USEFUL LINKS

General Resources

Veterans- NaVOBA- National Veteran-Owned Business Association, http://www.navoba.com/, NaVOBA unites current and future veteran-owned businesses by acting as the national voice for the veteran business movement; or US Small Business Administration (SBA), http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/ovbd/index.html

Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights- United States Patent and Trademark Office, http://www.uspto.gov/.

Inventions- American Society of Inventors (ASI), www.asoi.org, ASI is a non-profit organization formed to bring inventors together and to educate them on protecting, developing, and marketing or licensing their invention.

Persons with disabilities- Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR), http://www.nepacil.org/OVR.htm, OVR is a State Agency that helps persons with disabilities help themselves to prepare for, start, and maintain a career.

Franchises- Small Business Administration (SBA), http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/start/buyafranchise/index.html; or FranNet, http://www.frannet.com/.

Disaster Preparedness and Relief- SCORE, http://www.score.org/disaster_preparedness.html; or SBA, http://www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance/index.html, or PA Department of Health, http://www.dsf.health.state.pa.us/health/cwp/view.asp?a=333&q=234776&healthRNavrad71C25=|#.

Berks County Pandemic Advisory Council- http://www.co.berks.pa.us/pac/site/default.asp, the county’s “one stop shop" for information on pandemic preparedness.

Public Libraries- Reading Public Library, http://www.reading.lib.pa.us/index.htm, the library has many resources for businesses, both at the branch and online.

Rural Development- United States Dept. of Agriculture, Rural Development, http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/pa, it is the mission of the USDA Rural Development to provide financial and technical assistance to rural individuals, families, communities, and businesses.

State, Federal and Private Funding Sources

PA Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED)- http://www.newpa.com/index.aspx, DCED and the Commonwealth offer business assistance to help organizations fund their projects or start a business, find a location, expand their business, or stay in Pennsylvania.

Grants.gov- http://www.grants.gov/, is a central storehouse for information on over 1,000 grant programs and provides access to approximately $500 billion in annual awards.

Catalog for Federal Domestic Assistance- http://12.46.245.173/cfda/cfda.html, this online program gives you access to a database of all Federal programs available.

The Foundation Center- www.foundationcenter.org, is the nation's leading authority on philanthropy, connecting nonprofits and the grantmakers supporting them to tools they can use and information they can trust

PA Business Resources

PA Open for Business- http://www.paopen4business.state.pa.us/paofb/site/default.asp, this web site gives entrepreneurs "one stop" access to business information. Entrepreneurs can explore financial options, download many of the important forms necessary to start and expand a business, and electronically register a business with the Pennsylvania Departments of Labor and Industry, Revenue, and State.

Governors Action Team (GAT)- http://www.newpa.com/build-your-business/locate/assistance-services/governors-action-team/index.aspx, is a single point of contact for businesses that are considering Pennsylvania as a site for a facility location or expansion.

Team Pennsylvania Foundation- http://www.pasourcenet.com/netScripts/main.aspx, is a system designed to bring buyers together with Pennsylvania suppliers of products and/or services. This service is offered at no cost to you through grants from the State and Federal governments.

PA Business Guide- PA Department of State (DOS)- http://www.dos.state.pa.us/dos/site/default.asp

PA Department of General Services (DGS)- http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=1230&mode=2, it oversees procurement of goods and services for the state, expands opportunity for minority and women-owned businesses, and is responsible for purchasing or contracting for equipment, supplies and services for the Commonwealth, among other things.

PA Business Incentives

Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ)- http://www.greaterreadingchamber.org/business_resources/kiz/index.asp, is an economic development program funded by the PA Department of Community & Economic Development and other stakeholders in the program.

Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ)- http://www.philaport.com/ftz.htm, FTZs were created to neutralize negative U.S. tariff impact on products used by manufactures operating in the United States and to keep U.S. businesses competitive with businesses operating offshore or overseas.

Keystone Opportunity Zone (KOZ)- http://www.newpa.com/find-and-apply-for-funding/keystone-opportunity-zone/index.aspx, is providing an opportunity to develop land with greatly reduced state and local taxes.

Local Business Resources

• Our Partners

Other Local, State and Federal Offices- (taxes, licenses, others)

Child Care Licenses- http://daycare.com/pennsylvania/, or PA Department of Public Welfare, http://www.dpw.state.pa.us/PartnersProviders/ChildCareEarlyEd/003670991.htm.

Restaurant/Food Handling Permits- City of Reading, http://www.readingpa.gov/business2.asp;

Alcohol Licenses- PA Liquor Control Board (PLCB), http://www.lcb.state.pa.us/plcb/site/default.asp?plcbNav=|&plcbNav=|32366|, the PLCB is responsible for all licensing and retailing, as well providing an educational program on the effects of alcohol.

Professional Licensure- PA Department of State, Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs, http://www.dos.state.pa.us/bpoa/site/default.asp, Professional licensing protects the health, safety and welfare of the public from fraudulent and unethical practitioners.

Business in the city of Reading- http://www.readingpa.gov/business2.asp.

Alcohol Licenses- PA Liquor Control Board (PLCB), http://www.lcb.state.pa.us/plcb/site/default.asp?plcbNav=|&plcbNav=|32366|, the PLCB is responsible for all licensing and retailing, as well providing an educational program on the effects of alcohol.

Professional Licensure- PA Department of State, Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs, http://www.dos.state.pa.us/bpoa/site/default.asp, Professional licensing protects the health, safety and welfare of the public from fraudulent and unethical practitioners.

Business in the city of Reading- http://www.readingpa.gov/business2.asp.

PA Department of Revenue- http://www.revenue.state.pa.us/

Internal Revenue Service- http://www.irs.gov/

PA Department of Labor and Industry- http://www.dli.state.pa.us/

Berks County Industrial Development Authority- http://www.co.berks.pa.us/ida/site/default.asp

International Business/Importing and Exporting

US Export Assistance Center- http://www.export.gov/, or http://www.buyusa.gov/philadelphia/.

PA World Trade Center- http://www.hwtc.org/index.htm.

Kutztown University Small Business Development Center (SBDC)- http://www.kutztownsbdc.org/international_marketing.asp

Marketing Research, Demographics & Statistics

@ResearchInfo.com- http://www.researchinfo.com/

BizStats- http://www.bizstats.com

Bureau of Labor Statistics- http://stats.bls.gov/

FedStats- http://www.fedstats.gov/

Pennsylvania State Data Center- http://pasdc.hbg.psu.edu/

Statistical Resources on the Web- http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/stats.html

U.S. Census Bureau- http://www.census.gov/

Important Services/Programs

IRS e-News for Small Businesses- https://service.govdelivery.com/service/multi_subscribe.html?code=USIRS

Berks County District Attorney Bad Check Restitution Program- http://www.checkprogram.com/berkscountypa, In an effort to combat this problem, the Bad Check Restitution Program has been organized to assist local merchants with bad check losses.

Non-Profits

Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations (PANO)- http://pano.org/, PANO is the statewide membership organization serving and advancing the charitable nonprofit sector through leadership, advocacy, education and services in order to improve the quality of life in Pennsylvania.