Small business advocates are sounding the alarm bells over the Small Business Administration’s fiscal 2026 budget request.
The White House is proposing to eliminate several long-standing programs that support the development of small business, including Women’s Business Centers and SCORE.
The administration released new details about its budget request on Friday showing SBA’s entrepreneurial development programs would see a reduction of more than 50% next year, receiving $150 million down from $317 million.
“The administration is committed to supporting small businesses throughout the United States through tax cuts, deregulation and responsible, targeted support. However, reforms at SBA are clearly warranted, as the previous administration unconstitutionally used the SBA to advance its divisive agenda, awarding billions in funding to certain businesses based solely on race and gender. Therefore, the Budget ends 15 specialized and duplicative programs, leaving only the Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) program,” the administration wrote in its May 2 “skinny” budget request. “Eliminated programs include, ‘Women’s Business Centers’ and SCORE, which in 2023 posted ‘Six Ways to Support LGBTQIA-Owned Businesses,’ and provided resources based on race. SBDCs would be directed to provide any of the appropriate services previously offered by the eliminated programs in a manner that is consistent with the administration’s priorities.”
The administration says, instead, the SBDC would receive a $10 million in crease to ensure small firms continue to receive technical assistance.
Bridget Weston, the CEO of SCORE, which is a 501(c)(3) organization and a resource partner with the SBA, said a cut to SCORE would have a severe impact on small businesses and force the organization to dramatically change how it meets its mission.
Bridget Weston is the CEO of SCORE.
“What that means is that if this administration’s proposed budget does come to fruition, the SCORE program would not have the sustainable funds from the federal government to operate as it has for the past 60 years, and that would mean that small businesses go unserved with the mentoring and education that helps them survive and thrive,” Weston said in an interview with Federal News Network. “It would mean that we’re unable to continue to help these businesses start, add jobs, stay in business and increase their revenue. I know the administration believes how important small businesses are to this country’s economy, and everything we can do to give them the support they need to succeed is paramount to the success of the entire nation. So we are hopeful that we can continue to speak to others, speak to Congress, get the word out so that people understand the importance of SCORE and the Small Business Administration to those small businesses who are vital to this economy.”
Weston said SCORE receives about 70% of its $24 million operating budget from the SBA with the other 30%, or about $7 million, coming from local grants and donations.
A group of business executives founded SCORE in 1964 and Congress codified it as part of the Small Business Act.
Today, Weston said about 10,000 volunteers provide free business mentoring and education to anyone looking to start or grow a business. She said SCORE serves, on average, about 300,000 small business owners or those looking to start a company each year across more than 340 chapters.
“The dollars go to helping raise awareness about this program, so that people know that we are there and can help them. It goes to recruiting, onboarding and certifying our mentors that are available across the country and supporting the systems that support them, the technology that connects them to the client, the technology that brings the content that supplements that excellent, best in class mentoring, the ability for our mentors to connect with each other and bring in resources across the country,” she said. “Those dollars really do standup this organization, help us to have that incredible impact. I mean, last year alone, SCORE helped to start over 53,000 new businesses and add over 84,000 jobs. That’s huge.”
Potential contractors would be impacted
This isn’t the first time there was a move to reimagine SCORE. A 2023 bill by Senate Republicans sought to rebrand the SCORE program as “Supporting Coaching Opportunities for Resilient Entrepreneurs,” and would launch a National Women’s Business Coach program as part of SCORE. The SCORE Act never got out of committee, though it did receive a hearing. It didn’t have a House companion bill.
Weston said defunding SCORE would hurt small businesses who are trying to get into the federal contracting space too.
“Unfortunately, the statistics of failure are pretty high for small business owners, 20% in the first year, 50% after five years, and with the support of mentoring, educational resources, frankly, having someone with you along that journey that is there to help you succeed, we know these small businesses are more successful and frankly, returning dollars back to the government,” she said. “For every $1 appropriated to score, $45 is returned back from those small businesses in federal tax revenue. So it makes sense all the way around.”
The SCORE board of director is starting to plan for “what if” scenarios and how they could keep the organization going.
In the meantime, Weston said SCORE and its volunteers are trying to educate lawmakers on the value of the mentoring and services the organization provides.
“We do believe that these federal dollars are impactful and making a difference and making a return on the investment that the federal government gives to us. And like we would tell any of the small businesses, we need to make sure that we have various scenarios to pursue, because I truly believe that SCORE’s mission, our volunteers, the people that we serve, this will be sustained,” she said. “This will continue, how it looks, how we get our funding, that may have to change, depending on what Congress decides, but it is too important what we do. We are looking, with our board of directors, with our expert mentors, on various other ways that SCORE’s mission can be sustained, but I know that it will because I believe in the power of our mission, the power of our volunteers and helping entrepreneurs achieve their dreams.”
The post SCORE facing tough road ahead if SBA’s budget is cut first appeared on Federal News Network.