Over phone they delegated me to NorcalSBDC.org website (note the lack
of .gov).
NORCALSBDC is one of the Small Business Development Centers created by the SBA.
The program is a cooperative effort of the private sector, the
educational community and federal, state and local governments. It
enhances economic development by providing small businesses with
management and technical assistance.
Because of this partnership the person they want you to work with could be with some level of government, or they could work for the local university, or they could be part of the private sector.
There are now 63 Lead Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) --
one in every state (Texas has four, California has six), the District
of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands --
with a network of more than 900 service locations. In each state there
is a lead organization which sponsors the SBDC and manages the
program. The lead organization coordinates program services offered to
small businesses through a network of subcenters and satellite
locations in each state. Subcenters are located at colleges,
universities, community colleges, vocational schools, chambers of
commerce and economic development corporations.
I know that some advisors are retired small business people who volunteer time each month to advise small businesses, so they might not have a gov, edu, or org email address.
I am still kinda precautious to provide over email Social Security
Number.
I have no idea if they need you to provide a social security number, but if they need to lookup your application they will need some private information. But you should be able to verify they are who they say they are.
