Napa-Sonoma small-business development center gets $50,000 grant

The Napa-Sonoma Small Business Development Center has received a $50,000 grant from the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development to help advise businesses in critical need of financing.

“It’s very timely with what’s happening in Napa right now,” Mary Cervantes, the center’s business services director, said Thursday. Companies there will need new sources of financing because many lacked insurance to cover the damage to homes and businesses from the magnitude-6.0 earthquake that struck the city on Aug. 24.

With the grant, the center won’t start a new effort but will be able to “do a little bit more” with its existing programs, Cervantes said. Certified business advisers will help business owners learn what is needed to obtain financing from both traditional and nontraditional lenders.

Based at Napa Valley College, the federally supported development center last year served more than 750 small businesses in Sonoma and Napa counties. Its staff can be contacted at 256-7250.