The Washington State Department of Commerce (WSMA) is opening this statewide grant opportunity to fund nonprofit organizations that provide business training, technical assistance and access financing to the smallest businesses in Washington.
Donor Name: Washington State Microenterprise Association (WSMA)
State: Washington
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 12/01/2023
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
WSMA is dedicated to strengthening business technical assistance providers as they engage with economic development partners to support the smallest businesses to grow sustainably, equitably and financially throughout Washington state.
These nonprofit partners include Microenterprise Development Organizations (MDOs) or Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs), Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), Small Business Resiliency Partners (SBRN) and other organizations that serve Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), veterans, people with disabilities, returning citizens, LGBTQ+ and other very small businesses.
There is one grant opportunity in this cycle for nonprofit Microenterprise Development Organizations (MDOs) and others that support businesses in both rural and urban communities. They want to better understand the services being provided to businesses throughout Washington, especially in rural and urban areas and applicants will need to designate which area they are serving.
Funding Information
Application requests can be up to $125,000. Applicants are encouraged to request the maximum your program requires.
Uses of funds
Applicants may apply for funds to strengthen businesses the organization serves. These business training, technical assistance and/or microlending services are intended to support small businesses, especially those with 5 or fewer employees. This could include testing new business training, technical assistance and/or microlending services that support small businesses. Service areas include:
- Training: Provide webinars, workshops, or training programs that build the capacity of small businesses to attract new customers, manage their finances, fine tune their operations, apply for financing, etc.
- Technical Assistance: Assistance to small businesses that includes but is not limited to support for accessing federal and state loans/grants, business coaching, helping businesses with implementing their business plans, troubleshooting, improving marketing strategies or accessing financing, etc.
- Microlending or Access to Financing: Providing microloans or access to financing for Microenterprises. Please Note: Technical assistance, business counseling, outreach, and/or loan processing costs, etc. in support of those organizations that provide financing can be covered. However, the loan amount itself and/or any fees associated with it that are normally paid by the borrower cannot be covered; this funding prohibition applies as well to any type of other lending or financial instrument.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible applicants are Existing, Embedded, or Emerging non-profit Microenterprise Development Organizations (MDO) or other non-profit organizations in Washington State that support and provide business development services to microenterprises, especially in historically marginalized and under-resourced communities in Washington State.
- WSMA is committed to ensuring that equal opportunity is provided to Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), veterans, woman-owned enterprises, entrepreneurs with disabilities, justice involved entrepreneurs and others historically shut out from funding, training programs, financing and other opportunities.
- Grantees will be required to describe how their current and intended programs ensure diversity, equity and inclusion in their leadership, staffing, delivery of services and their sensitivity to the issues of race and gender. When considering funding, they will prioritize organizations that focus on one or more of these communities as well as organizations led by a person of color.
For more information, visit WSMA.
