Harrisburg – The Department of General Services and the Veterans Business Advocates Committee will hold free workshops to assist veteran-owned businesses in identifying business opportunities under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or ARRA.
· Erie, Friday, Feb. 26, beginning at 8:30 a.m., at Gannon University, Waldron Campus Center, Yehl Ballroom, 124 West 7th St.
The workshops will provide an overview of ARRA, discuss available business opportunities, outline resources to assist small business, and provide an opportunity to network with state agency personnel and other veteran-owned businesses. They will also include panel discussions on small business resources. Personnel will be available to provide direction on the ARRA Veteran-owned Business Enterprise certification process as well as general information on doing business with the commonwealth.
To register or for more information, visit www.recovery.state.pa.us, or contact DGS
at (717) 783-3119.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Express Loan Program
[from Go Crawford County] As part of their ongoing efforts to bolster the small business community, the nation's leading engine for economic growth, Congresswomen Kathy Dahlkemper, D-3rd Dist., introduced The Express Loans Improvements Act, H.R. 4598, to increase the availability and utility of SBA Express loans, a vital source of working capital for small businesses.
"Small businesses are the foundation of our economy; when small businesses succeed, they create jobs and opportunities in our communities. The tight credit market has limited small businesses' ability to grow and create new jobs in the process. This plan will give small businesses better access to credit and help community banks provide the lending our local economies need to prosper," Dahlkemper said.
The Express Loans Improvement Act would make changes to the Small Business Administration's Express Loans program, which gives an established network of lenders greater loan approval responsibility with less bureaucracy and shorter approval times. Under current law, the SBA guarantees up to 50 percent of the loan and the maximum loan size is $350,000. The proposal would raise guarantees to 75 percent for two years to address the immediate credit crunch, then to 60 percent in subsequent years, while raising the maximum Express loan value to $1 million.
To protect taxpayers, the bill directs the SBA to strengthen collateral rules and requires annual reporting to Congress on progress toward default rate reduction. The Express Loans Improvement Act has been endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders, Small Business Council of America, American Bankers Association, the American Small Business League and the Independent Community Bankers of America.
"Small businesses are the foundation of our economy; when small businesses succeed, they create jobs and opportunities in our communities. The tight credit market has limited small businesses' ability to grow and create new jobs in the process. This plan will give small businesses better access to credit and help community banks provide the lending our local economies need to prosper," Dahlkemper said.
The Express Loans Improvement Act would make changes to the Small Business Administration's Express Loans program, which gives an established network of lenders greater loan approval responsibility with less bureaucracy and shorter approval times. Under current law, the SBA guarantees up to 50 percent of the loan and the maximum loan size is $350,000. The proposal would raise guarantees to 75 percent for two years to address the immediate credit crunch, then to 60 percent in subsequent years, while raising the maximum Express loan value to $1 million.
To protect taxpayers, the bill directs the SBA to strengthen collateral rules and requires annual reporting to Congress on progress toward default rate reduction. The Express Loans Improvement Act has been endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders, Small Business Council of America, American Bankers Association, the American Small Business League and the Independent Community Bankers of America.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Tax relief for small employers/nonprofits
[Chronicle of Philanthropy] President Obama plans to announce on Friday a proposal to help small employers-including nonprofit groups-hire workers and raise wages. The plan, part of a broader White House effort to bring down soaring unemployment, would give companies or charities a $5,000 federal tax credit for every net new employee they add in 2010 and reimburse them for any taxes they owe to Social Security because they have a bigger payroll.
Nonprofit groups, which are exempt from income tax, would qualify because the credits will be applied to federal payroll taxes that employers pay on behalf of their employees, a senior administration official told reporters. The official said the White House expects more than one million businesses to take advantage of the credits, for an estimated cost of $33-billion. President Obama favors using projected savings in the Troubled Asset Relief Program-the bank bailout program, which will not cost as much as expected-to pay for the effort, he said.
Nonprofit groups, which are exempt from income tax, would qualify because the credits will be applied to federal payroll taxes that employers pay on behalf of their employees, a senior administration official told reporters. The official said the White House expects more than one million businesses to take advantage of the credits, for an estimated cost of $33-billion. President Obama favors using projected savings in the Troubled Asset Relief Program-the bank bailout program, which will not cost as much as expected-to pay for the effort, he said.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Think Entrepreneurs
The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has released Training and Employment Notice (TEN) 25-09 which describes the release of Think Entrepreneurs: A Call to Action - Integrating Entrepreneurship into the Public Workforce System throughout America.
In July 2008, the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) awarded the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education a grant for a period of one year to analyze current entrepreneurship operations and policies in the public workforce system, and collect information on ways Workforce Investment Boards and One-Stop Career Centers currently provide support for developing entrepreneurs. Utilizing this information, the Consortium developed an online clearinghouse and a report to broadly share best practices on entrepreneurship activities within the public workforce system.
The new publication encourages the workforce investment system to make entrepreneurial/self-employment training opportunities available for people interested in self-employment under Title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.
In July 2008, the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) awarded the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education a grant for a period of one year to analyze current entrepreneurship operations and policies in the public workforce system, and collect information on ways Workforce Investment Boards and One-Stop Career Centers currently provide support for developing entrepreneurs. Utilizing this information, the Consortium developed an online clearinghouse and a report to broadly share best practices on entrepreneurship activities within the public workforce system.
The new publication encourages the workforce investment system to make entrepreneurial/self-employment training opportunities available for people interested in self-employment under Title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.
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A nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, the RCWE’s mission is to connect people with jobs through collaborative workforce development efforts and strong partnerships with economic development, business, education, and government sectors in the Northwest Pennsylvania region.