The purpose of this FOA is to provide funding for up to twenty-five (25) private, non-profit organizations that will provide entrepreneurial development services to women, with an emphasis on socially and economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs in locations that are outside of the geographical areas

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of existing WBCs.

No proposal for a new Women’s Business Center will be considered if it will be located within one hundred (100) miles of an existing WBC.

Eligible applicants must be private, non-profit organizations with 501(c) tax exempt status from the U.

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Treasury’s Internal Revenue Service.An organization that is operating, or has operated an SBA funded WBC, within the past five (5) years, if selected, will be awarded as an Initial Phase Project.

Likewise, an organization that previously operated an SBA-funded WBC (but that is no longer operating), if eligible to apply and selected, will also be awarded as an Initial Phase Project since this application will be treated as an effort to re-establish the WBC.Furthermore, recognizing the important role that Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) (e.g., Historically Black Colleges and Universities [HBCUs], Hispanic-Serving Institutions [HSIs] from the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities [HACU], and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Institutions [AANAPISIs]) play in meeting the needs of socially and economically disadvantaged markets, this program announcement seeks to encourage MSIs to provide entrepreneurial development services to socially and economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs.