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            SBA launches new faith-based and 
            community initiatives center       
            
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            [FEB. 19, 2005]  
            
            WASHINGTON -- The U.S. 
            Small Business Administration has created a Center for Faith-Based 
            and Community Initiatives to help nonprofit, grass-roots 
            organizations learn about and access SBA-backed programs and loans. | 
        
            | As part of the initiative, 
            all current technical assistance grant recipients -- including 
            SCORE, Women's Business Centers and Small Business Development 
            Centers -- have extended their programs to faith-based and other 
            nonprofit organizations that focus a significant portion of their 
            activities on aiding small businesses. The new center is part of the agency's implementation of the 
            president's Faith-Based and Community Initiative, which supports the 
            compassionate efforts of faith-based and secular grass-roots 
            organizations to improve their communities. The initiative is 
            designed to open government programs to these organizations by 
            ensuring that grass-roots leaders can compete on equal footing for 
            federal dollars, receive greater private support and face fewer 
            bureaucratic barriers. "By working more closely with faith-based and other 
            organizations, we can advance the president's goal of bringing jobs 
            and hope to economically distressed communities all across our 
            nation," said Hector V. Barreto, administrator of the Small Business 
            Administration.  
            [to top of second column in this 
            article] 
            
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       Field representatives are already developing workshops, training 
            seminars and open houses to reach out and educate faith-based and 
            community organizations about Small Business Administration programs 
            and to ensure that these groups have equal access to the services.
             For more information on the agency's initiatives for faith-based 
            and community organizations, visit 
            www.sba.gov/fbci or contact the Small Business Administration 
            district office in your area. For more information about all of the agency's programs for small 
            businesses, visit www.sba.gov 
            [U.S. 
            Small Business Administration news release] |