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Member Spotlight
Lehigh Carbon Community College
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Welcome to our NEPA Membership Spotlight, a new feature where each month we spotlight a new member to raise awareness of what our members offer the community!
As the school year restarts, we decided the perfect member to help introduce our Membership Spotlight was the Lehigh Carbon Community College (LCCC).
Recently we spoke with Tom Bux, Director of Workforce Development, who highlighted some of LCCC's qualities for us.
Overall, Bux said, "The college's mission is to serve the community by providing high-quality learning experiences that are affordable and accessible. As a student-centered learning institution, LCCC values diversity, learning and student development."
As for NEPA, Tom Bux stated, "Membership in NEPA has helped us by providing us a way to work with local businesses and make connections with key decision makers. Also, the workshops provided by NEPA are timely and often align with our organization's goals and the goals of the companies we serve."
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Request for Qualifications
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 Request for Qualifications - New Markets Tax Credit Consultant Support
The Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance is issuing a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for professional services to form a Community Development Entity and develop a New Markets Tax Credit Allocation Application.
Request for Qualifications - Develop & Implement a Fundraising Plan
The Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance is issuing a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for professional services to develop and implement a fundraising plan for the Blue Ribbon Task Force.
Interested firms may receive a RFQ packet by contacting Kurt Bauman at (570) 655-5581, ext. 237 or
kbauman@nepa-alliance.org. Disadvantaged Business Enterprises, including women, minority and service disabled veteran owned businesses, are encouraged to submit qualifications. Sealed qualifications packages will be received until 5:00 PM on January 18, 2019 at the Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance, 1151 Oak Street, Pittston, PA 18640-3726. NEPA reserves the right to reject any or all qualifications packages or waive any informality in the selection process.
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Global Access Program Funds Available
The Pennsylvania
Global Access Program (GAP)
enhances the capability of small to mid-sized Pennsylvania companies to increase export sales. GAP is administered by the Pennsylvania Office of International Business Development and provides up to $5,000 per award period to eligible Pennsylvania companies to reimburse up to 75% of qualifying expenses associated with specific export promotion activities. This program is funded in part through a grant with the U.S. Small Business Administration. Funds are limited and subject to availability.
GAP funds are for approved activities occurring October 1, 2018 - December 31, 2019. All GAP applications must be submitted to the NEPA Alliance at least 45 days prior to the activity for which funding is sought. Contact
Debbie Langan for more information.
Upcoming Multi-Sector Trade Missions
To learn more about International Business Development assistance, contact NEPA's Senior International Business Manager, Debbie Langan, at 570-655-5581, ext. 233 or 866-758-1929.
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PennDOT Green Light-Go Program Now Open
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Application Period Closes January 11, 2019
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PennDOT
is currently accepting applications for funding through Green Light-Go Program. Applications are due by January 11, 2019. Funding can be used
for a range of operational improvements to existing traffic control signals located in Pennsylvania. These improvements include LED replacement; traffic signal retiming; study and removal of existing traffic-control signals; monitoring; and innovative technologies. Any county, city, borough, incorporated town, township or home rule municipality or any metropolitan planning organization or rural planning organization may apply. A 20% match is required. More information can be found here.
Please contact Kate McMahon, Senior Transportation Services Manager, at 570-655-5581, ext. 249 with any questions.
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NEPA Alliance has several loan products available for small businesses in Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Schuylkill and Wayne counties.
These low cost, low interest loans offer reduced down payments and standard loan term maturities for machinery and equipment, land and building acquisition, construction and renovation. Loan rates are fixed and generally below the prime lending rate.
Eligible businesses include Manufacturers, Industrial, Agriculture/Agribusiness, Hospitality & Tourism Related Enterprises, Recyclers, Day Cares, Computer Related Services, Advanced Technology, and Retail and Service Related Businesses. Other business sectors may also qualify.
 NEPA Alliance Business Finance Corporation has Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 loans available for eligible small businesses in Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Schuylkill and Wayne counties.
Financing Structure
A bank or other lender finances 50% of the project cost and takes a first lien position on the assets financed. The SBA 504 loan  finances 40% of the project cost up to $5.5 million and takes a second lien position. The borrower then contributes a down payment of as little as 10%.
Small Businesses can Receive:
- Subordinate Financing
- 40% Funding
- Up to $5.5 Million in Financing Available
- Market Based Fixed Rate Financing
SBA 504 Loans Offer:
- Low Down Payments
- Long Term Maturities (10 & 20 Years)
*Eligibility Criteria Apply*
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Law Changing SBA Small Business Size Standards
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The House of Representatives Bill 6330 "Small Business Runway Extension Act of 2018" is now Public Law Number: 115-324 (Law). It was signed by the President on December 17, 2018.
The Law amends the Small Business Administration's (SBA) small business size rules to use a five-year average, instead of a three-year average, in calculations using receipts-based size standards. This change in calculating annual receipts creates new size standards, based on revenue that a company (including subsidiaries and affiliates) can have and still qualify as a small business for Federal Government programs. This includes SBA loan programs and federal agency contracting opportunities. In order to qualify for a federal contracting opportunity, a business must satisfy SBA's definition of a small business concern, along with the size standard for a small business.
The size standard varies by industry type/segment and is tied to a business' North
American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code. It is either based on revenue or number of employees. This Law only affects the revenue size of a business. Here is a link to the SBA Table of Size Standards.
To illustrate how the change can affect eligibility, a company with a NAICS Code 561730, "Landscaping Services," has a small business size of $7.5 Million. If itslast three years of revenue were $5M; $12M; and $8M, its three-year average will be $8.33M. At this point it would no longer be considered a small business concern as it exceeds the $7.5M maximum. Looking at this same company over the past five years with annual revenue of $2M; $3.5M; $5M; $12M; and $8M, its five-year average will be $6.1M and they would still be considered a small business since it has not exceeded the $7.5M maximum.
To sum it up, the relevance of this change is important to small businesses as size standards establish eligibility for a variety of small business assistance programs, including a range of government contracting programs designed to assist small businesses in obtaining federal government contracts. These small business contracting programs are a way of obtaining a competitive advantage.
Source: Congress.gov,
SBA.gov
For support in determining your SBA size standard, please contact
Karen Ostroskie
, PTAC Senior Government Procurement Manager;
Frank Migneco
, PTAC Government Procurement Manager;
Paula Terpak
, PTAC Government Procurement Specialist, or call 570-655-5581.
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 The ReConnect Program is an innovative new pilot program that offers unique federal financing and funding options in the form of loans, grants, and loan/grant combinations to facilitate broadband deployment in areas of rural America that don't currently have sufficient access to broadband. This pilot program will generate private sector investment to deploy broadband infrastructure to provide high-speed internet e-Connectivity to as many rural premises as possible, including homes, community facilities for healthcare and public safety, schools, libraries, farms, ranches, factories, and other production sites.
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Did you know that the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis recently released Gross Domestic Product (GDP) information by county? To access the information, click here .
For additional information, contact
Steve Zaricki at 570-655-5581, ext. 258 or 866-758-1929.
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"This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer."
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