Despite proposals that it be eliminated, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s initial state budget for next year does include funding for a number of small business assistance centers, according to the Star-Ledger.
The New Jersey Small Business Development Centers are a network of 11 entrepreneurship centers across the state that provide mentoring and financial planning assistance to new small business owners interested in forming a company.
"We have come a long way since the governor’s proposed state budget in mid-March," said Brenda Hopper, state director of the organization, in a statement to the paper.
The Star-Ledger reports that the organization has seen its state funding drastically shrink over the past few years. In 2007, the organization received $1 million per year in state assistance – an amount that has since been reduced to $250,000.
According to the organization’s website, the centers counseled more than 5,000 entrepreneurs and helped create or retain more than 12,000 jobs in 2007. The program has also helped facilitate $197 million in financing since its inception in 1977.
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