U.S. Small Business Administration Launches $100 Million Community Navigator Pilot Program
Competitive grant awards will range from $1 million to $5 million for a two-year performance period.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently announced that it is accepting applications for its new Community Navigator Pilot Program. This new initiative, established by the American Rescue Plan, will leverage a community navigator approach to reach U.S. small businesses, with a priority focus on those owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, as well as women and veterans. SBA will accept applications through July 12, 2021, and anticipates making award decisions by August 2021.
“The Community Navigator Pilot Program is a crucial addition to our SBA programs because it helps us to connect with small businesses that have historically been underserved or left behind. These businesses—the smallest of the small in rural and urban America, and those owned by women, people of color, or veterans—have suffered the greatest economic loss from this pandemic,” said SBA administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman. “We’ll be using a hub and spoke model in local regions across the nation to bridge the gap between local entrepreneurs and SBA’s resources and programs. If we’re going to build back better, we need to ensure that all entrepreneurs have the support they need to recover.”
The Community Navigator Notice of Funding Opportunity will be open to applications from nonprofit organizations, state, local, and tribal governments, SBA resource partners, and other organizations. Selected partners will engage in targeted outreach for small businesses in underserved communities to help small businesses get the resources and support they need to get back on track as the economy continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our small business owners—especially those owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, people of color, women, veterans, and Native Americans—they need us the most, and they need us now,” said Mark Madrid, SBA associate administrator for the Office for Entrepreneurial Development. “This initiative underscores our Agency’s commitment to connecting distressed small business resources with SBA resources and grant funding.”
Competitive grant awards will range from $1 million to $5 million for a two-year performance period. Applicants have until July 12, 2021, to submit their applications. Performance periods are projected to commence in September 2021. Those eligible to apply must meet and demonstrate abilities to support the requirements of this funding opportunity.
For more information on the Community Navigators Initiative, visit www.sba.gov/navigators.
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