The SBA Portable Assistance Program supports Small Business Development Center networks responding to serious economic disruption within the communities they serve.

The programme is sometimes described online as the “SBA Competitive Portable Assistance Program.” However, the official U.S. Small Business Administration title is simply the Portable Assistance Program.

It is also important to clarify that this is not a direct grant for ordinary small businesses. Only organisations currently funded by the SBA as Small Business Development Center Lead Centers are eligible to submit proposals.

What Is the SBA Portable Assistance Program?

The Portable Assistance Program enables an eligible SBDC Lead Center to take specialised business support into an area experiencing severe economic difficulties.

The affected area must have experienced recent and serious economic conditions resulting from reduced business or government operations. This could include the closure or downsizing of a major employer, public facility or other operation that causes job losses, reduced local spending or instability among small businesses.

An eligible proposal must describe the economic problem and present a detailed plan for delivering technical assistance. It must also include clear objectives, milestones and expected outcomes.

Is the Portable Assistance Program Open in 2026?

As of 23 July 2026, the SBA continues to display the Portable Assistance Program on its official website, but it has not published a separate active FY2026 Notice of Funding Opportunity, deadline or current award amount on that page.

The programme document currently linked from the SBA website is the FY2018 announcement. Applicants should not treat the dates, funding amounts or opportunity number in that document as current 2026 terms.

Eligible organisations should monitor the official SBA programme page and Grants.gov for a new announcement before preparing a formal submission. Third-party websites labelling the programme “active in 2026” may simply be reproducing the permanent SBA programme description rather than referring to a newly opened competition.

Who Can Apply?

Eligibility is limited to entities that are already receiving SBA funding as an SBDC Lead Center.

The United States has 62 Lead SBDCs operating through networks of more than 900 service locations. These centres provide advice, training and technical support to existing and prospective small-business owners.

The programme is not directly open to:

• Individual entrepreneurs;
• Ordinary small businesses;
• Independent consultants;
• Local nonprofits that are not SBA-funded SBDC Lead Centers;
• Local governments applying independently;
• Universities without the relevant SBDC Lead Center status.

Small businesses benefit indirectly by receiving counselling, training and other assistance delivered by the successful SBDC network.

What Can the Funding Support?

The programme is intended to support technical assistance for small businesses in a clearly defined area experiencing economic hardship.

Activities may include business counselling, financial-management support, market-development assistance, digital-skills training, help accessing capital, business continuity planning and guidance for displaced workers considering entrepreneurship.

The proposed services should directly respond to the economic disruption identified in the application. A general statewide training programme without a connection to a recent qualifying economic event is unlikely to fit the programme’s stated purpose.

SBA is also interested in practical approaches that can be replicated by other SBDC networks. A strong project should therefore produce useful methods, tools or service models that can be transferred to other affected communities.

Historical Funding Structure

The most recent full announcement currently linked by SBA is from 2018. That historical round offered approximately $1 million, expected to make ten awards of up to $100,000 each, covered a 12-month project period and did not require matching funds.

These figures illustrate how an earlier round operated but do not confirm the terms of any future 2026 competition. A new notice could change the funding ceiling, number of awards, project duration, eligibility details and evaluation criteria.

What Should an Eligible SBDC Prepare?

A competitive proposal would normally need reliable evidence of the economic disruption, including job losses, business closures, reduced government activity or declining commercial performance.

The Lead Center should also prepare:

• A defined service area and target population;
• A detailed technical-assistance plan;
• Measurable outputs and outcomes;
• Delivery milestones;
• Partner roles;
• A realistic budget;
• A plan for tracking businesses assisted, jobs retained, businesses started, sales growth and capital raised;
• An explanation of how the approach can be replicated elsewhere.

The project should demonstrate that the Lead Center can mobilise quickly and has the staff, partnerships and systems required to reach the affected community.

Official Programme Page

View the SBA Portable Assistance Program page

Eligible SBDC Lead Centers should also search Grants.gov for a newly issued opportunity before relying on any stated deadline or award amount.