Community Progress Makers (CPM) Winners Series: Urban League of Broward County
10.02.2019
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LISC StoriesEconomic Development
The Community Progress Makers fund is a $20 million, two-year initiative by the Citi Foundation to support high-impact community organizations that are driving economic opportunities in their communities. These 40 change agents are addressing a range of urban challenges in the U.S., from economic development and affordable housing to environmental sustainability and urban infrastructure. In addition to core operating grant support, Community Progress Makers have access to technical assistance from leading experts and are part of a learning cohort to share best practices.
LISC LA was named part of the City Progress Makers cohort and joins organizations working in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, San Francisco Bay Area, and Washington D.C. The Los Angeles cohort is made up of 7 dynamic organizations that are leading economic and housing inclusion initiatives across the County. The Urban League of Broward County (ULBC) is also one of the forty winners of the Community Progress Makers fund.
At the crux of the Urban League movement is the goal of lifting up communities through the avenues of education, entrepreneurship, jobs, housing, and health. The Urban League of Broward County, Florida, does just that through a variety of philanthropic initiatives, all rooted in community development and institutional empowerment. What makes ULBC unique is its role as an intermediary between anchor institutions, like public schools, and service-based enterprises. Like LISC LA, ULBC specializes in procurement strategies for minority- and women-led small businesses, strategies meant to eventually obtain contracts with community institutions like universities and hospitals.
Other initiatives include the Living Well program, which provides support for individuals diagnosed with diabetes; the Entrepreneurship Center, a training/networking institute for Broward County small businesses; and SSVF, a catalog of outreach services designed to house homeless veterans and introduce them back into the workforce.
This role was prominently put into play in 2018 when the Broward County School Board adopted a new set of holistic, diversity-mindful criterion for future vendor partnerships, including the removal of more stringent requirements to increase small business participation. Following this decision, ULBC served as a link between historically capital-deprived suppliers and the school system, connecting these small businesses to prospective opportunities in the contracting arena.
"We sat back long enough to listen to the issues small businesses were facing. Then, we chose to do something about it. And now, there’s this constant iterative process where we ask ourselves, ‘How can we do this? How do we create more access?’"
To counter the disparity of minority access to financial resources, such as credit discrimination and exclusionary lending practices, ULBC distributed low-interest loans, provided technical assistance with vendor certification processes, and paved the way for smooth implementation of projects headed by the small businesses it worked with. Since 2017, 16 Entrepreneurship Center clients have been certified by Broward County Public Schools, with one landing a $3 million manufacturing contract for paper copy machines within a local school district.
The all-encompassing procurement strategy utilized by ULBC mirrors the approach LISC LA takes to catalyze community enhancement. As an intermediary between anchor institutions and our local partners, our responsibility is to lift up traditionally underrepresented entrepreneurs by bridging the gap between sources of capital and reliable suppliers. This responsibility is in service to our ultimate goal: ensuring that all LA residents can have the same access to opportunity, growth, and stability.
The Community Progress Makers fund is a $20 million, two-year initiative by the Citi Foundation to support high-impact community organizations that are driving economic opportunities in their communities.
