The Idaho Small Business Development Center, headquartered at Boise State, has been selected as one of four SBDC centers in the country to receive a Small Business Sustainability Initiative grant.
The grants total $500,000 and are to fund projects offering energy efficiency assistance to small businesses, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced.
The SBA selected the grantees from among a highly competitive pool of applicants, based on the breadth and scope of the services they could provide promoting energy efficiency. The proposals offered innovative and imaginative approaches to respond to the rising needs of small businesses for information about practical steps they can take toward greater energy efficiency.
“Reducing operating costs through energy efficiency is a great way to shore up the bottom line and help survive the current economic downturn,” said Katie Sewell, Idaho SBDC deputy director.
The Idaho SBDC, which has traditionally used student teams and interns to help small businesses, intends to use this student model to develop and implement an energy audit program.
The Idaho SBDC’s environmental assistance coordinator, Joan Meitl, also has established relationships with utility companies and economic development professionals to deliver energy efficiency training for small businesses. These training sessions have been used as focus groups to determine the best methods for delivering energy efficiency information to small businesses. The SBDC intends to use the results of these focus sessions to reach out to and educate greater numbers of small businesses.
Program development will begin in January with on-site energy efficiency assessments beginning in the fall. The Idaho SBDC proposal included three option years that would allow for replication of the program at the University of Idaho and Idaho State University.
(source: Sherry Squires, Communication and Marketing)
To view entire press release: 08-122-energy-efficiency-grants_1
To learn more about the Idaho Small Business Development Center go to: http://www.idahosbdc.org/