WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration Thursday announced the awarding of $500,000 in a grant agreement with the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce Community Foundation’s National Center for the Veteran Institute for Procurement (VIP) to deliver the SBA’s Veteran Federal Procurement Entrepreneurship Training Program.
The funding opportunity, offered by SBA’s Office of Veterans Business Development, enables VIP to deliver entrepreneurship training to veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses nationwide interested in pursuing, or already engaged in, federal procurement. This award will be made for a four-year period of performance.
“Since 2010, VIP graduates have won over $16.9 billion in federal government prime awards. This represents VIP’s commitment to providing meaningful training and support to the veteran small business community to ensure they are competitive in the federal marketplace,” said Larry Stubblefield, Associate Administrator for SBA’s Office of Veterans Business Development. “Through this partnership, VIP will support SBA and federal government-wide efforts to achieve the federally mandated three percent service-disabled veteran-owned business spending goal.”
VIP is a certification program designed for veteran-owned companies to increase their ability to win government contracts by establishing best business practices. The curriculum is designed to address various stages of the business owner’s development in the procurement area. It includes VIP START for companies entering contracting; VIP GROW for companies expanding within government contracting; and VIP INTERNATIONAL for companies that export or have federal contracts performing outside the United States.
To learn more about VIP visit www.nationalvip.org. For more information on the SBA’s programs for veterans, visit www.sba.gov/veterans.
