Gov. Tony Evers and U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin announced today that Wisconsin will receive $1.9 million from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) in technical assistance funding to support legal and financial advice for small businesses.

According to a release, the funding will be administered through the Wisconsin Department of Administration and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, which will award grants to the University of Wisconsin Law and Entrepreneurship (L&E) Clinic and the UW Institute for Business and Entrepreneurship.

“Small businesses are the hearts of our communities and huge drivers for local economies, employing about half of Wisconsin workers and bringing unique goods and services to our communities, and they are more likely to hire locally, buy supplies locally and get back to their local communities, too,” Gov. Evers said in a statement. “This support from our federal partners will go a long way in building upon our work to help make sure our small businesses have every opportunity and resource to succeed and thrive.”

The grant will enable the state to serve 1,150 small businesses through the five-year program and form 120 new small businesses.