Tribal College Small Business Achievement Grant Program | SB GC7J 23 002

Opportunity Information: Apply for SB GC7J 23 002

The Tribal College Small Business Achievement Grant Program is a Small Business Administration (SBA) discretionary grant opportunity designed to expand access to entrepreneurship and small business support in Native American communities. The core goal is to fund Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) that can deliver hands-on entrepreneurial development services, with a deliberate emphasis on reaching socially and economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs. A key point of the program is geographic coverage: it is intended to support services in areas that fall outside the footprint of existing SBA resources, meaning it prioritizes communities that are currently underserved or harder to reach through typical SBA technical assistance networks.

Funding is structured as a grant (Funding Opportunity Number SB-GC7J-23-002) under CFDA 59.007, aligned with business and commerce and education activities. The SBA anticipated making up to four awards total, with an award ceiling of $250,000 per award. In practical terms, that means selected TCUs would receive resources to build or strengthen programming that helps aspiring and existing Native entrepreneurs start, grow, and sustain small businesses. While the notice does not list specific required services in the excerpt provided, “entrepreneurial development services” typically includes training, advising, mentoring, business planning assistance, readiness support for financing, and other capacity-building activities that help entrepreneurs move from idea to launch and then to stable operations.

Eligibility is narrowly focused. Applicants must be Tribal Colleges and Universities as defined in Section 316 of the Higher Education Act (25 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. is often referenced for tribal colleges generally, but the opportunity explicitly cites HEA 316 at 20 U.S.C. 1059c). The eligibility section also references Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments) and “others” with additional clarification, but the program description makes clear that awards are intended for TCUs meeting the HEA definition. The opportunity was created on July 1, 2023, and the original application deadline was August 5, 2023, with no closing-date extension noted in the provided source data.

Overall, this program is best understood as an SBA investment in TCU-led, community-rooted small business assistance. It leverages the reach and trust of tribal higher education institutions to deliver entrepreneurship support where gaps exist, specifically targeting entrepreneurs who face structural barriers related to income, access to capital, geography, or other disadvantages.

• The Small Business Administration in the business and commerce, education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Tribal College Small Business Achievement Grant Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 59.007.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 01, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 05, 2023 No Explanation. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $250,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for SB GC7J 23 002

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: