Inclusion

Partners in Advance Northeast Ohio are committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive region and that means creating more business opportunities for growing minority owned businesses.

The Minority Business Accelerator 2.5+ is one of the region's initiatives aimed at achieving that goal. The MBAccelerator 2.5+ works to advance the growth of African American and Hispanic-owned businesses (MBEs) with annual revenues of at least $2.5 million in 16 Northeast Ohio counties. By providing assistance to larger MBEs, the MBAccelerator 2.5+ also helps its portfolio companies create jobs for minority residents and boost revenues of smaller MBEs by connecting them to projects as subcontractors. Here's a summary of our progress so far.

Supported by the Fund for Our Economic Future and run by the Commission on Economic Inclusion, the MBA 2.5+ recently announced the results from its first two years of operations.

• 29 deals valued at $70 million have been closed with 16 minority-owned businesses (15 African American MBEs and one Hispanic MBE) in Cuyahoga, Stark and Summit counties. Contracts included printing, HVAC, data cabling, flooring and general contracting
• 180+ jobs created
• $1 million in lines of credit and bonding secured
• Over $125 million in business opportunities identified over the past 23 months
  
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Two like-minded initiatives are helping Northeast Ohio make progress on creating more economic opportunities for minority business owners.

The Partnership for the Minority Business Accelerator (PMBA), a consortium of Akron Urban League, Akron SCORE and Kent State University, has announced the results of its first year of mentoring 15 minority owned companies. Those companies have added 11 permanent employees and 12 new products or services. They collectively will see revenue increased by an estimated $3 million by the end of 2009.

The PMBA, which supports smaller minority-owned businesses in Summit, Medina and Portage counties, has begun work with a new group of 20 businesses.

And the Minority Business Accelerator 2.5+ recently added a new company to its portfolio. The Accelerator helped Akron-based Raymond Jackson Enterprises land a $450,000 construction project. Raymond Jackson Enterprises will provide interior finishing work on the renovation of Saferstein Towers II in Akron. The work includes carpeting, tile and ceramic flooring as well as aesthetic structural work on the building.

The Accelerator has helped 19 minority-owned firms land contracts worth a total of $54 million since 2007. The Accelerator mainly focuses on helping companies with more than $2.5 million in sales to dramatically grow their revenue and employment.

Creating more economic opportunities for minority entrepreneurs is one of the goals of the partners in Advance Northeast Ohio and the Minority Business Accelerator 2.5+, in particular, is working hard to help minority-owned businesses land substantial new contracts. The following is another example of the accelerator's growing list of succeesses:

John W. Todd and Associates (JWT&A), a construction management, general and carpentry contracting business, has its roots in family tradition. John Todd, Sr., a master plasterer with Plasterers Union Local 80, passed his knowledge and skills to his son, John W. Todd, Jr., (photo left) who founded the company in 2005 and is now working with the Minority Business Accelerator 2.5+ to grow the business.

JWT&A recently landed three contracts with University Hospitals-as a subcontractor to Ozanne Construction Company on the new Quentin and Elisabeth Alexander Neonatal Intensive Care Unit project at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital; a deal as a carpentry contractor (performing metal studs, acoustical ceiling and drywall) for the new Ajuha Medical Center at Chagrin Highlands; and as a subcontractor with Acme Arsena on the new cancer hospital to be located at UH Case Medical Center.

The MBAccelerator 2.5+ provided financial backing that helped Todd secure a line of credit with ShoreBank. "The door is opening for minority companies to get contracts," says Todd, "but we need operating capital to get projects up and running."

Adding diversity to our region's nonprofit boards is important if Northeast Ohio is to be a truly inclusive place. As part of an ongoing series exploring issues of inclusion the Canton Repository of how to create more diverse boards.

Here are some of the solutions suggested by the Repository:

Rate organizations on diversity. Corey Minor Smith, compliance director for Canton’s Fair Housing Assistance Program, said last year’s keynote speaker at Coming Together Stark County’s annual dinner mentioned using report cards to grade organizations on key issues. Minor Smith thought the concept could be adapted to gauge diversity among nonprofits, businesses and other organizations and would help potential volunteers or donators determine whether they want to commit their time or their money to the organization.

“If I am giving money to an organization, I would like to know what the organization is actually doing, whether they have a diverse board and whether they effectively reach individuals that they claim that they reach” Minor Smith said.

Conduct board training classes. McIlwain-Massey said Coming Together and the Greater Stark County Urban League plan to conduct Board 101 training sessions that teach minority residents the basics of serving as an effective board member. She said the graduates could then be match with nonprofits who have board vacancies.

Advertise. Frederick Meacham, a retired schoolteacher, suggested that nonprofits advertise their board vacancies in the newspaper “to let people of color know that avenues are there.” He suggested that The Repository publish where people can meet with members of Coming Together Stark County who can tell residents about the responsibilities of serving on the board and about how residents can contact the organizations and companies.

Growing the region's minority-owned enterprises is one of the key strategies of Advance Northeast Ohio and the team at the Minority Business Accelerator 2.5+ has another victory in that effort:

By diversifying its customer base with the assistance of the Minority Business Accelerator 2.5+, Strong Tool Company was in a position to land a three-year, multimillion-dollar contract with GE Healthcare. As a distributor of metalworking products and industrial supplies, the company needed to make a change, according to Strong Tool President Cedric Beckett. About 55 percent of its contracts were with the auto industry.

"The automotive industry has been taking a beating," said Beckett, "so we started pursuing medical and health care-related companies." Strong Tool will provide GE Healthcare with integrated management services for a wide range of miscellaneous MRO (maintenance and repair operating supplies) items. "Basically, they're looking for us to serve as a one-stop service to provide miscellaneous commodities to help them run their facilities and help build MRI and CAT scan machines," he said. He estimates the value of the contract at about $4 million-$6 million annually.

Learn more about the Accelerator and whether your company can benefit from its services.

Growing economic opportunities for minority-owned businesses is one of the region's strategies for addressing the region's priority of Racial and Economic Inclusion. And the Minority Business Accelerator 2.5+ is one of the initiatives in the region making a difference. Recently it helped Key General Contractors secure a $1.9M subcontracting job under The Krill Co. for work on the Cleveland Clinic/Fairfax Development Corporation's Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center. Key will be performing field supervision, site work, and all finishing work such as drywall, doors, carpentry, and painting.

This is the second deal Key General has landed with the help of the MBA 2.5+. If you are a minority-owned business looking for opportunities to grow, check out the accelerator online here.