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.

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.

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.

NEW Energy Idea Contest

The Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP)and Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central and Northern PA (BFTP) announce their sponsorship of the NEW Energy Idea Contest. The grand prize of $35,000 will be awarded to either an entrepreneur or one early-stage, pre-revenue company in the process of developing a new energy or alternative energy related product/process improvement.

Prize money for the contest is being provided by Ben Franklin and PennTAP through funding made by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). To qualify, contestants must have a viable, new energy/alternative energy related product or process improvement idea and cannot have received BFTP funding in the past. The deadline for applications is April 15, 2010.

Small Biz Technology grant

The Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program, administered by the National Institutes of Health, is intended to stimulate a partnership of ideas and technologies between innovative small business concerns (SBCs) and non-profit research institutions through Federally-funded research or research and development (R/R&D). By providing awards to SBCs for cooperative R/R&D efforts with non-profit research institutions, the STTR program assists the small business and research communities by commercializing innovative technologies. More details on funding priorities can be found in the guidelines.

Companies supporting arts nominations

[Philanthropy News Digest]: The Business Committee for the Arts is accepting nominations for the BCA Ten: Best Companies Supporting the Arts in America. Announced annually, the BCA Ten is a national list created to recognize businesses of all sizes for their exceptional involvement with the arts. Anyone — individual, arts organization, or company employee — may nominate a company for the award. Companies, both large and small, that support the arts in the United States are eligible for nomination. Nominations for THE BCA TEN 2010 are open until Friday, February 26, 2010.

10,000 Small Businesses initiative

Goldman Sachs recently announced their "10,000 Small Businesses" program, a $500 million initiative that will unlock the growth and job-creation potential of 10,000 small businesses across the United States through greater access to business education, mentors and networks, and financial capital. It is based on the broadly held view of leading experts that a combination of education, capital and support services best addresses the barriers to growth for small businesses.