The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) reauthorized and amended the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 to provide $10 billion to fund the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). The SSBCI is a federal program administered by the Department of the Treasury that seeks to expand access to capital, promote economic resiliency, create new jobs, and increase economic opportunity. ARPA provided $9.5 billion for SSBCI capital programs of jurisdictions (i.e., states, the District of Columbia, territories, Tribal governments, and eligible municipalities) and $500 million for technical assistance1 (TA) funding. The Treasury intends to award $200 million in federal grants to eligible providers for the provision of legal, accounting, and financial advisory services to small businesses through the TA Grant Program. As part of the $200 million, the Treasury awarded $10.9 million in TA funding to New York State. Governor Hochul designated ESD as New York State’s agency to apply, receive, and administer both the SSBCI Capital and SSBCI TA Grant Programs. ESD’s Capital Access team will administer a total of $5 million over three years to provide two tracks of technical assistance. Track one provides a total of $3 million for general technical assistance in support of four SSBCI capital programs: the Capital Access Program, the Small Business Revolving Loan Fund, the New York Forward Loan Fund, and SSBCI Special Projects and Strategic Initiatives. Track Two provides a total of $2 million over three years for the Contractor Financing and the Surety Bond Assistance programs. Both tracks will select via this Request for Applications qualified providers to offer legal, accounting, and financial services to Eligible Beneficiaries with targeted outcomes.
