Small Business Administration Background
Page 2

During the Korean War the Congress created yet another agency focusing on small business, the Small Defense Plants Administration. It carried a portfolio similar to its predecessor Smaller War Plants Corporation with the exception that small business lending authority remained with the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. The Small Defense Plants Administration performed initial screening and provided counseling services to small businesses and provided certification that they were competent to receive government contracts. The businesses then entered the loan process of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.

The Founding of SBA

To streamline government support for small business President Eisenhower proposed the formation of the Small Business Administration and it was created by Congress in July 1953." The charter also stipulated that SBA would ensure small businesses a "fair proportion" of government contracts and sales of surplus property.

Initially the SBA focused on providing direct loans to small businesses, guaranteeing bank loans and making loans to victims of natural disasters. The Administration also provided assistance to small businesses to procure government contracts and provided management consulting and technical assistance.

The Investment Company Act of 1958 established the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) Program, under which SBA licensed, regulated and helped provide funds for privately owned and operated venture capital investment firms. They specialized in providing long-term debt and equity investments to high-risk small businesses. Its creation was the result of a Federal Reserve study that discovered, in the simplest terms, that small businesses could not get the credit they needed to keep pace with technological advancement.

In 1964 the SBA expanded its portfolio to join the War on Poverty, with the Equal Opportunity Loan Program (EOL). The Equal Opportunity Loan Program presented citizens living below the poverty level with the opportunity to receive credit with reduced collateral and application requirements. This enabled small businesses with sound business opportunities to get the financing that they needed to pursue them.

SBA Today

The breadth and scope of programs offered by the Small Business Administration has never been more extensive than it is today. The SBA helps and is an advocate for all U.S. small businesses in every enterprise category and every State and Territory. Whether its providing procurement assistance for federal contracts, management consulting, or outreach to women, minorities and veterans, the Small Business Administration is an able partner. SBA also provides loans to victims of natural disasters and specialized advice and assistance in international trade.

Small Business Administration Background
  Back to Page 1

About The Author Michael Saunders has an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He edits a site on Government Grants for Women Owned Businesses and also edits HandsNet - A Human Services News Website.

Additional Government Grants Resources

Planning Grants for Hubs of Interdisciplinary Research and Training in Global Environmental and Occupational Health Project
The National Institutes of Health has collaborated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to establish the Planning Grants for Hubs of Interdisciplinary Research and Training in Global Environmental and Occupational Health Project.

---

Grants from the US State Department for Media Training Workshops in Tunisia
The office of the US Mission to Tunisia, which is under the DoS, is seeking applications for the Media Training Workshops program for the Tunisian people through the The US Embassy in Tunis, Tunisia.

---

Small Business Grants - Free or Low Cost Consulting for Your Small Business
Did you know that it is possible for you to receive free or low cost consulting for your small business? If it sounds too good to be true, rest assured it is actually possible. Not only does it make sense economically, but you would be receiving advice from professionals who have extensive business experience.

---

Genomic Advances to Wound Repair
The National Institutes of Health has coordinated with the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) to establish a program called Genomic Advances to Wound Repair in an effort to jump-start research studies that have the potential to deepen the understanding of genomic mechanism associated with the repair and development of wounds that are chronic in nature, which implies that these wounds have failed to enter into a reparative process after three months.

---

Achieving the Dream Program for First Time Home Buyers in New York
One of the programs of the State of New York Mortgage Agency, is the Achieving the Dream Program wherein it seeks to provide eligible low income first time home buyers with really low down payment mortgage financing programs.

---

National Institutes of Health funds the Improving Adherence to Treatment Regimens for HIV-Positive Adolescents and Young Adults
The National Institutes of Health has recently established a program entitled Improving Adherence to Treatment Regimens for HIV-Positive Adolescents and Young Adults wherein they intend to kick-off research studies that will create, implement, and evaluate both old and new interventions that are geared towards improving adherence to medical and behavioral regimens for HIV-positive adolescents which are 11 to 21 years old and adults who are 21 to 24 years old.

---

HRSA: Reducing Loss to Follow-up after Failure to Pass Newborn Hearing Screening
Reducing to Loss of Follow-up after Failure to Pass Newborn Hearing Screening program enables eligible health care institutions to solicit funds by establishing project proposals that would greatly improve the number of infants receiving appropriate and timely follow-ups through the utilization of patient-centered interventions.

---