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State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) - FY 2024

Agency: U.S. Small Business Administration
CFDA: 59.061
Federal FON: SB-OITST-24-001
Office: Office of International Trade (OIT)
Multipart Grant: No
Next Due: 06/06/2024 (Application)
Solicitation Date: 04/22/2024
   
Match Required: Yes
Match Type: Cash/In-Kind
Actual Funds: $20,000,000 (Estimated)
Award Range: $100,000 (Min) / $900,000 (Max)
Number of Awards: 56 (Estimated)
Summary:

The purpose of this program is to increase the number of U.S. small businesses that export, increase the dollar value of exports, and increase the number of U.S. small businesses exploring significant new trade opportunities. Funding will support projects that help develop exports by eligible small business concerns (ESBCs).

Eligible activities include the following that directly help ESBCs to become exporters, increase their export sales, and/or increase new export opportunities:

  • Participation in foreign trade missions
  • Foreign market sales trips
  • Participation in reverse trade missions/shows
  • Participation in commerce subscription services
  • Website and product translation, search engine optimization (SEO), and localization
  • International marketing media design
  • Participation in trade show exhibitions
  • Other initiatives determined appropriate by the funding agency 

Refer to pages 5-6 of the NOFA file for details regarding these activities.

Funding must directly support the development of new-to-export (NTE) ESBCs and market expansion (ME) ESBCs. All award recipients must use at least 85 percent of award funds to provide direct benefits to ESBCs. Proposed costs that directly benefit ESBCs include:

  • Costs directly borne by an ESBC to participate in an approved export activity as part of a trade expansion program
  • Approved travel by state personnel to develop the pipeline of ESBCs and to assist ESBCs on trade missions and shows
  • Approved contract services that directly support ESBCs, including interpreters that are engaged in meetings between ESBCs and foreign buyers, companies engaged in ESBC website development, and providers of export training

Applicants may propose efforts that comprise financial assistance awards, such as vouchers and stipends, for reimbursements to program clients for participation in approved export activities.

Key performance measures for this program are:

  • Reaching 100 percent utilization of awards
  • Increasing the number of ESBCs in a state that exports
  • Increasing the value of exports by ESBCs in a state
  • Increasing the number of ESBCs exploring significant new trade opportunities
  • Increasing the number of ESBCs in small business communities that export

Award recipients will be expected to leverage collaborative partnerships with relevant organizations to accomplish the proposed performance measures and supporting export activities. The funding agency is particularly interested in demonstrated collaboration with federal agencies and other federal, state, local, and tribal government export development programs and activities provided by institutions of higher education, trade and vocational schools, and private organizations such as chambers of commerce and trade and industry groups and associations.

Eligibility Notes:

Eligible applicants are states, defined as any of the United States, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

For the purposes of this program, eligible applicants include state agencies or other entities that have been officially designated by the state governor, or equivalent thereof, as the sole applicant and lead entity responsible for conducting the state’s trade and export activities. Refer to page 9 of the NOFA file for details.

Each applicant may submit only one application.

Ineligible applicants include any organization that:

  • Has not been officially designated by a state governor as the sole applicant and lead entity for conducting the state's trade and export activities
  • Owes an outstanding and unresolved financial obligation to the federal government
  • Has outstanding and unresolved material deficiency reported under the requirements of the Single Audit Act or OMB Circular A-133 within the past three years
  • Has had a STEP grant or cooperative agreement involuntarily terminated or non-renewed by the funding agency for cause within the past year
  • Has filed for bankruptcy within the past five years
  • Proposes to serve as a pass-through and permits another organization to manage the day-to-day operations of the project
  • Was convicted, or had an officer or agent acting on its behalf convicted, of a felony criminal violation under any federal law within the past two years

Previous award recipients include:

  • Arizona
  • California
  • Pennsylvania
  • Puerto Rico
  • Texas

Refer to the Award file for additional information regarding previous award recipients.

Eligible Applicants:
Consortia
State Government
Application Notes:

Applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. ET on June 6, 2024.

Applications must be submitted online at www.ecivis.com/grants.gov.

Applications must include:

  • SF 424
  • SF 424A
  • Cover letter (1 page max)
  • Technical proposal
  • Proposed plan
  • Budget detail worksheets
  • Budget narrative
  • Match certification
  • Match commitment letter(s) (if applicable)
  • Cost policy statement
  • Governor designation letter
  • Key personnel resumes and position descriptions (1 page max each per resume)
  • Lists of contractual and consulting agreements
  • A-133 audit report
  • Indirect cost rate agreement (ICRA) or extension letter (if applicable)

Technical proposals are limited to ten standard-sized pages, excluding the title page and cover page, and must be formatted on standard-sized, double-spaced pages using 12-point Times New Roman font. Technical proposals must be submitted in Word format, and proposed plans must be submitted in Excel format. All other documents must be submitted in .pdf format. Application documents may not be bundled together. Application files must be named according to the conventions outlined on page 11 of the NOFA file.

The following are required in order to submit an application:

  • Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number
  • SAM (System for Award Management) registration

Applicants may obtain a UEI number and verify or renew SAM registration status at www.ecivis.com/sam.

Applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

  • Project design (20 points)
  • Utilization rate (20 points)
  • Return on investment (15 points)
  • Number of activities provided to all eligible small business concerns (ESBCs) (15 points)
  • Number of activities provided solely to new-to-export (NTE) ESBCs (15 points)
  • Percentage of ESBCs in small business communities (15 points)

Applications must score at least 70 points in order to be considered eligible. Refer to pages 21-25 of the NOFA file for additional details.

Refer to the NOFA and AppChecklist files for additional application information.

Match Required: Yes
Match Type: Cash/In-Kind
Actual Funds: $20,000,000 (Estimated)
Award Range: $100,000 (Min) / $900,000 (Max)
Number of Awards: 56 (Estimated)
Match Notes:

Applicants in states that have a high export volume, which are California, Louisiana, and Texas, must provide 35 percent of the total project cost. Applicants in states that do not have a high export volume must provide 25 percent of the total project cost. At least 50 percent of the matching funds must be comprised of cash contributions, and up to 50 percent of the matching funds may be comprised of indirect and in-kind contributions. Applicant personnel salary and fringe proposed as match will be counted as cash.

The funding agency will waive up to $200,000 of the matching funds required for an insular area applicant that is an agency or instrumentality of an area's government pursuant to 48 U.S.C. § 1469a, which includes American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. If the insular area applicant is not an agency or instrumentality of the area's government, the full matching requirements apply.

Program income may not be used as match.

Funding Notes:

An estimated $20 million is available through this program to support an expected 56 awards ranging from $100,000 to $900,000. Of the total funding available, the ten states with the highest number of small business exporters will receive no more than 40 percent. For the current funding cycle, these states are California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas.

The project period will span two years, beginning September 30, 2024, and ending September 29, 2026. It is strongly recommended that all applicants propose projects that can be managed and realistically expended within 24 months.

At least 85 percent of the total award amount must be used to directly benefit eligible small business concerns (ESBCs).

Pre-award costs may be allowed only to the extent that they would have been allowable if incurred after the date of award and only with written approval from the funding agency.

Program income may not be used to support salaries of program personnel.

Funds may not be used for:

  • Transactions with suspended or debarred entities
  • Construction or renovation of facilities or acquisition of real estate
  • Litigation, whether civil, criminal, or administrative
  • Providing matching contributions to any other federal awards
  • Meals, lodging, per diem, or other subsistence expenses associated with local travel
  • Travel by elected officials
  • Costs associated with printing materials
  • National and regional association dues and travel to association events

For FY 2023, a total of $20 million was distributed via 49 awards ranging from $100,000 to $1 million through this program. For FY 2022, a total of $20 million was distributed via 52 awards ranging from $100,000 to $1.4 million. Refer to the Award file for details.

Contacts:

Shadetra Robinson
Program Director
STEP@SBA.gov

Agency Address
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
409 3rd St., SW
Washington, D.C. 20416

Contact Notes:

Questions should be directed to Shadetra Robinson, and must be submitted by May 3, 2024. Answers to questions will be posted online at www.sba.gov by about May 17, 2024.

Applications must be submitted online at www.ecivis.com/grants.gov.

The agency address provided is for reference purposes only.

Files:
Award File: US10211_Award_FY2024.pdf (1.4 Mb)
NOFA File: US10211_NOFA_FY2024.pdf (736.8 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US10211_AppChecklist_FY2024.pdf (148.9 Kb)
File Notes:

The NOFA file contains the full solicitation for this program. The AppChecklist file contains a checklist of required application components. The Award file contains information on previous award recipients.

Project: Colorado STEP Program (6.3 Mb)
Applicant: Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade
Summary:

The purpose of this program is to increase the number of U.S. small businesses that export, increase the dollar value of exports, and increase the number of U.S. small businesses exploring significant new trade opportunities. The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade requested $760,000 and received $500,000 to execute targeted industry trade shows, collaborate with the Colorado Department of Agriculture to support Colorado’s agricultural exports, and provide financial assistance awards for eligible small business concerns (ESBCs). Goals of the project include supporting ESBCs in trade shows and supporting ESBCs in other export initiatives. The applicant provided $253,333 to match the remainder of the project costs.

 
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Grant Categories
Economic Development
Training & Vocational Services