Santa Barbara City College receives grant to assist entrepreneurs and small businesses

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The Santa Barbara City College Foundation was awarded a $100,000 Small Business Technical Assistance grant from the MUFG Union Bank Foundation to be used by SBCC's Scheinfeld Center.

SBCC said the Scheinfeld Center has offered a program for developing early-stage entrepreneurs that combines academics with hands-on, experiential learning.

"The Scheinfeld Center is an important hub for entrepreneurial development in our community," explained Carola Smith, SBCC Dean of Educational Programs – Business. "We look forward to using the funds to offer new tools and educational opportunities to help businesses launch and grow."

The college said the Scheinfeld Center will use the grant for:

• Conducting marketing campaigns to attract women, minorities, veterans, and other entrepreneurs in high school and college to explore entrepreneurship and business ownership;
• Adding an important business entrepreneurial assessment tool called the Readiness Inventory for Successful Entrepreneurship (RISE) to provide students an entrepreneurial skill baseline paired with tailored developmental plans and the capacity to track changes over time;
• Holding workshops and events to address skills gaps, including launching the Enlightened Entrepreneur Academy, designed to celebrate and honor entrepreneurs who have contributed significantly to the development of free enterprise throughout the world;
• Cultivating the Scheinfeld Innovators community of student entrepreneurs to support entrepreneurial development across academic disciplines;
• Providing increased access to funding using the new Scheinfeld Get REAL Accelerator, a hands-on learning opportunity for SBCC student entrepreneurs designed to help them gain market traction with their business ventures and additional access to funding opportunities.

The MUFG Union Bank Foundation provides ACFP (Advancing Communities Forward Program) Small Business Technical Assistance grants to help increase opportunities for small businesses and offer communities a better financial future.