FINAL - SCORE - Funding Opportunity Announcement FY2018 version 6.docx

U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Entrepreneurship Education SCORE Program

Funding Opportunity Announcement No. SCORE-2018-01

U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Entrepreneurship Education

SCORE FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT

FY 2018

Funding Opportunity Announcement No. SCORE-2018-01 The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement is to invite a proposal for funding from an entity that is a current recipient of an SBA SCORE award. In order to be eligible, applicant must be a current recipient of SBA funding to SCORE. For-profit businesses are not eligible for this award.

Opening Date: December 12, 2017 Closing Date: December 22, 2017

Fiscal Year Proposal is to be posted to www.Grants.gov by 4:00 P.M. Eastern Time on December 12, 2017. No other methods of submission will be permitted. Proposal submitted after the stipulated deadline will be rejected without being evaluated.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

U.S. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

OFFICE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION

Paragraph Subject Page

U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Tel: (202) 205-7007 | Email: nvbishop@sba.gov

1.2 Introduction

The SBA awards a Federal Cooperative Agreement to SCORE and provides annual oversight of these funds. The annual appropriation funds volunteer recruitment, training and support, equipment and leases, technology, management systems, marketing materials and course development necessary for a successful volunteer provider network.

SCORE through its 300+ chapters and 10,000 volunteers serve entrepreneurs with in-person mentoring, training workshops, virtual counseling and online training. It provides business research, information and articles to online communities for veterans, women, millennial entrepreneurs, disaster recovery and minorities. SCORE has adapted its structure and services to meet the needs of the small business community in ever-changing economic conditions. SCORE offers free advice in Spanish and other languages.

Central to SCORE’s impact are its volunteers, which provide mentoring, counseling and training, offering their experience and expertise free of charge. SCORE volunteers are committed to both small business and their local communities.

1.3 Background

Since its inception in 1953, SBA has served to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small businesses. While SBA is best known for its financial support of small businesses through its many lending programs, the Agency also plays a critical role in providing funding to organizations that deliver technical assistance in the form of business counseling and business training workshops to small business concerns and nascent entrepreneurs in order to promote growth, expansion, innovation, increased productivity and management improvement.

The mission of the SCORE Program is to foster vibrant small business communities through mentoring and education. SCORE is a nonprofit association dedicated to helping small businesses get off the ground, grow and achieve their goals through education and mentorship.

1.4 Purpose

The SCORE Program is designed to provide high quality business and economic development assistance to existing small businesses and nascent (pre-venture) entrepreneurs. The SCORE program delivers professional, high quality, individualized business advising and technical assistance to existing small businesses and pre-venture entrepreneurs. SCORE will provide problem solving assistance to help small businesses access capital, develop and exchange new technologies, and improve business planning, strategy, operations, financial management, personnel administration, marketing, export assistance, sales and other areas required for small business growth and expansion, management improvement, increased productivity and innovation.

1.5 Leveraging of Resources

The Applicant selected for award under this Announcement are required to maximize their efforts to leverage SBA funding by working in conjunction with SBA District Offices and other Federal, state, local and tribal government small business development programs and activities; SBA resource partners such as Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), Women’s Business Centers (WBCs), Regional Innovation Clusters, Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOCs), 7(j) Technical Assistance providers, Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs), U.S. Export Assistance Centers (USEACs), Certified Development Companies (CDCs), and SBA lenders; universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education; and private organizations such as chambers of commerce and trade and industry groups and associations. Where the SCORE Chapters are located in communities with these resource partners, the SCORE Chapters will coordinate and collaborate with them in offering training and other forms of assistance to small business clients.

SCORE is encouraged to fully employ the resources of other Federal, state and local government, academic and private sector programs concerned with aiding small businesses in order to provide seamless business development assistance at every stage of business growth.

1.6 SBA Involvement and Oversight

SBA’s oversight of this grant is provided by the Director of the Office of Entrepreneurship Education (OEE).

A designated national Program Manager (PM) located within OEE at SBA Headquarters will be responsible for the overall monitoring and oversight of the SCORE Program award recipient, including compliance with the terms of the Cooperative Agreement.

A designated Grants Officer within the SBA Office of Grants Management (OGM) will be responsible for issuing the Notice of Award, making amendments to the award, and processing payments.

1.7 Changes or Cancellation

SBA reserves the right to amend or cancel this Funding Opportunity Announcement, in whole or in part, at the Agency’s discretion. Should SBA make material changes to this Funding Opportunity Announcement, the Agency will extend the Closing Date as necessary to afford the Applicant sufficient opportunity to address such changes.

SBA expects to issue an award based on the funds appropriated. The exact amount is unknown at this time and will be released as soon as known.

2.2 Expected Number of Awards

The SBA will provide funding for one award under this Funding Opportunity Announcement.

2.3 Period of Performance/Budget Periods

The SCORE award will be made for a one year project period not to exceed 12 (twelve) months, subject to the availability of appropriations.

2.4 Funding Information

Funds provided under the SCORE Program must be used solely for the purposes stipulated in this Funding Opportunity Announcement and the Notice of Award and may not be commingled with any other monies. All costs proposed in an Applicant’s budget must meet the tests of allowability, allocability, and reasonableness set forth in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Uniform Guidance at 2 C.F.R. Part 200.

(Note: Indirect Costs are excluded from the SCORE Funding Opportunity Announcement No. SCORE-2018-01 because all of SCORE’s costs related to this project are instead being paid as Direct Costs.)

Funding is subject to the availability of funds and the requirements enumerated in the Small Business Act. In the event that SBA is operating under a Continuing Resolution (CR) at the time of award, funding will be available during the period of the CR to the extent that funds are provided to the SBA, for this purpose, by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The amount available under the period of the CR may be less than the pro rata total anticipated amount of award.

Subject to the availability of funds and compliance with the terms and conditions of the Cooperative Agreement, SBA has the discretion to increase the award to an amount consistent with the authorized funding level under the Federal appropriations law.

2.5 Funding Instrument

The funding instrument used will be a Cooperative Agreement.

SCORE will submit only one proposal in response to this Funding Opportunity Announcement.

3.2 Eligible Applicants

In order to be eligible for this funding opportunity, the Applicant must be a non-profit organization certified under § 501(c) - of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and have been providing technical assistance to small businesses and entrepreneurs. Any organization which does not currently have an SCORE Cooperative Agreement with SBA’s Office of Entrepreneurship Education will automatically be considered ineligible and their application will not be evaluated.

3.3 Ineligible Applicants

Any organization which does not currently have a SCORE Cooperative Agreement with SBA’s Office of Entrepreneurship Education will automatically be considered ineligible and their applications will not be evaluated.

Application must consist of the following elements: (i) a cover letter; (ii) a technical proposal; (iii) budget information; (iv) certifications, forms and assurances; and (v) attachments and exhibits.

4.1.1 Cover Letter

The first page of the application must be a cover letter which includes the following information:

· Statement that the application is in response to Funding Opportunity Announcement No. SCORE-2018-01;

· Applicant’s name and address;

· Applicant’s website address (if applicable);

· Name, telephone number, fax number, and email address for the Applicant’s designated point of contact; and

· Dollar amount of assistance being requested.

4.1.2 Technical Proposal

· The technical proposal pages must be numbered and should not exceed the minimum amount needed to address the requirements of the Funding Opportunity Announcement. The Technical Proposal serves as a narrative blueprint for the Applicant’s planned project and must include the following information:

· Detailed description of the Applicant’s past experience and present capacity to provide assistance to provide technical assistance to entrepreneurs, both nascent and established;

· Detail the method by which SBA funds will be allocated to subordinate SCORE Chapters.

· Detail how low-performing chapters are identified; list the current chapters meeting that criteria and provide the strategies that will be used to remediate their performance;

· Detailed description of how entrepreneurs in emerging markets and communities will be engaged, to include partnership development and marketing campaigns;

· Detailed description of how national partnerships with minority (including women) organizations will be established with the goal of increasing clients;

· Detailed description of the proposed technical assistance delivery methods and the means of implementation. Importantly, applicants must describe their plan for measuring the effectiveness of their project. The Program Performance Plan must demonstrate how the applicant will monitor and measure the achievement project objectives and completion of the activities proposed in their technical proposal. The plan should include ambitious targets for output and outcome measures and performance milestones (for the 12-month performance year) that will be used to assess the grantee's success in delivering business mentoring and training services. SBA expects measures and targets to support the following performance goals:

· Grow total mentoring sessions by at least 4 percent;

· Grow local workshop attendees by at least 3 percent;

· Grow online workshops attendees by at least 5 percent; and

· Recruit and certify 3,000 new volunteers.

The applicant will be required to report specifically the:

· Number of training clients (in-person and virtual);

· Number of training events (in-person and virtual);

· Number of mentoring/counseling clients (in-person and virtual);

· Number of mentoring/counseling sessions (in-person and virtual);

· Number of new/small business created;

· Number of new volunteers;

· Number of minority (including women) volunteers;

· Number of jobs created;

· Number of jobs retained; and

· Percent Helped by SCORE (Customer Service).

· Identification of key and non-key personnel, including key personnel résumés and position description for all staff (or position descriptions for unfilled positions). Résumés must include experience and position descriptions must detail services relevant to this project. Copies of résumés, position descriptions and salary schedule on key personnel chart must be included as attachments in accordance with Section 4.1.5;

· Identification of contractors and consultants, if any, and the manner in which they were selected (i.e., competitively or non-competitively). NOTE: No more than forty-nine percent (49%) of award funds may be expended on contractor and/or consultant costs related to mentoring and/or training for clients. Copies of contracts and consulting agreements (either signed or samples as applicable) must be included as attachments in accordance with Section 4.1.5; and

· Additionally, all active SCORE volunteers will be certified prior to counseling clients; and SCORE will implement year 9 of the client engagement /impact survey.

4.1.3 Cost Proposal

Budget information must be provided through the submission of the following:

(Note: A SF-424, 424A, 424B, Annual Budget Summary Worksheet (B10 - B16) and Budget Narrative must be submitted for the Initial Phase award.

· Standard Form SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance;

· SF-424A, Budget Information (Non-Construction Programs);

· SF-424B, Assurances – Non-Construction Programs;

· Annual Budget Summary Worksheet (B10 - B16). An Applicant may substitute its own worksheets in place of the Annual Budget Summary provided it includes all the same cost elements/line items covered by the B10 - B16;

· Budget narrative providing a brief, detailed explanation of the components of each cost element listed in the SF-424A and B10 – B16.

4.1.4(a) Certifications, Forms, and Assurances Consistent with 2 C.F.R. Part 200.415 financial Certifications must be signed by an authorized individual at a level no lower than vice president or chief financial officer of the organization. SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities:

· SF-424B, Assurances for Non-Construction Programs; and

· Letter from the Applicant’s Auditor, CPA, Treasurer, Comptroller, CFO or similarly qualified individual certifying that the non-Federal entity’s financial management system currently meets the requirements of 2 C.F.R. Part 200.302.

4.1.4(b) Certifications, Forms, and Assurances Each Applicant must complete and submit the following forms:

· SBA Form 1623, Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, and Other Responsibility Matters; and

· SBA Form 1711, Certification Regarding Lobbying.

4.1.5 Attachments and Exhibits

Along with the items discussed in the Technical Proposal and Budget Information, Applicants must submit copies of the following with its proposal (as applicable):

· Resumes for key personnel, position descriptions for all staff (including unfilled positions), copies of contracts, consulting agreements, pledges of additional funding or in-kind resources, leases, conflict of interest policy consistent with 2 CFR 2701.112 signed by all current employees, contractors (which include consultants);

· Copy of the Applicant’s Cost Policy Statement; and

· Any other documentation the Applicant believes supports its proposal.

4.2 Submission Instructions

All proposals (narratives and forms) must be submitted electronically via the government-wide financial assistance portal www.grants.gov. NO OTHER FORMS OF SUBMISSION WILL BE ACCEPTED. All required forms are provided in the Grants.gov application package for this funding opportunity. Specific instructions for obtaining, completing, and submitting an application via Grants.gov, including animated tutorials, may be found at http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants.html.

In order to submit an application via Grants.gov, an organization is first required to have a DUNS number, be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM), and have a Grants.gov username and password. The process for meeting these three pre-submission requirements may take several days to complete. Additionally, Applicants may have to download or upgrade their software in order to utilize Grants.gov. Applicants should not wait until the closing date to begin the submission process in order to avoid unexpected delays that could result in the rejection of an application.

Information about the Grants.gov registration process can be found at http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants.html. Applicants must register as organizations, not as individuals. Please note that organizations already registered with Grants.gov do not need to re-register. However, all registered organizations must keep their SAM registration up-to-date.

As part of the Grants.gov registration process, an Applicant must designate one or more Authorized Organizational Representatives (AORs). AORs are the only individuals who may submit applications to grants.gov on behalf of an organization. If an application is submitted by anyone other than a designated AOR, it will be rejected by Grants.gov and cannot be considered for funding.

Once an application is submitted, it undergoes a validation process through which it will be accepted or rejected by the Grants.gov system. The validation process may take 24 to 48 hours to complete. Applicants should save and print written proof of an electronic submission made at Grants.gov. Applicants can expect to receive multiple emails regarding the status of their submission. The first email will confirm receipt of the application. The second email will indicate that the application has either been successfully validated by the system and assigned an SBA tracking number, or it has been rejected due to errors. An Applicant will receive a third email once SBA has downloaded its application from Grants.gov for review.

If Grants.gov notifies an Applicant via email that its application contains an error, the Applicant must correct the noted error(s) before the system will accept and validate the application. Applicants that choose to submit on or close to the closing date are advised they may not receive email notification of an error with their applications until after the submission deadline, and thus will not have an opportunity to correct and resubmit their applications.

APPLICATIONS THAT ARE REJECTED BY GRANTS.GOV WILL NOT BE FORWARDED TO SBA AND CANNOT BE CONSIDERED FOR FUNDING. It is the Applicant’s responsibility to verify that its submission was received and validated successfully at Grants.gov. To check on the status of your application and see the date and time it was received, log on to Grants.gov and click on the “Track My Application” link from the left-hand menu.

If you experience a technical difficulty with Grants.gov (i.e., system problems or glitches with the operation of the Grants.gov website itself) that you believe threatens your ability to submit your application, please (i) print any error message received; and (ii) call the Grants.gov Contact Center at 1-800-518-4726 for immediate assistance. Ensure that you obtain a case number regarding your communications with Grants.gov. NOTE: Problems with an Applicant’s own computer system or equipment are not considered technical difficulties with Grants.gov. Similarly, an Applicant’s failure to: (i) obtain a DUNS number or complete the SAM or Grants.gov registration process; (ii) ensure that an AOR submits the application; or (iii) take note of and act upon an email from Grants.gov rejecting its application due to errors, are not considered technical difficulties. A Grants.gov technical difficulty is an issue occurring in connection with the operations of grants.gov itself, such as the temporary loss of service by Grants.gov due to an unexpected volume of traffic or failure of information technology systems, both of which are rare occurrences.

Applicants should use the following link to obtain assistance in navigating Grants.gov and access a list of useful resources: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants.html. If you have a question that is not addressed under the “Applicant FAQs,” try consulting the “Applicant User Guide” or contacting Grants.gov via email at support@grants.gov or telephone at 1-800-518-4726.

4.3 Required Proposal Submission Dates

The Applicant is required to submit its proposal electronically via www.grants.gov no later than 4:00 P.M. Eastern Time on December 22, 2017. Because of the pre-conditions for submitting applications via Grants.gov and the potential for encountering technical difficulties in using that site, Applicants are strongly encouraged to log on to Grants.gov and review the submission instructions early.

DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE CLOSING DATE TO BEGIN THE SUBMISSION PROCESS. Applicants bear sole responsibility for ensuring their proposals are submitted and received before the closing date.

SBA will consider the date and time stamp on the validation generated by Grants.gov as the official submission time. A proposal that is not received by Grants.gov before the closing date of this Announcement will be rejected without being evaluated, unless the Applicant can clearly demonstrate through documentation obtained from Grants.gov that it attempted to submit its proposal in a timely manner but was unable to do so solely because of Grants.gov systems issues. Additionally, SBA will not accept any changes, additions, revisions, or deletions to applications made after the closing date.

Applicants should save and print written proof of an electronic submission made at Grants.gov. If problems occur while using Grants.gov, the Applicant is advised to (i) print any error message received; and (ii) contact Grants.gov for immediate assistance. Applicants may obtain advice and assistance with the Grants.gov submission process by visiting http://www.grants.gov/help/help.jsp or by calling 1-800-518-4726.

The applicant will first be screened to determine if the applicant meets stated mandatory eligibility requirements. SBA will not evaluate an applicant that does not document in their application that they meet the requirements for participation in the program. Submissions will only be accepted via www.grants.gov. SBA reserves the right to negotiate the terms and conditions of the project with the applicant.

5.2 Award Notification

The Applicant selected for this award will receive written notification.

5.3 Administrative and National Policy Requirements

All successful Applicants will be required to comply with the requirements set forth in the Small Business Act, §§2(h) and 29 (15 U.S.C. §§ 631(h) and 656), as amended; 2 CFR Chapter I, Chapter II, Part 200, et al., 13 C.F.R. Part 143; the Assurances for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424B); and the terms and conditions set forth in their notices of award. In addition, the SBA, from time to time, may advise non-Federal entities of awards made under this Funding Opportunity Announcement of new legal requirements and/or policy initiatives with which they must agree to comply.

5.4 Reporting

The Recipient is required to submit the reports identified below. SBA may withhold payment if reports are not received or are deemed inadequate.

Failure to report in a timely manner will also be weighed against future applications for Cooperative Agreement funding from the same organization. The reports provided by Recipients may be made public. In addition, SBA reserves the right to require Recipients to post these reports on their web site(s).

SCORE is required to submit a semiannual program income report to SBA by the established deadline (SBA Form 2113 and required attachments). 2 CFR Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards.

5.4.5 Report Submission

The Recipient will be required to submit reports as instructed in the Notice of Award.

5.5 Recordkeeping Requirements

A. Activity Records SCORE is required to maintain complete and accurate records and supporting documentation. Client counseling, training, and other activities must be fully documented on the SBA Form 641 and SBA Form 888 or equivalent forms.

In addition to the performance and program reports already mentioned in the Reporting Requirements, SCORE must maintain the following records:

1. Counseling Activity Reports SCORE is required to collect all counseling activities on SBA Form 641 Counseling Information Form (or an equivalent form). Data gathered on this form must meet the minimum requirements as stipulated by OED’s EDMIS database. Signed copies of these forms must be retained by SCORE either electronically or in hard copy and be made available for SBA review upon request.

2. Training Activity Reports SCORE will utilize SBA Form 888 Management Training Report (or an equivalent form) to report small business management training activities (see definitions section for training). SCORE may use a computerized version of this form. Hard copies of these forms must be retained by SCORE and be made available for SBA review upon request.

3. SCORE Client Evaluation Forms Evaluations of SCORE services or client satisfaction surveys must be collected from clients who receive continuous mentoring or attend a SCORE training event. Copies of these evaluations must be retained by SCORE and be made available for SBA review upon request.

4. Protection of Client Contact Information SCORE may not disclose the name, address, email address or telephone number of any individual or small business concern to which it provides assistance without the consent of that individual or concern, except as authorized by the SBA.

5.6 Risk Assessment

As required by 2 C.F.R. § 200.205(b), Applicants will be further evaluated by the program office to assess the possible risks they may pose to accomplishing the objectives of the award and to maintaining compliance with the terms and conditions of the award. In assessing the possible risks posed by individual applicant, the program office will include in its consideration the following:

a) Financial stability;

b) Financial Management systems quality and its ability to meet the management standards prescribed in 2 C.F.R. § 200.302;

c) History of performance in managing other Federal awards, including: timeliness of providing required reports; compliance with the terms and conditions of the award; ability to meet matching funds requirements; and the extent to which the applicant has failed to fully expend funds provided under prior awards; Results, reports, and findings from any of its available audits or programmatic reviews and its responses to them; and

d) Ability to effectively implement statutory, regulatory, or other requirements.

SBA may decline to issue an award under this announcement based on this risk assessment.

· Participate in SBA’s initiatives or programs.

· Assist small businesses to prepare business continuity/disaster readiness plans.

· Support to the extent practical:

· Technology assistance -Provide information and assistance to small businesses to increase their use of technology to improve business efficiency;

· International trade assistance;

· Collaborative ventures to improve assistance to small businesses;

· Collaborative ventures to improve assistance to entrepreneurs of all ages, especially encore and millennial, i.e. encore partnership;

· Faith-based and other neighborhood organizations;

· Contracting and procurement assistance; and

· Veterans with the VBOCs, SBA District Offices to support the Boots to Business Reboot training initiative and as a direct service of SCORE.

· Participate in SBA impact surveys and assessments through cooperation with SBA’s contractor(s) – particularly the provision of client data. SBA reserves the right to change requirements for the provision of this section. SBA will notify SCORE in advance of any related or proposed changes.

· On-line service delivery of SCORE and use of web-based training as part of their service portfolio.

6.2 Special Emphasis Markets

SCORE will explore, offer or expand services targeted toward special emphasis markets (also referred to as “Emerging Markets”) in order to increase outreach and assistance to the following entrepreneurial audiences:

· Millennial Entrepreneurs, including emphasis on those aged 18-35

· Veterans and Military Communities

· Minority and Women Entrepreneurs

· Urban Entrepreneurs

· Rural Entrepreneurs

· Cybersecurity

· Disaster affected businesses where appropriate

7.0 Section VI - Agency Contacts

7.1 Office of Entrepreneurship Education Point of Contact

Questions concerning general information contained in this Funding Opportunity Announcement should be directed to the Office of Entrepreneurship Education at 202-205-7007 or nvbishop@sba.gov.

7.2 Financial/Grants Management Point of Contact

Questions regarding budgetary matters related to this Funding Opportunity Announcement should be directed to the Office of Entrepreneurship Education at 202-205-7007 or nvbishop@sba.gov.

8.0 Section VII - Other Information

8.1 Definitions

The following definitions apply to awards made under this Funding Opportunity Announcement.

In-Business: A business that has completed the required registration(s), if applicable, with the local, state, and/or Federal governments (e.g., DBA registration, business license, agency-issued tax identifications, etc.).

AND

At least one of the following:

· Has documented a transaction from the sale of a product or professional or personal service for the purpose of gain or profit;

· Has contracted for or compensated an employee(s) or independent contractor(s) to perform essential business functions;

· Has acquired debt or equity capital to pursue business operations (e.g., to purchase inventory, equipment, building, business, etc.); or

· Has incurred business expenses in the operation of a business.

Nascent Entrepreneur: An individual who has taken one or more active steps to form a business. This includes individuals seeking assistance from the SBA and/or one of its resource partners.

Start-up: A business that has been in operation up to 12 months.

· are substantive in nature and concern the formation, management, financing, and/or operation of a small business enterprise; AND

· are specific to the needs of the business or individual; AND

· require a signed SBA Form 641 or equivalent form that supports SBA’s management information database.

Face-to-face counseling – Meets the definition of “counseling” and should be no less than one hour initially (preparation time may be included in this initial calculation) and includes any counseling session thereafter regardless of time.

Online or telephone counseling – Meets the definition of “counseling” and the recipient of the counseling must acknowledge, through an SBA Form 641 or an SBA-approved “electronic substitute,” the requirements imposed by accepting counseling assistance from the SBA or its resource partner(s). (In states that accept electronic signatures, it may contain an electronic signature. In states that do not accept electronic signatures, the form must have an original signature.) Online or telephone counseling should be no less than 30 minutes initially (preparation time may be included in the initial consultation and the total time may include several electronic questions and responses that cumulatively add up to 30 minutes).

Program income includes, but is not limited to, income from fees for services performed, the use or rental of real or personal property acquired under federally-funded projects, the sale of commodities or items fabricated under an award, and license fees and royalties on patents and copyrights.

Socially disadvantaged individuals are those who have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias because of their identity as members of a group. Social disadvantage must stem from circumstances beyond their control. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, individuals who are members of the following designated groups are presumed to be socially disadvantaged:

· Physically Disability

· African Americans

· Hispanic Americans

· Native Americans (American Indians, Eskimos, Aleuts, and Native Hawaiians)

· Asian Pacific Americans (persons with origins from Japan, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Korea, American Samoa, Guam, U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands [Republic of Palau], Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Laos, Cambodia [Kampuchea], Taiwan; Myanmar-Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Republic of the Mar Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Macao, Hong Kong, Fiji, Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu, or Nauru; Subcontinent Asian Americans (persons with origins from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, the Maldives Islands or Nepal)

Co-hosted training (collaborative) – Meets the definition of “training” and further defined as an activity where each organization actively participates and contributes substantially to the training.

Online Training – Online training is a structured program of knowledge, information or experience on an entrepreneurial or business-related subject.

It must be of a quality and substantive nature, and must include a registration process. The training must be for a minimum of 30 minutes online training may be synchronous or asynchronous:

· Synchronous – A group of clients proceed through the training module(s) or program as a group.

· Asynchronous – A client individually proceeds through the training module(s) or program individually and is self-paced.

Total hours of training – The total number of hours the trainer spends teaching the training session.

Section 228.12 Definitions - Defines key terms used in the regulation, the section sited here is the definition:

1. Low-or moderate-income geographies;

2. Designated disaster areas; or

3. Distressed or underserved non-metropolitan middle-income geographies designated by the Board, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, based on—

a. Rates of poverty, unemployment, and population loss; or

b. Population size, density, and dispersion. Activities revitalize and stabilize geographies designated based on population size, density, and dispersion if they help to meet essential community needs, including needs of low- and moderate-income individuals.

8.2 Additional Resources and Partnerships

A. Cosponsorship Agreements If one or more organizations and the SBA are involved with SCORE as cosponsors of an activity, a cosponsorship agreement must be executed by the SBA, SCORE, and all other cosponsors in accordance with the SBA’s Cosponsorship SOP 90 75 03 or revised equivalent. If any cash is to be collected, from Cosponsors or participants to support the cosponsored activity, one of the Cosponsors must be designated as the Fiscal Agent for that Cosponsored Activity. As Fiscal Agent, the Cosponsor must set-up a separate accounting mechanism to manage the Cosponsorship Funds. The Fiscal Agent must take whatever internal accounting measures are necessary to ensure it does not commingle its own funds with the Cosponsorship Funds. The Fiscal Agent shall receive all cash from the Cosponsors or participants and pay the cosponsorship expenses accordingly. At the end of the Cosponsored Activity, the Fiscal Agent must provide SBA with a full accounting of the cash received and expenses paid. In the event Cosponsorship Funds remain in the cosponsorship account after all the expenses have been paid, the Cosponsors must decide how to handle the excess funds in accordance with SOP 90 75 03 or revised equivalent.

B. Disaster Preparedness and Recovery Efforts for Small Businesses SCORE is encouraged to participate in SBA Disaster Preparedness and Recovery efforts to assist small businesses and entrepreneurs to spur long-term economic recovery and resiliency through collaborative technical assistance working with SBA Resource Partners, state and local economic development partners and initiatives.

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