Dear Interested Party:

The Florida Black Business Investment Board, Inc. (FBBIB) and the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development (OTTED) are pleased to announce the competitive application process to participate in the Black Business Loan Program for the fiscal year 2009-10. To be eligible to participate in the program, an entity must be a corporation that provides loans, loan guarantees or investments to black business enterprises and meet the requirements of Section 288.7102(4), Florida Statutes. Specifically, the corporation must:

1.     Be a corporation registered in the state;

2.     Demonstrate that its board of directors includes citizens of the state experienced in the development of black business enterprises;

3.     Demonstrate that the recipient has a business plan that allows the recipient to operate in a manner consistent with Sections 288.707-.714, Florida Statutes, and the rules of the office;

4.     Demonstrate that the recipient has the technical skills to analyze and evaluate applications by black business enterprises for loans, loan guarantees, or investments;

5.     Demonstrate that the recipient has established viable partnerships with public and private funding sources, economic development agencies, and workforce development and job referral networks;

6.     Demonstrate that the recipient can provide a private match equal to 20 percent of the amount of funds provided by the office; and

7.     Agree to maintain the recipient’s books and records relating to funds received by the office according to generally accepted accounting principles and in accordance with the requirements of Section 215.97(7), Florida Statutes, and to make those books and records available to the office for inspection upon reasonable notice.

To be considered for participation in the Black Business Loan Program, interested parties must submit one (1) original and three copies of the application for certification, along with supporting documents, to: FBBIB, Inc., 545 E. Tennessee Street, Suite 200-A, Tallahassee, Florida 32308. Open enrollment to receive applications is between July 1 and July 31, 2009. Applications received by the due date will be reviewed and evaluated by the FBBIB and forwarded to OTTED for final consideration and approval for certification.

If you have questions and/or would like to receive a copy of the application, please contact: Karl Blischke at Karl.Blischke@ eog.myflorida.com or call (850)922-8743.