WISE Women’s Business Center receives $100,000 Syracuse University grant

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse University announced it is investing $100,000 in the WISE Women’s Business Center (WBC).

This new special-impact grant will allow WISE WBC to provide expert technical assistance to more than 250 women entrepreneurs in Central New York through its no-cost, small-business counseling program.

Syracuse sees the grant as “investing in the success of women small-business owners.”

As one of nearly 150 women business centers across the nation, WISE is funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and hosted by the Martin J. Whitman School of Management.

Designated by the SBA as a Women’s Business Center in 2006, WISE has helped thousands of women reach their small-business goals, Syracuse University said.

In 2022 alone, WISE supported more than 600 women with no-cost programs and services. They included over 1,000 hours of no-cost technical assistance in areas that included business planning and financial projections as well as creating a plan for strategic growth.

Minority women accounted for more than 40 percent of those served, Syracuse University noted.

The “unprecedented impacts of the pandemic continue to take their toll on the economy and our community,” Syracuse contends. The challenges women business owners face “often require a unique approach,” the school added. The special funding will allow WISE to support women with the technical assistance they need when they need it and “position the counseling program for the future.”

The work will include hiring a Spanish-speaking small-business counselor.

“The demand for expert technical assistance has risen significantly. We’re incredibly grateful to Syracuse University for recognizing the importance of equitable access to trusted small business resources,” Meghan Florkowski, director of the WISE WBC, said.

“We take our role in the community seriously and will do all we can to stand behind and beside CNY women as partners in their success.”

“Over the past decade, women have represented one of the fastest growing segments of the community business owners across the U.S. Here in Central New York, the WISE Women’s Business Center has fueled that growth locally and empowered countless women in pursuit of their business ownership aspirations. For that reason, Syracuse University is proud to support and advance the work of the WISE Women’s Business Center,” Mike Haynie, vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation and Barnes Professor of Entrepreneurship, said in a release.