Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Expands Grant Programs

The State of Pennsylvania recently was awarded a grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration which resulted in the expansion of the Market Access Grant program. The new program, called Global Access Program (GAP) provides up to $5,000.00 in 1:1 matching funds per year to qualifying Pennsylvania companies. GAP is designed to provide flexibility and encourage innovative use of funds to meet the specific international needs of PA companies. Qualifying activities include: overseas trade mission or trade show participation, domestic trade show participation, foreign market sales trip, subscription to USDOC service, independent consultant assistance for CE mark, CSA, ISO, REACH, CITRA, etc., export training workshops, product certification, international marketing media design, website internationalization and marketing literature translation fees. To learn more about this program contact the World Trade Center of Central Pennsylvania at www.wtccentralpa.org

New Trade Adjustment Assistance Guidelines Qualify More Manufacturers

The Trade Adjustment Assistance program was established by the U.S. Department of Commerce to balance global competitiveness and to help those manufacturers that lost business due to foreign competition. The federal guidelines were recently updated to make the application process easier and allow more manufacturers to qualify for the grant dollars, even if they tried unsuccessfully once before. Qualifying companies can be approved for matching dollars up to $75,000. Locally, manufacturers can access the grant dollars through the Mid-Atlantic Trade Adjustment Assistance Center (MATAAC). MANTEC has established an effective process with MATAAC to make the paperwork as painless as possible and help manufacturers access the funds sooner. For more information, please contact Leigh Ann Wilson at MANTEC: (717) 843-5054 x223 or wilsonla@mantec.org

For further information on these grant programs please contact the organizations above or contact the LEAN Accountants of McKonly and Asbury, LLP.