WASHINGTON, D.C.- Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins today announced that the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments will receive a total of $152,000 in federal funding to assist small businesses and local economic development programs. The funding will come in two parts: $100,000 from the U.S. Small Business Administrations (SBA) and a $52,000 grant from the Economic Development Administration (EDA). The SBA funding will provide small businesses, particularly small manufacturers, with management and technical assistance to help them grow their businesses. The EDA grant will provide technical assistance to municipalities to help implement the communities'' comprehensive economic development strategy.
"This funding will prove instrumental for the communities of the Kennebec Valley to expand and assist their small businesses," Snowe and Collins said in a joint statement. "Economic development programs are important to ensuring our small businesses have the tools they need to grow and prosper."
The federal funding will be administered by Kennebec Valley Council of Governments, the economic development district for the region. The programs will benefit businesses and the communities of Kennebec, Somerset and Western Waldo Counties. Senators Snowe and Collins have worked closely with local administrators of these programs to obtain federal support and resources for their effort.
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