Advocates
Thank you for your support of our program! While ND SBDC staff members can educate influencers about our value and benefits, we are not able to lobby or advocate on our program's behalf. That is where you come in! If you are a community supporter, program partner, or client that knows the benefit we provide to the small businesses of our state, you can be a champion and assist with our efforts to increase visibility of the ND SBDC, which can help secure stable funding, ensuring the continuation of SBDC service delivery in every county in ND.
How you can help the ND SBDC for the 2021 Legislative Session
- The governor's proposed budget includes stable funding to the partner program line that includes the ND SBDC program. However, in the last biennium, some of our funding came from another fund and we don't know that status of that difference. If we see a decrease in funding from the state, it could mean that we are not able to accept all federal funding available to us.
- This means the services and support provided to clients like you would be impacted in all areas of our state.
- We have the opportunity to share information about our network, our successes and our impact, BUT, the most powerful information is a personal story from individuals like you.
We hope that you would consider taking 5 minutes to write an email or letter to your state legislator to thank them for the state's vital match funding while sharing your story. To make this as straightforward as possible for you, we have created a sample email/letter template that you can easily edit. If you are a community organization or other partner to our network and would like to support us with a letter, we have a sample letter for you as well. The more personal the note, the better the message is received. Not sure who all of the legislators are for your district? Here is the link to look them up!
Meet our Advisory Board
Our State Advisory Board is comprised of nine members and one ex-officio member. Each member lives and works in a different one of the state planning regions. The ninth member is the Board President of the Economic Development Association of North Dakota. This structure ensures that North Dakota businesses are accurately and fairly represented. Additionally, these board members include a balance of three small business owners, three lenders, and three economic developers in order to represent multiple sides of business. Our thanks to our Advisory Board members for all the work they do on behalf of small businesses in North Dakota!
Seth T. Coughlin - Region 1 (Williston)
Small Business Owner
701.577.3738
seth@ecfh.us
Missy Feist-Erickson - Region 2 (Minot)
Lender
701.852.0328
missy@pbvelva.com
DeAnna Anderson - Region 3 (Devils Lake)
Small Business Owner
701.393.4488
devilslakegreenhouse@gondtc.com
Ryan Olson - Region 4 (Grand Forks)
Lender
701.772.9960 ex 1806
ryan.olson@myfccu.com
Ray Berry - Region 5 (Fargo)
Small Business Owner
701.499.3611
rberry@omnibyte.com
Connie Ova - Region 6 (Jamestown)
Economic Developer
701.252.6861
connie@growingjamestown.com
Kelvin Hullet - Region 7 (Bismarck)
Lender
701.328.5689
klhullet@nd.gov
Ryan Jilek - Region 8 (Dickinson)
Economic Developer
701.225.5997
ryan@starkdev.com
Shawn Wenko - EDND Board President
Economic Developer
701.577.8110
shawnw@ci.williston.nd.us
Alan Haut - North Dakota SBA District Director
Ex-Officio Member
701.239.5049
alan.haut@sba.gov
Why Local Funding Support is Necessary
While we receive the majority of our program funding through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, that agreement requires us to obtain state and local contributions at a dollar for dollar ratio (1:1). That means… for each federal dollar we receive, we need to find a state or local dollar to “match” it. The key word here is "leveraging.”
At the state and local level, roughly half of that funding comes from the ND Department of Commerce. However, we are not a stand-alone budget line in the Commerce budget, and that equates to some uncertainty for our funding level each biennium.
We are asking for your help in underscoring our impact at the state level. You can do this by contacting your legislators. Here are some simple steps:
- Not sure who your legislators are or how to contact them? Find your legislator using this helpful tool, then click on their name for contact information - phone, email, and traditional mail.
- Use this handy template that only needs a few pieces of information added from you.
- Send to your designated legislator using the method of your choice.
You can also reach out to Governor Burgum, Lt. Governor Sanford, Representative Armstrong, Senator Cramer or Senator Hoeven
How You Can Be a Champion
The ND SBDC is not permitted to spend program dollars on marketing purposes, so we need your help in telling people about our program. Whether a colleague thinking about starting their own business, a current business owner looking to grow and expand, or someone looking to sell their business or retire. Our services can assist them all - and we're FREE! Here's how you can help:
Social Media
- Follow us on social platforms - Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn
- Like, comment, and share posts that you know others could benefit from
- Give us a positive review on Facebook or Google
In Your Community
It is likely that your community has a number of small businesses that make it a great place to live, 98.8% of businesses in ND are considered “small businesses.”
- Speak up! Mention the SBDC when you hear someone needs assistance with a business, they can probably benefit from our services.
- Invite us! We would be happy to join any discussion being had about small business. We can contribute what we know and probably learn more at the same time.
- Direct people to our website to learn more!