Today, Mayor Michelle Wu joined city officials and local business owners to testify this week. Supplier Diversity Week. He also announced progress toward meeting the City's supplier diversity goals along with several initiatives to foster a fair and competitive marketplace by bolstering the operational capabilities of Boston-based companies historically excluded from competing for City contracts. Through additional investments in personnel and technological improvements, the City hopes to build on the progress made in fiscal year 2023 and further increase its discretionary spending with various businesses toward its aspirational goal of 25 percent.
In an effort to create greater transparency around supplier diversity and share the City's progress, the Office of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion (OEOI), the Departments of Supplier Diversity (DSD), and the Department of Procurement will soon release a report on equity in City hiring. The City of Boston awarded contracts worth a total of $151 million, or 14 percent, to certified MWBEs during fiscal year 2023, which is a substantial increase from 6 percent in fiscal year 2022. The City awarded a total of $1.08 billion in contracts that began in fiscal year 2023.
โThis is about creating more opportunities for all residents of our city, not only for the business owners and employees who will be directly affected, but also for the rest of the communities who will feel the ripple effect when local small businesses in Boston reach grow to their full potential,โ he said Mayor Michelle Wu. "We know we have to stay united as a community, holding each other accountable for supplier diversity and pushing us all to do more."
"Ensuring that a greater proportion of the city's contracts are awarded to local, small and diverse businesses has been a top priority because Mayor Wu and our team know that the development of some communities cannot coexist with the underdevelopment of others," said Head of Economic Opportunities and Inclusion Segun Idowu. โI am grateful for the hard work of the Supplier Diversity and Procurement teams who ensure existing local businesses have the opportunity to work with the City, as well as building the pipeline of new businesses that can seek similar work through our SCALE program. .โ
"We know that our purchasing power is just that: power we can use to build generational wealth in our neighborhoods and support small, local and diverse businesses," he said Chief Financial Officer and Chief Procurement Officer Ashley Groffenberger. "Under Mayor Wu's leadership and in close collaboration with Chief Idowu, I am proud of the work we have done to expand our reach and impact in advancing the city's supplier diversity goals."
"I went from having zero contracts in Boston to getting contracts worth almost a million dollars in the course of a year," he said. Rose Staram, owner and founder of RoseMark Production, who received a contract through the Sheltered Market Program. โThis highlights the transformative power of seizing the opportunities for people of color and women that the mayor and her executive leadership team have made possible. The Mayor's Office has actively pursued the simple, but not easy, task of leveling the playing field in the world of contracting. It is a testament to her ability to overcome obstacles, build connections, and demonstrate our value as women and people of color. โWe will be forever grateful for this program.โ
As part of Supplier Diversity Week efforts, the City today announced several new initiatives, including the Supplying Capital and Leveraging Education (SCALE) program to support local small businesses with technical assistance, educational programming, consulting services and grant funding using the Contracting Opportunity. American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Fund and Funds. These initiatives aim to build generational wealth and opportunities for local minority business enterprises (MBE), women's business enterprises (WBE), veteran-owned business enterprises, and LGBTQ+ business enterprises.
SCALE Program
Mayor Wu announced the release of a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Supplying Capital and Leveraging Education (SCALE) business accelerator program. The RFP will use $2.4 million of the $9 million in American Rescue Plan funds allocated for this program to support technical assistance, educational programming, and industry-specific consulting services. It is designed to connect small businesses, particularly disadvantaged businesses that face challenges accessing financial capital, business resources and essential knowledge, with the tools necessary to compete for public, private and institutional contracts.
The RFP seeks partners to work collaboratively with the Department of Supplier Diversity to empower small businesses in specific industry sectors, ranging from snow removal to HVAC services. Priority industrial sectors were chosen because they represent high-spending areas of the City. With the goal of supporting at least 18 Boston-based small businesses in its first year, the SCALE program will provide business participants with the tools, training and significant capital to address key capacity issues that prevent smaller companies from compete for larger governments and institutional contracts.
As part of Mayor Wu's commitment to making Boston a Green New Deal city, the RFP also emphasizes the city's preference for proposals that can help participants adopt cost-effective solutions aligned with environmental sustainability goals by contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
Interested companies are encouraged to carefully review the RFP and submit their proposals according to the guidelines outlined. For more information and access to the RFP, visit here.
Hiring Opportunity Fund
Mayor Wu also announced that 51 local minority- and women-owned businesses have received grants from the City of Boston's 2023 Hiring Opportunities Fund. He Hiring Opportunity Fund is an initiative that supports investments in capacity development for Boston-based companies.
This marks the fund's third consecutive year of grantmaking, demonstrating the City's continued commitment to facilitating small business participation and competition for City contracts. Using funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the Department of Provider Diversity recently disbursed approximately $750,000 in grants of up to $15,000, focusing on six priority sectors that represent areas of high municipal spending.
Of the 51 businesses chosen to receive grants this year, 31 percent are women-owned and 78 percent are minority-owned, with Black-owned businesses representing more than half of the recipients. More than half of the recipients are also small businesses, and a combined 45 percent of grant recipients' businesses are located in the Dorchester and Roxbury neighborhoods.
โI have a couple of painting jobs coming up and I had to use all my savings to secure the contract. โIโm basically still in business thanks to the Boston Contracting Opportunity Fund grant,โ he said. Bryant Williams, the owner of BWilliams Painting Company. โI will be able to pay for some insurance, part of the mortgage on my business and the equipment. I would not have been able to recover from my deficit if it were not for this grant, which kept me afloat and allowed me to fulfill my contract with Northern Contracting, a partner I have been contracting with for years. This is truly a blessing.โ
The Boston Contracting Opportunity Fund grant was first announced in spring 2021 and was designed through extensive community dialogue and conversations with small and diverse business owners to address barriers to public contracting identified in the City's strategy. . 2020 Disparity Study. The study confirmed that businesses owned by women and people of color are widely available to perform City contracts, but are substantially underrepresented in City spending on construction, professional services and goods.
The selection process was rigorous and involved a thorough review of applications by the Department of Provider Diversity and third-party partners, including the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (BECMA), Amplify LatinX, and the Local Enterprise Assistance Fund (LEAF). Companies were evaluated based on their ability to meet specific eligibility criteria and proposed uses of the capacity building fund. Funds can be used to invest in capacity-building activities, such as purchasing new equipment, expanding rental space, and purchasing bonding or insurance, among other uses.
Supplier Diversity Pact
At today's press conference, Mayor Wu and local small business support organizations signed "A Pact to Generate Local Economic Growth." Through this compactThe City and its partners are committed to implementing the following principles of supplier diversity and small business growth: resource awareness, certification to strengthen the pipeline of qualified companies ready to work with the City, engagement with local businesses and stakeholders, policy development to codify successful practices and transparency.
As part of Supplier Diversity Week, the City is hosting a series of virtual and in-person workshops for small business owners. More information can be found here.
About the City of Boston Supplier Diversity Department
The City of Boston's Department of Supplier Diversity (DSD) is dedicated to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in the city's hiring. DSD certifies businesses owned by people of color, women, veterans, and small and local businesses, and manages programs to encourage their participation in public contracting and foster their growth.
More information on business certifications is available here.
