UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State University was awarded a grant by the U.S. Small Business Administration that will be used to establish a Veterans Business Outreach Center, according to a press release from the university.
The university will use the funds it received to create a center that will offer training and counseling services for veteran and military spouse small-business owners in the state. It, alongside other VBOCs across the country, will “offer a range of business support services, including business planning, assistance accessing capital, government contract guidance, marketing and outreach and training for service members, veterans and military spouses,” the press release shared.
“Veterans own nearly 55,000 businesses in Pennsylvania and every month, more service members who are considering entrepreneurship leave the military and transition back to civilian life,” Robert Yannuzzi, SBA assistant administrator for the Office of Veterans Business Development, said. “We selected Penn State as a Veterans Business Outreach Center due to their existing connection to the veteran community and their robust entrepreneurial support across the state. The VBOC at Penn State will further the mission of all SBA VBOCs, to be a one-stop shop for veteran and military spouse entrepreneurs, no matter what stage of business ownership they’re in.”
The U.S. Small Business Administration provides funding to veteran entrepreneurs in Pennsylvania and recently announced over $1 million in awards to organizations across the country.
“Penn State is proud to be an institution that recognizes the contributions of our veterans to our nation, honors their service and sacrifice and supports them in their education and continued success,” Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi said in a statement.
“The establishment of this new Veterans Business Outreach Center will continue Penn State’s longstanding commitment to both supporting entrepreneurs and to serving our veterans. As I often say, we are the land free only because we are the home of the brave.”
According to the release, the statewide coordinator of the Invent Penn State LaunchBox and Innovation Network, Annie Hughes, will serve as the interim director until a permanent candidate is hired.
“We’re eager to get this center up and running. By leveraging our many valued resource partners and our LaunchBox and Innovation Network locations already embedded in communities across the state, we can ensure that these valuable VBOC resources reach the areas where they are most needed,” James Delattre, associate vice president for research and director of the Office of Entrepreneurship and Commercialization, said. “We are excited to provide the veteran community in Pennsylvania with this added layer of business support.”
