Good Afternoon:

I have only received 4 examples of assistance to small businesses to include in Abt’s Small Business Program audit on August 5th.  I was hoping to double the amount that I received last year, which was 12. Thank you all who have sent them already.

If you have any examples of assistance to small businesses that was provided this year, please send them to me asap.  I realize everyone is swamped with proposals, but if you could take just a few minutes to share your experience with aiding our small business partners, it would greatly help increase our changes of being rated highly successful at the audit.

Thanks in advance for helping Abt to reach a highly successful small business performance rating!

Good Morning:

Abt Associates Small Business program’s annual review is being held in approximately three weeks for the third year. Some of the examples of assistance to small businesses that the SBA requires, but are not limited to are:   Provide examples of assistance you have provided to small businesses over the past year. Examples may include advance or partial payments, technical or quality assistance, equipment donations, obstacles that you have removed or waived for a small business, etc.

I am looking for any examples where Abt staff provided any assistance to small businesses on our prime contracts.  Your examples should be in paragraph form summarizing any assistance provided, name of contract, company involved, period of performance, Division and the Project Director.

As aforementioned, this is the third year that the Small Business Program is being reviewed.  We achieved an acceptable rating last year, however, Mr. Patel, Abt’s SBA reviewer, stated that if we improve in our small business performance again for the third year, that he will rate us highly successful. 

Abt’s company-wide small business performance on our prime contracts improved by .6% from 29.1% to 29.7% this past reporting period, however that is not all that he includes in the rating.  My objective is to improve our small business program to highly successful this year. That said, it is imperative that I receive these stories from my colleagues in regard to this effort.

I was extremely thankful for the 12 submissions that I received last year for this cause.  I am hopeful that I can count on you to increase that effort to 24 this year. 

Please help me to achieve the highly successful rating by sending me all examples by COB, Monday, July 6th. 

Thanks so much for your cooperation in answering this request and in helping Abt’s small business program reach highly successful!

Kathy Echols | Small Business Program Manager | Abt Associates

55 Wheeler St. | Cambridge, MA 02035  kathy_echols@abtassoc.com

O: 617-520-2936 | F: 617-386-8387 | www.abtassociates.com