Scholarships for Federal careers

[From Philanthropy Today] The Robertson Foundation for Government is establishing a scholarship fund to encourage graduate students to pursue careers in federal service, The Washington Post reports.

The foundation, operated by heirs to the A&P supermarket fortune, will provide full financial support to students in the fields of national security, foreign policy, and international development who pledge to work at least three years for a federal agency within five years of graduating. The foundation will select four or five partner universities in the coming weeks, director Bill Robertson said.

The Robertson family was involved in a protracted donor-intent fight with Princeton University during the past decade over Princeton's use of a $35-million, 1961 gift intended to prepare students for careers in public service. The case was settled last year, with the university agreeing to pay some $60-million to the foundation.

Read a Chronicle of Philanthropy article about the Robertson/Princeton dispute.

Small Business Technology Program

The small business programs stimulate technological innovation in the private sector by strengthening the role of small business concerns in meeting Federal research and development needs, increasing the commercial application of federally supported research results, and fostering and encouraging participation by socially and economically disadvantaged and women-owned small businesses.The Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) requires researchers at universities and other research institutions to play a significant intellectual role in the conduct of each STTR project. These university-based researchers, by joining forces with a small company, can spin-off their commercially promising ideas while they remain primarily employed at the research institution.

Small Businesses Helping Investigators to Fuel the Translation of Scientific Discoveries

Purpose. The primary objectives of the SHIFT SBIR initiative are: (1) to foster research that is translational in nature and (2) to transform academic scientific discoveries into commercial products and services. Academic researchers can be a driving force for new products and services in a small business concern (SBC). A major feature of the SHIFT program includes the requirement for an investigator who is primarily employed by a United States research institution at the time of application to transition to a small business concern (SBC) and be primarily employed (more than 50% time) by the SBC by or at the time of award. A SHIFT SBIR grant enables an SBC to increase both its scientific research staff and its core competencies. The Project Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) may also facilitate SBC licensing of intellectual property (IP) from the PD/PIs prior academic institutions, promote collaboration opportunities with academic investigators, and enable better access to academic resources. Mechanism of Support. This FOA will utilize the SBIR (R43/R44) grant mechanisms for Phase I, Phase II, and Fast-Track applications. Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. Awards issued under this FOA are contingent upon the availability of funds and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications. The total amount awarded and the number of awards will depend upon the quality, duration, and costs of the applications received. More details are available here.

ARRA and Small Biz workshop in Erie

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.

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.