The U.S. Department of the Treasury, through its State Small Business Credit Initiative, has awarded Wisconsin $1.9 million in technical assistance funding, according to a Tuesday announcement from Gov. Tony Evers’ office.
The funding will provide legal and financial advice for 1,150 small businesses across the state.
The grant will be administered through the Wisconsin Department of Administration and WEDC. Those two organizations will then award grants to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law and Entrepreneurship Clinic and the UW Institute for Business and Entrepreneurship.
The L&E Clinic and the UW Institute for Business and Entrepreneurship will use the funding to provide legal, accounting, and financial advice to companies preparing to apply for state or federal small business support.
“Our clinic, which serves more than 300 entrepreneurs across the state each year, will be able to increase capacity and create new online legal resources,” said Emily Buchholz, director of the L&E Clinic. “Access to attorneys and on-demand technology is a powerful combination with a track record for long-term business success.”
The $1.9 million federal grant will also help create 120 new small businesses through the development of an on-demand LLC formation tool.
“We are excited to assist Wisconsin entrepreneurs’ access to the SSBCI funds that the state is preparing to release,” said Bon Wikenheiser, director of the UW Institute for Business and Entrepreneurship. “This will be a great opportunity to grow the innovative small businesses that are so important to our state’s economy.”