Dear Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato,
I’d like to first express my sincere appreciation for your service in the New York Legislature. Your dedication and commitment to helping the people of our great state is truly commendable.
I am reaching out to request the backing of your office in spearheading advocacy within the New York Legislative Body. Specifically, I am seeking your support to champion a New York Appropriation Request for 2025, aiming to secure funding for the nine Women’s Business Centers (WBCs) across New York.
Request Background. There are 145 WBCs nationwide, nine located in New York, all partially funded by the U.S. Congress via grants from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The $150,000 annual SBA WBC grant that each center receives must be matched dollar for dollar by investment from the local community. While the State of New York has helped provide matching funds for the SBDC program for decades, to date the New York legislature has not invested in the WBC program. Since the growth of female entrepreneurship has been increasing at nearly double the rate of their male counterparts, we hope that the legislature and Governor will recognize the opportunity to invest in the fastest-growing segment of new business starts.

REQUEST FOR SUPPORT: WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTERS FUNDING

We, at NYS WBC Collaborative, are working to secure funding for the nine Women’s Business Centers (WBCs) across New York. The growth of female entrepreneurship has been increasing at nearly double the rate of their male counterparts, and we hope that the legislature and Governor will recognize the opportunity to invest in the fastest-growing segment of new business starts.

What web accessibility is

An accessible site allows visitors with disabilities to browse the site with the same or a similar level of ease and enjoyment as other visitors. This can be achieved with the capabilities of the system on which the site is operating, and through assistive technologies.

Accessibility adjustments on this site

We have adapted this site in accordance with WCAG [2.0 / 2.1 / 2.2 - select relevant option] guidelines, and have made the site accessible to the level of [A / AA / AAA - select relevant option]. This site's contents have been adapted to work with assistive technologies, such as screen readers and keyboard use. As part of this effort, we have also [remove irrelevant information]:

Used the Accessibility Wizard to find and fix potential accessibility issues
Set the language of the site
Set the content order of the site’s pages
Defined clear heading structures on all of the site’s pages
Added alternative text to images
Implemented color combinations that meet the required color contrast
Reduced the use of motion on the site
Ensured all videos, audio, and files on the site are accessible

Declaration of partial compliance with the standard due to third-party content [only add if relevant]

The accessibility of certain pages on the site depend on contents that do not belong to the organization, and instead belong to [enter relevant third-party name]. The following pages are affected by this: [list the URLs of the pages]. We therefore declare partial compliance with the standard for these pages.

Accessibility arrangements in the organization [only add if relevant]

[Enter a description of the accessibility arrangements in the physical offices / branches of your site's organization or business. The description can include all current accessibility arrangements - starting from the beginning of the service (e.g., the parking lot and / or public transportation stations) to the end (such as the service desk, restaurant table, classroom etc.). It is also required to specify any additional accessibility arrangements, such as disabled services and their location, and accessibility accessories (e.g. in audio inductions and elevators) available for use]

Requests, issues, and suggestions

If you find an accessibility issue on the site, or if you require further assistance, you are welcome to contact us through the organization's accessibility coordinator: