Federal grant programs / Department of Commerce

MBDA Capital Readiness Program (11.034)

Also known as CRP Program

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$103 million
• Grant awards38
• Typical award$3.0 million
• Awarded in FY 2025$0
• Size rank804 of 1,823
• Type of assistanceGrant

Key findings

• It is the 804th largest of 1,823 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• The 20 largest recipients received 58% of the money.
• Awards went to recipients in 28 states and territories.

What the program funds

The Minority Business Development Agency’s (MBDA) Capital Readiness Program (Program) was designed to help close the entrepreneurship gap between socially and economically disadvantaged individuals (SEDI) and non-SEDI. This program funded qualified organizations that had the expertise to provide technical assistance for entrepreneurs starting or scaling their businesses who was seeking various forms of capital.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open opportunities

No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

Eligible applicants are limited to: • Non-profit organizations, • Institutions of higher education, and • Private sector entities (defined as entities that are not public sector entities). This includes, for example, for-profit entities of any type, including sole-proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations, but does not include public sector entities, such as Federal, State, Local, or Tribal Governments, agencies, or any of their instrumentalities, • A consortium of two or more of any of the above-mentioned eligible applicants. In a consortium application, there must be a designated lead applicant; the lead applicant would enter into the award agreement with MBDA and assume primary operational and financial responsibility for completing the project should an award be made.

What the money can and cannot pay for

• Assisted startups and small businesses or expand existing businesses by providing critical technical assistance strategies and services. • Helped SEDI enterprises secure growth capital (equity, debt, and grants). • Cultivated a network of partners to close the entrepreneurship and wealth gaps in regions across the nation. The following activities and associated costs were not allowable under this Program. Such costs may not be charged to the Federal share or matching share of the award. • Construction: Construction activities are not allowable under this program. For the purposes of an award made pursuant to this NOFO, construction includes any activity that disturbs the ground or modifies a structure. • Equity Investments & Loans: The use of award funds for equity investments, loans, or grants to entrepreneurs or businesses is not allowable under this program. Thus, the cost of any equity investment, loan, or grant is not an allowable cost under an award. Neither Federal nor matching share funds may be invested in startups or other companies, whether through equity, debt, hybrid, or another mechanism. Similarly, services funded by Federal or matching share cannot be exchanged for equity or otherwise used as the basis for an equity stake in a company. However, an award recipient may make such investments with outside funds that are not Federal or matching share funds under the award.;

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. A non-Federal cost share of the Federal funding is required for each budget year based on the Tier Structure shown in Section II.A. The range of the required cost share is 10% - 25% depending on the tier of the award amount request (see Section II.A, above). All cost sharing or matching must be consistent with the requirements of 2 CFR 200.306. Awardees may meet the non-Federal matching requirement by using (i) cash or in-kind contributions, without regard to whether the contribution is made by a third party if the contributions meet the requirements in 2 CFR 200.306(b)(1)-(7); and (ii) Federal funds received from other Federal programs only if those programs allow funding to be used for cost sharing purposes. If contributions include Federal funds received from other Federal programs, the applicant must attest that such program funding may be used for cost sharing purposes. In-kind contributions must be documented and must be directed towards eligible project costs and meet applicable Federal cost principles and other requirements of the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards at 2 CFR Part 200. Revenue may be, but is not required to be, generated from fees for service, client fees, membership fees, or other appropriate fees associated with services or activities funded through this Program as long as they are approved by MBDA.

Continue reading on SAM.gov

Deadlines

Email of Intent Deadline was: January 31, 2023, by 5:00PM Eastern Standard Time Application Deadline was: February 28, 2023, by 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time The Notice of Funding Opportunity Announcement was located on grants.gov.

Award range and average, in the agency's words

September 1, 2023 - August 31, 2027. Funds up to $2,000,000 to $3,000,000. Funding of $750,000 per year.

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Who usually wins

Nonprofits received 75% of the money, businesses 10% and colleges and universities 6.7%.

By state

Each state below has its own page for this program, with its recipients and yearly totals.

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.