3245-0399 SBA Equity Action Plan 3-21-2023

Equity Action Plan
Executive Summary
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) helps entrepreneurs start, build, grow, and, if
needed, recover their businesses. Created in 1953, SBA is the only cabinet-level federal agency
fully dedicated to small business owners and entrepreneurs in their pursuit of the American
dream.1 Since its founding, SBA has delivered millions of loans, loan guarantees, contracts,
counseling sessions, and other forms of assistance to small businesses.
Each year, SBA serves thousands of small businesses across the country. Many of these
businesses are owned by entrepreneurs who identify with communities that have been
traditionally underserved. These underserved communities include the following:
Persons who/who are…
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

1

Asian American
Black and African American
Hispanic and Latino
Middle Eastern
North African
Other Persons of Color
Alaska Native
Native American
Native Hawaiian
Pacific Islander
Tribal Communities
Have Disabilities
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+)
Of Religious Minorities
Live in Rural or underserved Urban areas
Veterans, Military Servicemembers, and Spouses
Women
Are otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or systemic inequality

About SBA https://www.sba.gov/about-sba (Pulled Jan 2022)

Page 1 of 17

SBA offers support for each stage of the entrepreneurship journey through products and
services. Entrepreneurs of underserved communities can experience barriers to accessing
those resources. This Equity Action Plan, in conjunction with Executive Order (EO) 13985
(“Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal
Government”), outlines how SBA will reduce barriers and improve access to the following
resources:
•
•

Capital Access
Federal Government Procurement
and Contracting Opportunities

•
•

Disaster Assistance
Business Counseling, Training, and
Services

The plan also highlights SBA’s commitment to advancing civil rights including leadership
from the agency’s Office of Diversity Inclusion and Civil Rights.
Lastly, an essential component to the Equity Action Plan is for SBA to improve its quantitative
and qualitative data gathering to help inform ongoing analysis. SBA is committed to a
process that includes working with OMB to identify the most efficient and effective ways to
acquire needed information, without incurring unnecessary costs or creating additional
burden, potential for disclosure, or trust issues for underserved communities.

Summary of Early Accomplishments
During the past year, SBA was successful in reducing barriers and improving access to SBA
resources for underserved communities. Between January 20, 2021, to January 20, 2022:
SBA funded small businesses across key demographic groups, including: rural Americans
($58 billion+), Black and African Americans ($17 billion+), Hispanics and Latinos ($15 billion+),
Native Americans ($699 million+), and Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders
($23 billion+). SBA also distributed $15.2 billion in critical Restaurant Revitalization Fund
(RRF) relief aid to women-owned ($7.5 billion), veteran-owned ($1 billion), and socially and
economically disadvantaged-owned ($6.7 billion) small businesses. In low-income
communities, over 500,000 small businesses received a lifeline of up to $15,000 in relief
grants through the COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Targeted and Supplemental
Advance programs, while 22 percent of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans went to
those in rural areas.
Along with the federal Interagency Policy Committee (IPC) on Executive Order 13985, SBA
worked with agencies to raise the governmentwide goal for spending with Small
Disadvantaged Businesses to 11%, from 5%. Further, SBA and the IPC finalized reforms—
issued by OMB in December—to help grow the small-business industrial base. These reforms
include tailoring OMB’s Category Management program to serve disadvantaged businesses,
adding SBA to the governmentwide Category Management Leadership Council, and adding
Page 2 of 17

new entrants to government contracting. SBA also issued a proposed rule in the Federal
Register that, when finalized, will open up possibilities for new and nontraditional small
business contractors to compete for contract opportunities. The rule would allow
contractors without direct experience in government contracting to count experience gained
through participating as a joint venture member or first-tier subcontractor. This addresses a
common complaint from small businesses, that they cannot get their first contract until they
have their first contract. For the first time, the SBA released disaggregated data across
industries and sectors by race and ethnicity and helped deliver contracting reforms that will
require federal agencies to track and publicly report how they are bringing in new
contractors, develop diversification strategies, and open doors for more socio-economic,
underserved firms to sell their goods and services to the Federal marketplace.
Additionally, SBA has allocated nearly 30 percent of its Small Business Development
Center Program funding to Minority Serving Institutions to host Small Business
Development Centers. This action will lead to over 280 small business development centers
increasing their access to and impact within underserved communities. SBA also supported
the implementation of three Women’s Business Centers (WBCs) on the campuses of
Historically Black Colleges and Universities and elevated the issue of women’s
entrepreneurship through public engagement. Of the 24 new WBCs announced in March
2021, 60 percent were in rural communities. And, most recently, SBA reconvened the
Council on Underserved Communities under the authority of the Federal Advisory Committee
Act (FACA). The restoration of the Council will help support the SBA’s prioritization of
equity across its programs and initiatives. The Council consists of 20 diverse stakeholders
from every region of the country tasked with advising the SBA on strengthening and
improving its strategies to help underserved communities.

Page 3 of 17

SBA Equity Action #1
Improve Access to Capital
A. Barrier to Equitable Outcome(s)
There is a gap in access to capital among small business owners that represent the
following characteristics 2:
• Annual revenue of <$100K
• Sole proprietors
• Seeking loans of <$150K,
• Low profit industries such as
especially $10K
childcare
This gap contributes to racial inequities, as small business owners with these
characteristics are more likely to be from underserved communities than adequately
served communities. Another contributor to the capital gap is the high prevalence of
credit invisible and credit unscorable U.S. adults. Like the small business capital gap,
underserved small business owners are more likely to have thin consumer and
business credit files than other communities due to lack of banking and/or debt history. 3
Community Financial Institutions (CFIs), including Community Development
Financial Institutions (CDFIs), are private financial institutions that deliver responsible,
affordable finance to help people and communities underserved by mainstream finance.
CFIs, however, can be limited in their capacity due to a number of factors including their
capital structure, challenges associated with hiring and retaining highly skilled lending
officers, and the high cost of servicing smaller dollar loans to small business owners with
non-traditional profiles. Additionally, they can lack the resources to invest in the
infrastructure needed to achieve greater efficiencies and the marketing to attract more
borrowers. This results in CFIs being limited in their connection to at-need borrowers and
capacity to generate significantly higher volume.
SBA programs LenderMatch and the Community Advantage Pilot do not optimize the
marketplace to match CFIs and underserved borrowers, currently. LenderMatch is an
online platform matching potential borrowers to potential lenders offering SBA-backed
funding and is being marketed to CFIs to reach underserved borrowers. Community
Advantage is a loan program designed to meet the credit and technical assistance needs
of small businesses in underserved markets.
<$100K revenue Small businesses: >50% Black, 30% Hispanic, 18% Asian, 13% white
1-4 employee businesses: 76% Black, 69% Hispanic, 60% Asian, 52% white
For non-employer firms, 42% women-owned vs. employer firms 21% women-owned
(Source: Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey - 2021
3
~20% of US adults are credit invisible or unscorable due to thin or stale files, with nearly 30% of Black and
Hispanic adults falling into this category (Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau)
<50% Hispanic borrowers and 33% of Black borrowers were deemed to have a low credit risk for firms vs. 72% of
white borrowers (Source: Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey - 2021)
~ 40% of households without a high school diploma used bank credit vs. ~90% of those with college degrees.
(Source: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)
2

Page 4 of 17

B. Actions and Intended Impact on Barrier
Building on LenderMatch and Community Advantage, SBA will invest in additional
technology to optimize the marketplace to match underserved borrowers and CFIs,
including CDFIs. For borrowers, application requirements will be simplified, data will
integrate automatically, and a high-quality customer service support system will be
available. It will also be mobile-friendly. By delivering the platform in a user-friendly
manner, borrowers can simply and seamlessly complete the process to connect to
mission-based lenders. For CFIs, the platform’s automatic integration of data sources
will make it possible to easily evaluate credit score alternatives. Matched CFIs will be
provided with this analysis.
SBA will also 1) invest in the marketing of the platform so all CFIs users can benefit from
this gain and more historically underserved borrowers can learn about this platform’s
availability, and 2) complete the CFI-borrower matching process in a way that generates a
proposal, making the borrower assessment and underwriting process easier.
By prioritizing these actions, underserved communities will have a more focused
resource that meets them where they are today, making the marketplace and capital
more accessible. Lenders that are servicing underserved communities will be able to
better fill the gaps to access to capital and expand their impact.
SBA expects that by connecting more underserved small business owners to CFIs the
small business capital gap for underserved borrowers will decrease. The number of
underserved small business owners that lack banking and/or debt history will decrease,
also. The platform will increase the operational capacity for CFIs. Increasing CFI access
and use of SBA’s integrated platform will result in more loans to underserved
entrepreneurs, with more small businesses having the opportunity and support to
start and grow.
C. Tracking Progress
Factors to determine progress/success 2-4 years out:
• Number of underserved borrowers and CFIs participating on the platform
increases year over year.
• Number of customer survey results indicating a positive experience is prevalent.
Factors to determine progress/success 5-8 years out:
• Number of small business loans being generated that can reduce the small
business capital gap for underserved communities increases.
D. Accountability
SBA’s Office of Capital Access (OCA) will align these actions with the Agency’s Strategic
Plan and build upon already embedded equity-related goals in the office’s performance
plan. OCA and the Agency will continue to report to senior leadership, members of
Congress, and the White House at regular intervals to ensure that all OCA programs and
Page 5 of 17

services are meeting the intended goals. With a focus on transparency and customer
engagement, updates will be provided to the public on an ongoing basis and customer
feedback will be obtained consistently.

Page 6 of 17

SBA Equity Actions #2 and #3
Improve Access to Federal Government Procurement
and Contracting Opportunities
Actions #2 and #3 both support improving access to Federal Government procurement and
contracting opportunities. Action #2 focuses on SBA’s authority for setting goals for federal
agencies. Action #3 focuses on SBA’s role as an administrator of programs for small
businesses.
A. Barrier to Equitable Outcome(s)
The U.S. Federal Government is the largest purchaser of goods and services in the
world. Federal Government purchases can have a substantial impact on the success of
small businesses, especially firms owned by members of underserved communities. 4 To
assist small businesses that are at least 51 percent owned by one or more individuals who
are both socially and economically disadvantaged, and competing for procurement and
contracting opportunities, a self-certification as a Small Disadvantage Business (SDB)
is available.
In FY 2020, SDBs represented 25 percent of all businesses participating in government
contracting, but SDBs received only roughly 10 percent of total federal procurement
dollars. 5 Increased SDB spending would prepare the contracting base for the next set
of 21st-century challenges, from climate change to public health, and decrease wealth
disparities. 6
Narrowing the spending gap requires not just spending more with existing contractors,
but also expanding the opportunities available for new and less-established
disadvantaged businesses. As a whole, the government has only recently recognized that
consolidated buying practices—as emphasized over the past half-decade—can squeeze
out smaller vendors, including some SDBs and socioeconomic businesses. Balancing
those buying practices with socioeconomic goals requires a renewed focus on
recruiting and retaining SDBs, and OMB recognized that as a necessary effort in
Memorandum M-22-03.
B. Actions and Intended Impact on Barrier
The Benefits of Increased Equity in Federal Contracting | The White House
https://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/written-materials/2021/12/01/the-benefits-of-increased-equity-in-federalcontracting/ (Pulled Jan 2022)
5
FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Announces Reforms to Increase Equity and Level the Playing Field for
Underserved Small Business Owners | The White House https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statementsreleases/2021/12/02/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-reforms-to-increase-equity-and-level-theplaying-field-for-underserved-small-business-owners/ (Pulled Jan 2022)
6
FACT SHEET, The White House (Pulled Jan 2022)
4

Page 7 of 17

#2 Increase Government Spending on Small Disadvantaged Businesses

SBA negotiates contracting goals with all 24 Chief Financial Officers Act 7 agencies and will
use this authority to drive more federal dollars to disadvantaged business owners.
The SBA Administrator will assign ambitious but attainable goals to each agency that
represent an improvement over the agency’s historical SDB spending. To reach those
goals, agencies—with help from SBA—will need to take concerted efforts to lower barriers
to entry and incentivize their workforces to attract more SDB contractors.
For fiscal year (FY) 2022, the government-wide SDB contracting goal has been
increased to 11 percent, working toward the goal of 15 percent in FY 2025. Each
agency will receive an increased SDB prime contracting goal based on the agency’s past
performance in contracting with SDBs. To determine the goals, SBA reviewed each
agency’s SDB contracting levels over the past decade, focusing primarily on the past three
years. SBA then followed the guidance from OMB Memorandum M-22-03 that FY22 goals
“shall demonstrate improvement at each agency.” SBA proposed initial goals to each
agency and negotiated with agencies on an individual basis to arrive at a final level. The
final goals aggregate to 11% governmentwide for FY22.
Under the authority granted in OMB Memorandum M-22-03, SBA will use its new voting
capacity on the Category Management Leadership Council to advocate for small
businesses, and SBA will promote to qualified small businesses their new enhanced status
under recent Category Management reforms.

#3 Increase Small Disadvantaged Business Participation

SBA and other agencies will need to reach new businesses. SBA will enroll more
disadvantaged small businesses into SBA’s business development and contracting
programs (e.g., the 8(a) Business Development program, HUBZone program,
Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB) certification) and
strengthen those businesses’ capabilities to compete and perform contracts.
To encourage development of 8(a) applicants and current participants, the Agency will
take several steps. For potential applicants, SBA will maximize application education
and assistance by offering quarterly trainings to educate firms on 8(a) program eligibility
and the application process. These trainings will aim to improve the quality of application
submissions and, thereby, lead to more approved firms into the program. For certified
8(a) Program participants, concentrated training is planned for the developmental years
one through four, and the transition years five through nine of the program’s term. This
support will position the firms for successful growth. SBA will also open to the public a
monthly conference call to further enhance its customer service.

2.4 Chief Financial Officers Act (1990) | CIO.GOV https://www.cio.gov/handbook/it-laws/cfo-act/ (Pulled Jan
2022)
7

Page 8 of 17

Overall, SBA will examine areas of the 8(a) application requirements to reduce the
administrative burden for small businesses. The Agency will also conduct an equity
impact assessment to determine how its benefits apply to different groups of participants
in the program.
SBA will continue to work with Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) to
construct measures and goals to determine whether contracting is welcoming small
businesses, encouraging innovation and dynamism, and furthering Administration
priorities of equity and inclusion.
By prioritizing these actions, SBA and other federal agencies will reopen the door for
small businesses and small disadvantaged business to enter the federal marketplace.
This will result in a more diverse supply chain, greater competition in contracting, better
results for agencies, and equity for underserved communities.
SBA expects that governmentwide spending with SDBs will reach 15% in FY25, which will
be a 50% increase over current levels. This will translate to tens of billions of dollars more
to disadvantaged business owners. Because of this increase in contracting opportunities,
SBA also expects the number of disadvantaged small business owners participating in
business development and government contracting programs, as well as actual
government contracting, to increase. Ultimately, these efforts will expand the economic
benefits of federal spending to underserved communities, provide opportunities to
reduce wealth inequality, and improve the overall economy.
C. Tracking Progress
Factors to determine progress/success 2-4 years out:
• Dollars spent on SDBs by Federal Government agencies increases.
• Number of Federal Government procurement and contracting opportunities
available for small business increases.
o SBA will develop an indicator to track the number of opportunities.
• Number of SDBs participating in Federal Government procurement and
contracting increases.
o Along with the OFPP, SBA will continue to track the number of vendors in
the federal marketplace. Under the guidance in OMB’s M-22-03, SBA will
begin to measure the number of new entrants each year into the Federal
marketplace.
o SBA will track the number of firms that are certified into SBA’s contracting
and business development programs.
Factors to determine progress/success 5-8 years out:
• Economic benefits, such as building wealth, increases for underserved businesses
and communities.
D. Accountability
Page 9 of 17

Action #2: SBA will measure other agencies’ progress — and the Federal Government
as a whole — on the SBA Scorecard, the flagship data product for the agency. The
governmentwide SDB goal will have specific milestones on the way to 15% in FY25, and
the SBA Scorecard will reflect those milestones. Agency buying officials and senior
leadership will have scorecard achievements in their performance plans, and SBA will
ensure that small-business advocates within each agency have access to the highest level
of decisionmakers in the agency. Traditionally, each agency, including SBA, amplifies the
annual results of the SBA Scorecard through various public communication channels.
SBA will publish annual disaggregated data on each agency’s performance contracting
with small businesses grouped by race/ethnicity.
Action #3: SBA’s Office of Government Contracting and Business Development
(GCBD) will align the above actions with the SBA’s Strategic Plan and build upon
already embedded equity-related goals in the office’s performance plan. GCBD and the
Agency will continue to report to senior leadership, members of Congress, and the White
House at regular intervals to ensure that all GCBD programs and services are meeting the
intended goals. With a focus on transparency and customer engagement, updates will be
provided to the public on an ongoing basis (i.e., making the vendor and new entrant
information available publicly) and customer feedback will be obtained consistently.

Page 10 of 17

SBA Equity Action #4
Improve Access to Disaster Assistance
A. Barrier to Equitable Outcome(s)
SBA provides low-interest disaster loans directly to survivors to help them recover from
declared disasters. Borrowers are not just small business owners. Other business
owners, private nonprofits, homeowners, and renters can also qualify for a disaster
loan. The lending criteria for disaster loans (credit/cashflow/income to debt ratio),
although less stringent than private lenders, can make it more difficult for disaster
survivors of underserved communities (compared to adequately served communities)
to actively participate in the disaster assistance programs due to financial disparities. 8
SBA disaster loan applicants who do not meet underwriting criteria fail to obtain disaster
loans. SBA does not regularly have resources in position to assist applicants who are
declined a loan and who need financial counseling.
B. Actions and Intended Impact on Barrier
SBA will work with its field and program offices to develop a systematic and formal
process with SBA Resource Partners (i.e., Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs),
SCORE, Women’s Business Centers (WBCs), Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOCs))
to assist businesses with application completion, reconsiderations, credit repair, and
managerial and technical services. These partnerships foster direct engagements with
disaster survivors and will help them to obtain financial and credit counseling services
such as how to prepare income statements and balance sheets; how to manage debt to
improve credit scores; and, how to apply for disaster loans. These actions will increase
the likelihood of disaster survivors receiving recovery funds from SBA. The SBA will also
identify and develop formal and informal relationships with financial institutions and
local community support groups to arrange for additional assistance.
This process will be nested throughout SBA’s loan processing procedures from
application intake to application decline and will be standardized across the entire
enterprise to meet the disaster survivor’s unmet needs. To continue to improve upon this
process, SBA will conduct targeted outreach and “listening sessions” to get feedback
from new and existing stakeholders.

~20% of US adults are credit invisible or unscorable due to thin or stale files, with nearly 30% of Black and
Hispanic falling into this category (Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau)
<50% Hispanic borrowers and 33% of Black borrowers were deemed to have a low credit risk for firms vs. 72% of
white borrowers (Source: Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey - 2021)
~ 40% of households without a high school diploma used bank credit vs. ~90% of those with college degrees.
(Source: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)

8

Page 11 of 17

By prioritizing these actions, SBA will be able to provide a positive customer experience
that will extend beyond a negative loan decision. With this continued engagement, SBA
will become more aware of the needs of disaster survivors, particularly survivors from
underserved communities. In turn, SBA will be able to deliver improved and more
equitable service.
SBA expects that by connecting disaster survivors of underserved communities to
financial counseling and additional resources, more of these survivors will meet the
disaster loan underwriting criteria. Also, new partners will become part of the SBA
network permanently and will facilitate even more connections with underserved
communities. With access to financial and other assistance, disaster survivors of
underserved communities can more quickly transition from an emergency situation
to a long-term, productive, and economically viable recovery phase.
C. Tracking Progress
Factors to determine progress/success 2-4 years out:
• Number of underserved disaster survivors utilizing SBA-referred financial
counseling increases.
• Number of underserved disaster survivors utilizing SBA products and services
increases.
• Number of organizations partnering with SBA to assist underserved disaster
survivors increases.
Factors to determine progress/success 5-8 years out:
• Number of underserved disaster survivors who are initially declined a disaster loan
due to not meeting underwriting criteria but are later able to remedy issues after
receiving SBA-referred financial counseling and successfully reapply increases.
D. Accountability
SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance (ODA) will align these actions with the Agency’s
Strategic Plan and build upon already embedded equity-related goals in the office’s
performance plan. ODA and the Agency will continue to report to senior leadership,
members of Congress, and the White House at regular intervals to ensure that all ODA
programs and services are meeting the intended goals. With a focus on transparency and
customer engagement, updates will be provided to the public on an ongoing basis and
customer feedback will be obtained consistently.

Page 12 of 17

SBA Equity Action #5
Improve Access to Business Counseling, Training, and
Services
A. Barrier to Equitable Outcome(s)
At the forefront of all SBA programs is outreach - connecting entrepreneurs to
information on how to start, grow, manage, and recover their businesses. Often this
information is provided through business counseling, training, and services. At times,
however, communication and information gaps can prevent SBA clients and potential
clients from receiving information on the benefits of SBA products and services. 9
For entrepreneurs of underserved communities, communication and information gaps
can be more critical. Underserved business survival rates are below the national average
with only about two-thirds of businesses surviving to at least 4-5 years old. 10 This makes
the window of opportunity shorter for providing relevant, accurate, and timely
information that could increase how long a business survives.
B. Actions and Intended Impact on Barrier
To strengthen the lines of communication with underserved communities, an allhands approach is needed. All SBA offices are investigating new approaches for reaching
clients. The following are some examples of the latest actions SBA is implementing:
•

Office of Entrepreneurial Development - Launching the Community Navigator
Pilot Program, as established in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The
program aims to strengthen and expand outreach to underserved businesses by
partnering with organizations with deep roots in their communities.

•

Office of Entrepreneurial Development & Office of Small Business Development
Centers - Requiring Small Business Development Centers to enhance collaboration
with Minority Serving Institutions. This includes onboarding new SBDC service
centers that best support historically underserved communities.

•

Office of Disaster Assistance - Securing on-demand translation services to meet
the immediate needs of disaster survivors with limited English proficiency
(translators, document translation, etc.) and hiring local staff within the impacted
community to facilitate understanding of the disaster loan process.

20.7% of the more than 7.9 million small establishments (<500 employees) are in counties without any type of
SBA service center. (Source: U.S. Census County Business Patterns; SBA calculations)
10
The 2016-2018 national, two-year survival rate for young employer establishments (2-3-year-old firms surviving
to at least 4-5 years old) was 71 percent. The survival rates for women (67 percent), Black (65 percent), Hispanic
(64 percent) and Asian (70 percent) led firms were below the national rate. Veteran-owned businesses (63
percent) were also below the national rate. (Source: BED, BDS; Office of Advocacy calculations)
9

Page 13 of 17

•

Office of Women’s Business Ownership - Requiring Women's Business Centers that
have Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in their coverage
areas to partner and host at least one community-focused training event, actively
recruit program participants, and use HBCU faculty as subject matter experts.

•

Office of Veterans Business Development - Conducting training events in
partnership with veterans of specific underserved communities throughout the
year and during the annual National Veteran Small Business Week. Marketing
efforts, including monthly outreach kits, will be aligned with the new events.

•

Office of Field Operations & Office of Rural Affairs – Creating a collection of best
practices on how SBA field and program offices can reach clients that do not have
sufficient access to broadband services.

•

Multiple offices will be organizing listening sessions with underserved
communities to identify community-specific outreach techniques and determine
how SBA and the communities can collaborate.

By prioritizing these actions, SBA will develop a more comprehensive and inclusive
outreach strategy. SBA will be able to communicate more efficiently and effectively with
entrepreneurs of underserved communities and provide the support that may help their
businesses survive.
SBA expects that by connecting more underserved community entrepreneurs to
resources and connecting them earlier in the lifespan of their businesses, the survival rate
of the businesses will increase. Also, new partners will become part of the SBA network
permanently and will facilitate even more connections with underserved communities.
As more businesses keep their doors open and the entrepreneurial ecosystem
becomes more robust, the nation’s economy will thrive. 11
C. Tracking Progress
Factors to determine progress/success 2-4 years out:
• Number of underserved entrepreneurs utilizing SBA resources increases.
• Number of organizations partnering with SBA increases.
Factors to determine progress/success 5-8 years out:
• Two-year survival rate for new businesses of underserved entrepreneurs increases.
D. Accountability
SBA program offices will align these actions with the Agency’s Strategic Plan and build
upon already embedded equity-related goals in performance plans. SBA will continue to
report to senior leadership, members of Congress, and the White House at regular
intervals to ensure that all SBA programs and services are meeting the intended goals.
Frequently Asked Questions About Small Business, 2021 (sba.gov) https://cdn.advocacy.sba.gov/wpcontent/uploads/2021/12/06095731/Small-Business-FAQ-Revised-December-2021.pdf
11

Page 14 of 17

With a focus on transparency and customer engagement, updates will be provided to the
public on an ongoing basis and customer feedback will be obtained consistently.

Page 15 of 17

Civil Rights and Equity at SBA
A. Overall
SBA recognizes that civil rights protections ensure the public has equal and full access to
all programs and services funded or operated by the agency. SBA also recognizes that
discrimination can be intentional or as a result of a program or service that has
unintentional discriminatory consequences because it disproportionately impacts
individuals protected by civil rights laws.
B. SBA Resources Available to Advance Civil Rights
Responsibility for ensuring implementation of the Administration’s and SBA’s equity
policies is shared across the agency. The Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Civil Rights
(ODICR) provides leadership for these activities as well as coordination of agency-wide
assessments and plans.
ODICR ensures that individuals receiving services from SBA-funded or conducted
programs are not subject to discrimination and that the privacy and security of
individuals’ health information is protected through collaborative efforts within the
agency and with other Federal agencies. For example, ODICR provides information in 127
different languages regarding civil rights, language access, and recipient guidance.
ODICR and SBA’s program offices collaborate with each other and with other Federal
Government agencies to share resources and improve efficiency. For example, ODICR
participates in the Department of Justice Title VI Interagency Working Group to
standardize Federal terminology with respect to Limited English Proficiency (LEP) issues.
ODICR investigates complaints, conducts compliance reviews, promulgates
regulations, develops guidance, provides technical assistance, and educates the
public on civil rights. In partnership with Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department
of Education (ED), ODICR reviews referred civil rights cases that do not fall within DOJ’s or
ED’s jurisdiction.
ODICR oversees adherence to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, P.L. 92318,
20 U.S.C. §1681 et seq.
C. Improving ODICR Capacity
The SBA Administrator is implementing a reorganization plan to create a more proactive
Diversity and Inclusion component to ODICR. The plan includes hiring a Chief Diversity
Officer and, over time, increasing the number of Diversity and Inclusion staff. This
additional capacity will allow ODICR to provide programs that address diversity, inclusion,
equity, and accessibility not only to the agency, but also to other Program Offices that
Page 16 of 17

work directly with SBA entrepreneurs and small business owners. The Diversity and
Inclusion Program will provide guidance and insights into identifying and overcoming
barriers such as accessibility and potential bias in systems and processes that may be
limiting access to underserved communities.
ODICR is also exploring the opportunity to work more collaboratively with the SBA
National Ombudsman. The National Ombudsman assists small businesses, small
government entities, and small nonprofits when they are subject to excessive
enforcement by a federal agency. This includes, but is not limited to, repetitive audits or
investigations, excessive fines, penalties, threats, or other unfair enforcement action. As
an impartial liaison, the National Ombudsman refers comments submitted by a small
business to the appropriate agency for high-level fairness review and works across the
federal government to address those concerns to help small businesses succeed. To
begin the exploration for more collaboration, ODICR and the National Ombudsman will
examine data and identify possible strategies to improve assistance and resolve issues for
small business owners of underserved communities who believe they have been treated
unfairly.
SBA is also contemplating the publication of a Title VI Civil Rights email box and
detailed information for the public on the external facing website. This would be in
addition to the Agency’s established civil rights email box.
Each of the above actions - from designing and managing new programs to processing,
investigating, and referring claims - will require the addition of new staff and resources to
ensure smooth implementation and maximum benefit for the underserved communities
SBA assists.

Page 17 of 17