U.S. Small Business Administration have recently
launched a web site devoted to women entrepreneurs and small business
owners. The Women of the 21st
Century web site provides information on federal government resources that can
help entrepreneurs. To see the data
from the Center for Women's Business Research, go to
http://www.nfwbo.org/StateMetroReports.html.
National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) – NAWBO
is a national organization representing the interest of all women
entrepreneurs in all industries, and whose mission is to strengthen the wealth
creating capacity of women-owned businesses by building strategic alliances and
affiliations.
www.nawbo.org
SBA’s Office of
Native American Affairs - see Small
Business Administration in the Government
Resources section.
Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) – U.S.
Department of Commerce - see the Government Resources section.
Procurement
National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) – Providing
a direct link between corporate America and minority-owned businesses is the
primary objective of the National Minority Supplier Development Council. It was
chartered to provide increased procurement and business opportunities for
minority businesses of all sizes.
www.nmsdcus.org
SBA 8(a) Business Development Certification - see
Small Business Administration in the Government
Resources section.
|