George Mason briefs subcommittee on Mason Enterprise and SBDC; Delegate Reid sponsors $1.4M budget amendment request

Paula Sorrell, vice president for innovation and economic development at George Mason University, and Jody Keenan of the Virginia Small Business Development Center (SBDC) network briefed the House Appropriations Higher Education Subcommittee on Mason Enterprise programs and the SBDC’s statewide assistance activities.

Sorrell described Mason Enterprise as a suite of programs that supports small businesses and innovators across Virginia and said the portfolio reaches about 30,000 small businesses. She said the enterprise’s team comprises roughly 200 people who deliver advising, training and commercialization services.

Jody Keenan said the Virginia SBDC is funded principally by the U.S. Small Business Administration and operates through a network of 25 offices with partner organizations. Keenan provided performance metrics for recent years: 31,000 advising hours in 2023, about 500 training events, nearly 400 new businesses launched, more than $200 million in capital accessed by clients and 28,100 jobs created or retained. Keenan described the SBDC’s Innovation Commercialization Assistance Program (ICAP), which has assisted about 1,500 entrepreneurs since 2018; those companies reportedly raised more than $200 million in investment and created about 1,300 jobs.

Keenan and Sorrell emphasized SBDC client diversity—53% women-owned, 46% minority-owned and 14% veteran-owned businesses—and said the network returns an estimated 5-to-1 ROI. They noted that federal SBA funding is the primary source, and that required matching funds are provided by partner organizations; Keenan said approximately 23% of SBDC budget comes from local government and about 15% from institutions of higher education. VIPC (Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation) represents roughly 3% of the SBDC budget, Keenan added.

Committee members asked how the SBDC coordinates with VIPC and GO Virginia; presenters said VIPC and Go Virginia provide complementary funding and that program design differences (for example, Go Virginia’s two-year program funding) create sustainability questions for ongoing initiatives. Delegate Reid is the patron of a budget amendment asking for $1,400,000 to expand SBDC capacity statewide and to support the ICAP program. Presenters said they would provide materials to the subcommittee and invited members to an open house on January 27.

No formal funding action was recorded in the transcript excerpted for this article.