An effort to shore up additional funding for a federal agency that helps roughly 100 Tri-Citians each year launch and grow businesses has secured local funding to help it continue operating.

Port of Pasco commissioners recently approved doubling the port’s $5,000 annual contribution to the region’s U.S. Small Business Development Center (SBDC). That’s enough to keep the center open through the end of the calendar year, SBDC counselor Maria Peña told the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

And now 2027 is looking like more of a certainty, too. The Share Fund, a Seattle-based nonprofit, has committed $50,000 to the SBDC for 2027, thanks to the efforts of one of its funding committee members, Port of Kennewick Commissioner Raul Contreras Gonzalez.

“They’d have to spend hundreds of dollars for the advising she’s providing,” Contreras Gonzalez told the Journal of Peña’s existing clients.

Peña said her office still faces uncertainty as federal budget cuts are expected to create an additional shortfall in funding, but she’s hopeful that she’ll be able to continue.

“I love what I do and working with clients,” she said. “Their success is my success.”

SBDCs are part of the U.S. Small Business Administration. SBDC counselors advise and train small business owners and provide informational tools to support startups and existing business expansions.

Peña, a former city manager for the city of Connell, staffs one of two SBDC offices in the Tri-Cities and focuses on providing bilingual services for small business owners and entrepreneurs. The other SBDC is based in Tri-City Development Council’s Kennewick offices and focuses on international trade and exports support.

“As an economic development director, I’m impressed at what SBDCs do for the community,” Stephen McFadden, the port’s deputy director, told port commissioners at an Aug. 12 meeting. “They do basically everything from the ground up for new businesses and micro enterprises.”

Peña said she assists dozens of clients each year with everything from filing business applications to grant writing and seeking loans. This year alone she has helped businesses secure between $3 million and $4 million in funding through the state Department of Commerce.

Her ability to help English and Spanish speakers has been critical, as has the technical support she provides.

“A lot of my clients don’t even own a computer,” she said. “Sometimes, they don’t even know the difference between a sole proprietorship and an LLC.”

The Tri-Cities was one of the few regions in the state without a general SBDC until 2023 when the Tri-Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce stepped up to not only house the center but to cover the required local $26,000 match for funding Peña’s position. The remainder is covered by Washington State University.

The Hispanic chamber had hoped other municipal agencies and economic development focused organizations also would step up to fund the SBDC, said Juan Mendoza-Tovar, who leads communications for the Hispanic chamber.

“Unfortunately, the Port of Pasco was the only organization that joined us in financially supporting the effort,” he said. “Without additional funding partners, (the Tri-Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce ) was unable to continue covering its portion of the staffing costs, and we had to make the difficult decision to terminate our contract.”

Contreras Gonzalez worked closely with Peña when he previously worked as assistant director at the Hispanic chamber and saw how important she was to new and ambitious business owners.

When he learned of the SBDC’s funding needs, he knew The Share Fund could provide a lifeline. The nonprofit is focused on supporting minority communities, including people of color and LGBTQIA+ individuals who have traditionally not had equitable access to financial resources.

Contreras Gonzalez, who is the only funding committee member on the east side of the state for the organization, said The Share Fund also has recently allocated funds to the Tri-Cities Immigrant Coalition and local chapters of the NAACP and PFLAG.

“I thought it was a need that just couldn’t go away,” he said.

The Hispanic chamber will continue housing the SBDC in its offices as a means of support.

Peña said it will still be important to continue securing local support for her office to provide services. But she’s already thinking about projects she wants to launch, both to get more resources to business owners and spread awareness of what she can do to help them.