Center for Rural Affairs Women’s Business Center graduates national WBC of Excellence program

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Jessica Campos, Women’s Business Center director, [email protected] or 402.870.1521; or Rhea Landholm, communications manager, [email protected] or 402.687.2100 ext. 1025

GRAND ISLAND, NEBRASKA – The Center for Rural Affairs Women’s Business Center has been recognized for graduating in the 2025 cohort of the National WBC of Excellence program offered by the Association of Women’s Business Centers (AWBC).

The primary objective of the National Women’s Business Center of Excellence designation is to recognize organizations that demonstrate commitment and efficacy of the mission, vision, and values of their Women’s Business Centers, thereby achieving the greatest outcomes for women-owned businesses.

“Becoming a Women’s Business Center of Excellence is an incredible achievement,” said Klassi Duncan, AWBC board chair and vice president of the Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at the Urban League of Louisiana. “The work these graduates have put into the process demonstrates not only their commitment to improving their centers’ operations but also their dedication to achieving even more impactful outcomes for the women-owned businesses they serve.”

Over the course of six milestone assignments, WBCs partnered with a peer in their cohort to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement in areas including strategic goal-setting, service delivery, and continuous improvement and peer relationships. To fulfill these objectives, AWBC recognizes the value of the organization’s volunteers, leadership team, and funders, which is reflected in the involvement of these stakeholders in the final stages of the designation attainment.

“This was a great opportunity to learn from WBCs nationwide and build new strategies of our own to further assist entrepreneurs across the state,” said Jessica Campos, director of the Center for Rural Affairs Women’s Business Center.

The National WBC of Excellence graduation and closing ceremony took place Dec. 5, 2024. Small Business Administration leaders present included Aditi Dussault, associate administrator for the Office of Entrepreneurial Development, and Lori Gillen, acting associate administrator for the Office of Women’s Business Ownership.

For more information about Center for Rural Affairs Women’s Business Center resources, visit cfra.org.

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The Association of Women’s Business Centers is a nonprofit 501c3 organization founded in 1998 to support the national network of Women’s Business Centers with programming and advocacy. The AWBC works to secure economic justice and entrepreneurial opportunities for women by supporting and sustaining a national network of more than 152 Women’s Business Centers in every state in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. WBCs have more than 30 years of success in providing educational training, mentoring, free business counseling, business development, and financing opportunities to more than 150,000 women entrepreneurs and small businesses each year. The WBC program is a public-private partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration. To learn more, visit awbc.org.

Established in 1973, the Center for Rural Affairs is a private, nonprofit organization working to strengthen small businesses, family farms and ranches, and rural communities through action-oriented programs addressing social, economic, and environmental issues.