May 16, 2018
The National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), the business voice of the LGBT community, has issued a statement to the reinstatement of LGBT business resources on the Small Business Administration (SBA) homepage. Rep. Yvette Clarke and House Small Business Committee Ranking Member Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez previously sent SBA Administrator Linda McMahon a leter pressing the agency on why it has deleted online resources that previously existed to assist LGBT entrepreneurs. The statement is attributed to NGLCC Co-Founder & President Justin Nelson and Co-Founder and CEO Chance Mitchell:
“Our work with the Small Business Administration over the last decade has ensured more LGBT business owners than ever before have access to the information, certifications, and resources available to them that allow their businesses to compete for their piece of the American Dream. The NGLCC is pleased to see the SBA reinstate LGBT entrepreneurial resources on their website, just days after the Congressional letter was sent and a conversation between Administrator McMahon and myself was held. Clearly she and the SBA recognize that LGBT business owners across the nation bring countless innovations, contribute over $1.7 trillion to the GDP, and create tens of thousands of jobs where they live. America’s LGBT entrepreneurs, and in fact every diverse community, should be given unfettered access to opportunities to succeed at every level of government and in every marketplace. We thank Reps. Velázquez and Clarke for their leadership in ensuring greater inclusion for all businesses owners in America.”
Under the Obama administration, the SBA undertook significant efforts to engage with LGBT-owned businesses. In 2012, the SBA signed a memorandum of understanding to work with the then National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. In 2015 the SBA and NGLCC jointly launched anLGBT Business Builder campaign, which included a national tour of day-long training sessions and networking events to connect LGBT entrepreneurs to NGLCC and SBA resources, and to help them obtain federal contracts. That program won a prestigious award from Harvard University for its innovative approach to support entrepreneurs. In 2016 the SBA named Equator Coffees & Teas its first ever LGBT winner of the Small Business of the Year designation.
May 10, 2018
The National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), the business voice of the LGBT community, has issued a statement in response to the letter composed by Rep. Yvette Clarke and House Small Business Committee Ranking Member Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez to the Small Business Administration (SBA), pressing the agency on why it has deleted online resources that previously existed to assist LGBT entrepreneurs. The statement is attributed to NGLCC Co-Founder & President Justin Nelson and Co-Founder and CEO Chance Mitchell:
“The $1.7 trillion dollar economic impact of the nation’s estimated 1.4 million LGBT businesses on the GDP knows no political ideology. The National LGBT Chamber of Commerce hopes to see the resources and information that benefit job creating, revenue-generating LGBT business owners return to the SBA website soon. Our economy only works if everyone is represented and included, and so we expect the SBA of the current administration to embrace what the private sector and many public sector leaders have known for decades: diversity and inclusion are good for business.”
Under the Obama administration, the SBA undertook significant efforts to engage with LGBT-owned businesses. In 2012, the SBA signed a memorandum of understanding to work with the then National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. In 2015 the SBA and NGLCC jointly launched an LGBT Business Builder campaign, which included a national tour of day-long training sessions and networking events to connect LGBT entrepreneurs to NGLCC and SBA resources, and to help them obtain federal contracts. That program won a prestigious award from Harvard University for its innovative approach to support entrepreneurs. In 2016 the SBA named Equator Coffees & Teas its first ever LGBT winner of the Small Business of the Year designation.
The full text of the letter sent to the SBA is below. For a PDF, click here.