Washington State Microenterprise Association ~ Official

Happy Small Business Saturday! Support your community by doing business today and every day with your local microenterprises. A special shout out to Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs) and Evergreen BizLink Resource Partners that are providing Washington’s smallest businesses with business tools, resources and financing they need to innovate, grow and flourish with a strong sense of place in their communities. #ShopSmall #SmallBusinessSaturday #WAMicroBiz #WASmallBusiness

WSMA is excited to celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Month and we are pleased to offer the 2025 Crowdfund Better Certified Advisor Training Washington Cohort on January 15 & 16 2025 as part of our strategy to invest in Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs). This training is provided only to Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs) in our network at this time to build  their capacity to develop more revenue streams for the entrepreneurs they serve.    This training will strengthen your capacity to match businesses and community projects to different types of crowdfunding and align support to their stage and goals. Learn Crowdfund Better’s business development approach to crowdfunding campaign preparation that helps businesses to better describe their value, become more successful building relationships in their communities, and prepare for financing from other sources. Don’t miss your chance to add crowdfunding to your access-to-capital toolkit! You can learn more about the training and apply for the cohort on our website (Applications due Friday, December 6th!): https://lnkd.in/dmap2_5g #CrowdfundBetter #GlobalEntrepreneurshipMonth #WAMicroBiz #WASmallBusiness #CommunityCapital #AccessToCapital

🚨 IMPORTANT GRANT APPLICATION UPDATE! We have heard from several of your organizations that you have been without power as a result of the recent weather event (Bomb Cyclone) this week. At this hour, there are still over 235,000+ households and businesses in Western WA without power. In fairness to all applicants, WSMA will be postponing the deadline for the 2024-25 WSMA Fall Statewide Grant proposal submissions until 12:00pm on Monday, November 25, 2024.  There will be no further extensions.  In order to notify awardees by December 20, 2024, WSMA will need to take steps to support our team and all involved to ensure our review process can proceed with care. We therefore encourage those of you who are able to please submit your applications by tomorrow at the original deadline of 5:00pm PST.  That way we can begin the initial stages of the review process over the weekend.  Please reach out if you have any questions!  For programmatic and/or technical support with applying, please email Lisa Smith (WSMA Executive Director) at lisa@wamicrobiz.org and Catherine Borgeson (WSMA Grant Specialist) at catherine@microbiz.org! Grant Guidelines and other application materials: https://lnkd.in/ebPKDhj We wish you success in the completion of your applications. Washington State Microenterprise Association #WAMicroBiz #SmallBusiness #WASmallBusiness

TOMORROW! Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to join your peers in unlocking community capital throughout Washington State! Attend the WSMA-sponsored Crowdfund Better Certified Advisor Training Cohort INFORMATION SESSION on Thursday, November 21 at 11am.  There’s still time to register: https://bit.ly/4haXCST You’ll learn about this training which will strengthen your capacity to match businesses and community projects to different types of crowdfunding and align support to their stage and goals. Crowdfund Better’s business development approach to crowdfunding campaign preparation helps businesses to better describe their value, become more successful building relationships in their communities, and prepare for financing from other sources. Don’t miss your chance to ask questions about adding crowdfunding to your access-to-capital toolkit! #CrowdfundBetter #WAMicroBiz #CommunityCapital #AccessToCapital

⏰ APPLICATIONS DUE FRIDAY at 5:30pm PST!  The Statewide Grant Program Guidelines, FAQs, Information and Portal Session videos are available and the Grant Portal is open! Have questions? Feel free to reach out to us. For programmatic and/or technical support with applying, please email Lisa Smith (WSMA Executive Director) at lisa@wamicrobiz.org and Catherine Borgeson (WSMA Grant Specialist) at catherine@microbiz.org! Read more: https://lnkd.in/ebPKDhj Thanks to the support from the Washington State Department of Commerce, WSMA has opened this statewide grant opportunity to fund nonprofit organizations that provide business training, technical assistance and support with accessing financing for small businesses, especially those with five or fewer employees in Washington. #WAMicroBiz #SmallBusiness #WASmallBusiness

Completing a Statewide Grant Application? Have questions? Need help with the portal? Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions. For programmatic and/or technical support with applying, please email Lisa Smith (WSMA Executive Director) at lisa@wamicrobiz.org and Catherine Borgeson (WSMA Grant Specialist) at catherine@microbiz.org! The Statewide Grant Program Guidelines, FAQs, Information and Portal Session videos are available and the Grant Portal is now open! Read more: https://lnkd.in/ebPKDhj #WAMicroBiz #SmallBusiness #WASmallBusiness

⭐ HAPPENING THIS WEEK! Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to join your peers in unlocking community capital throughout Washington State! Attend the WSMA-sponsored Crowdfund Better Certified Advisor Training Cohort INFORMATION SESSION on Thursday, November 21 at 11am.  Register: https://bit.ly/4haXCST You’ll learn about this training which will strengthen your capacity to match businesses and community projects to different types of crowdfunding and align support to their stage and goals. Crowdfund Better’s business development approach to crowdfunding campaign preparation helps businesses to better describe their value, become more successful building relationships in their communities, and prepare for financing from other sources. Don’t miss your chance to ask questions about adding crowdfunding to your access-to-capital toolkit! #CrowdfundBetter #WAMicroBiz #CommunityCapital #AccessToCapital

Interested in applying for a 2024-25 WSMA Statewide Grant? The FAQs and Information Session video are available and the Grant Portal is now open! Read more: https://lnkd.in/ebPKDhj #WAMicroBiz #SmallBusiness #WASmallBusiness

Join your peers in unlocking community capital throughout Washington State! Attend the WSMA-sponsored Crowdfund Better Certified Advisor training cohort INFORMATION SESSION on Thursday, November 21 at 11am.  Register: https://bit.ly/4haXCST You’ll learn about this training which will strengthen your capacity to match businesses and community projects to different types of crowdfunding and align support to their stage and goals. Crowdfund Better’s business development approach to crowdfunding campaign preparation helps businesses to better describe their value, become more successful building relationships in their communities, and prepare for financing from other sources. Don’t miss your chance to ask questions about adding crowdfunding to your access-to-capital toolkit! #CrowdfundBetter #WAMicroBiz #CommunityCapital #AccessToCapital

💻 WSMA 2024 GRANT PORTAL WALK-THROUGH WSMA Fall 2024 Grant Opportunity: Statewide Grant Program The Washington State Microenterprise Association (WSMA) is dedicated to strengthening Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs) as they engage with economic development partners and others to help the smallest businesses to grow sustainably, equitably and financially throughout Washington state. Thanks to the support from the Washington State Department of Commerce, WSMA is opening this statewide grant opportunity to fund nonprofit organizations that provide business training, technical assistance and support with accessing financing for small businesses, especially those with five or fewer employees in Washington. Join us for a Grant Portal Walk-through: November 14, 2024 at 9:00am. Register: https://bit.ly/3YLEAeE This session will be recorded and made available on the WSMA YouTube Channel. #WAMicroBiz #ESO #WASmallBusiness