SBA Awards $9M in Grants to 49 Organizations Across America to Help Underserved Communities Access Development Funding and Innovative Research

Today,?Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman,?head of the?U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)?and the voice in President Biden’s Cabinet for America’s more than 34 million?small businesses, announced that the SBA has?issued 49 grants up to $200,000 each to organizations supporting startups through specialized training, mentoring, and technical assistance under the Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program.

“FAST funding, which fuels innovation to keep America competitive globally, has doubled under the Biden-Harris Administration. At a time when we are seeing historic highs in our entrepreneurial activity with a small business boom, investing in America’s innovative startups is a top priority. America’s Seed Fund, powered by the SBA and fueled by 11 federal agencies’ SBIR and STTR programs, is the largest source of early-stage funding in the world.? With FAST, we have now expanded our entrepreneurial ecosystem to nearly every state so that entrepreneurs with great ideas can invent it, commercialize it, and build it with America’s Seed Fund in every corner of America,”?said Administrator Guzman.

FAST’s objective is to improve outcomes for underserved communities by increasing participation from woman-owned, rural-based, or socially or economically disadvantaged small businesses through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, which are known as America’s Seed Fund.

This year, the FAST program increased the maximum funding available by 60% to expand the geographic footprint of FAST and increase engagement of underserved, geographic, and demographic innovators across the country. As a result, FAST awardee organizations will provide support across 48 states and Puerto Rico. FAST organizations work locally and provide person-to-person support and training that increases the probability of success for entrepreneurs and small businesses pursuing SBIR or STTR contracts and grants.

The FAST program provides awards for a base period of 12 months, plus four optional continuation periods of 12 months each.? ?

The FAST grantees are as follows:

Awardees - 2024 Cohort – Base Year

Alabama

The Catalyst Center for Business & Entrepreneurship

Alaska

University of Alaska Fairbanks

Arkansas

University of Arkansas System dba Univ. of Ark. at Little Rock

Arizona

Commerce Authority, Arizona

California

Cal Poly Humboldt Sponsored Programs Foundation

Colorado

Economic Development and International Trade, Colorado Office

Connecticut

Connecticut Innovations, Inc.

Delaware

University of Delaware

Florida

University of Central Florida Research Foundation, inc.

Georgia

University of Georgia Research Foundation

Hawaii

Hawaii Technology Development Corporation

Idaho

Idaho State University

Illinois

Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Indiana

Indiana Economic Development Corporation

Iowa

Iowa State University of Science and Technology

Kansas

Wichita State University

Kentucky

Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation

Louisiana

Louisiana Economic Development

Maine

Central Maine Growth Council

Maryland

Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO)

Michigan

BBC Entrepreneurial Training & Consulting

Minnesota

MNSBIR, Inc.

Missouri

The Curators of the University of Missouri

Mississippi

Innovate Mississippi

Montana

Montana State University

Nebraska

Board of Regents, Univ. of Neb., dba Univ. of Neb. at Omaha

Nevada

Board of Regents, NSHE obo the University of Nevada, Las Vegas

New Hampshire

University of New Hampshire

New Jersey

Rutgers, The State University

New Mexico

Regents of New Mexico State University

New York

Research Foundation of CUNY

North Carolina

First Flight Venture Center, Inc.

North Dakota

University of North Dakota

Ohio

Ohio Aerospace Institute

Oklahoma

Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma

Oregon

VertueLab

Pennsylvania

Ben Franklin Technology Partners Corporation

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico Science, Technology & Research Trust

Rhode Island

Rhode Island Commerce Corporation

South Carolina

University of South Carolina

South Dakota

South Dakota Biotechnology Council

Tennessee

Tennessee Technology Development Corporation dba LaunchTN

Texas

The University of Texas at San Antonio

Utah

Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity

Virginia

Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation

Washington

Life Science Washington Institute

Wisconsin

Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System

West Virginia

U.S. Research Impact Alliance

Wyoming

University of Wyoming

About FAST

In FY 2024, $9 million was appropriated for entities to carry out activities defined under the FAST Partnership Program legislative authority. Entities from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands are eligible to receive funding to provide outreach, technical, and financial assistance. Additional information can be found at?https://www.sbir.gov/community/fast.

About SBIR/STTR

SBA coordinates the SBIR/STTR programs, known as America’s Seed Fund across the eleven participating federal agencies. Over $4 billion in early-stage seed capital is provided annually through over 6,000 awards to more than 4,000 small businesses. Federal agencies announce funding opportunities as either grants or contracts to address their research and development needs. Companies supported by the Americas Seed Fund often generate some of the most important breakthroughs each year in the U.S. Additional information about the programs, as well as past and current topics can be found at?www.sbir.gov.

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