We anticipate the U.S. Small Business Administration’s next round of State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) Grant funding awards to be announced to successful recipient states in mid-August.
In anticipation of this potential award, our goal is to open for competitive applications on or before September 1, 2016 for eligible projects occurring between September 30, 2016 and September 29, 2017. This application period will close at 5:00 p.m. (Mountain Time) on Friday, September 9. This is to be the only application period for individual Financial Assistance Plans for this grant year (September 30, 2016 and September 29, 2017), so plan now for potential projects for which you would like to apply for assistance.
STEP funds will be available for the following categories:
- Financial Assistance Plans:
- $3,000 – $15,000 available for your own qualifying projects between September 30, 2016 and September 29, 2017
- Financial Assistance Plans for State Led Trade Missions (application deadlines to be announced at a later date):
- Governor’s Trade Mission to China, October 28 – November 5, 2016
- Mongolia Trade Mission, Spring 2017
- State Led Trade Shows (application deadlines to be announced at a later date):
- Outdoor Recreation: ISPO Munich – Munich, Germany – February 5-8, 2017
- Arms and Ammunition: IWA Outdoor Classics – Nuremberg, Germany – March 3-6, 2017
- Technology: CeBIT – Hannover, Germany – March 20-24, 2017
- Pet Products: ZooMark – Bologna, Italy – May 11-14, 2017
- Aerospace: Paris Air Show – Paris France – June 19-25, 2017
Please email Tina Salisbury, STEP Program Manager, with any questions you may have. Or visit our website to learn more about our current program. We expect the application process to be similar.