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OMWBE Business Resources Newsletter February 2023
OMWBE, CAAA, CAPAA, CHA sent this bulletin at 02/14/2023 10:00 AM PST
OMWBE and the Thurston Economic Development Council (Thurston EDC) are offering an Indirect Cost Rate Workshop where you will work with a CPA that specializes in indirect cost rates to learn the basics. The CPA will walk you through your financial statements to understand how indirect cost rates are determined and how they help your business.
Certified OMWBE Transportation related businesses in select counties will have the opportunity to work one-on-one with the CPA after the workshop to ensure your business completes the indirect cost rate process.
Workshop Dates:
Intro to Workshop | March 15th, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
Indirect Cost Rate Workshop | March 22nd, 9:00AM - 12:00PM
Preparing to Bid the WA State IT Project Management Services Solicitation
Explore a statewide contract opportunity for IT Project Management Services currently posted on WEBS(search reference number 14822). This multiple award, long-term contract will authorize state and local government agencies to use your services for IT Project Management. The current contract for IT Professional Services with over 700 vendors is being restructured into smaller more focused opportunities.
This competitive opportunity will award up to 42 contracts in each of the two categories: IT Project Manager Services & IT Quality Assurance Services.
This workshop is brought to you by the government contracting advisors at the non-profit Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) who offer no-cost advising to businesses in Washington State. In the session, participants will dissect the solicitation using take-home tools including a pre-bid checklist and bid/no-bid decision matrix you can customize for your needs.
Manufacturer's Growth Grant For Underserved Enterprises
Thanks to a grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce’s new Small Business Innovation Fund (SBIF), Impact Washington will provide the assistance that small manufacturing businesses need to develop and grow.
This grant supports historically underserved communities. You may qualify for assistance if you are a manufacturer that has less than 50 employees or less than $7 million in gross revenue and one of these characteristics:
Women-owned
BIPOC-owned
Indigenous-owned
LGBTQIA+-owned
Located in rural* county
Call (425) 428-1146 for more information or visit the link to learn more.
Emerald Cities Collaborative is offering a workshop on Small Contractor & Supplier certification.
You will learn the steps to get certified as a Small Contractor & Supplier (SCS) through King County, the benefits of certification and how to register for the e-procurement system to bid and find work.
Date: Thursday, February 16th, 2023 Time: 3:00PM - 4PM
Turner’s School of Construction Management (TSCM) is a 6-week program that expands opportunities for growing businesses. Each course is taught by Turner staff and select industry partners. The program has helped participants enhance business acumen, build networks, and form long-term business relationships.
Requirements:
Currently in business for at least three years
Construction oriented firms only
Must be a Small, Disadvantaged, Minority-Owned, Woman-Owned, or Veteran-Owned Business that is certified or currently seeking certification
Must commit to attending the program in its entirety
This 6-week, 11-course program meets every Tuesday and Thursday from March 21st - April 27th from 4:30PM - 7:30PM.
Washington Minority Business Development Center (MBDA) is proud to present the Achieve More Grant (AMG) where a total of $200,000 funds are available to Women & Minority-owned businesses to help drive innovation and economic growth in our region. The “Achieve More” Grant is designed to help eligible women- & minority-owned businesses throughout the state of Washington to offset three types of costs:
Infrastructure Improvements (up to $5,000)
Employee Training (up to $5,000)
Business & Technological Equipment (up to $5,000)
Requires 3 Years Business Experience.
Please see the press release for more details & funding criteria. Applications are Accepted through March 19, 2023 at 11:59PM.
All candidates must complete an initial Eligibility Questionnaire and submit their intent to attend at least “one” Achieve More Grant workshop. The workshop is free to attend and will be held in-person and virtually.
OMWBE Certified Businesses will receive a 50% discount on Alliance Northwest 2023 Registration! (may not be combined with other discount codes and business must appear in OMWBE directory)
Alliance Northwest is the largest business-to-government conference in the Pacific Northwest. This event features high-quality workshops and matchmaking sessions between small businesses, government agencies, and prime contractors. The event is in its 37th year. Hosted by Thurston Economic Development Council, home of Washington Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), Alliance Northwest has a strong history of federal agency support. It is widely known as the place where business and government learn and make connections with small and disadvantaged businesses.
When: Thursday, March 16th 2023 Where: Greater Tacoma Convention Center
Tony Bussert has an extensive background in all things data. Tony comes to us via Amazon and Microsoft. He has been a long-time customer service professional that has specialized in using data to create dashboards for insights into what story the data is telling him. He’s worked in many industries, including software, hardware, medical, and real estate. He is a single dad with a 13-year-old son. He spent a while working in Alaska in the fishing industry when he was younger.
Tony is an amateur magician and puzzle box enthusiast. He was a clown in grade school and can juggle, ride a unicycle, and make balloon animals. He grew up in Yakima the grandson of people that started as migrant workers and worked hard to create a stable home for his mom and her siblings in Toppenish.
OMWBE is excited to welcome Tony to the team as our new Data Analyst!
⚠️ Fraud Alert ⚠️
We recently learned that a certified MBE was contacted by someone posing as the Washington State Office of the Attorney General. The imposters shared convincing RFP information, requesting services to defraud the business.
If you are contacted by a government agency with bidding information or requests for services, please verify that the email is coming from an official ".wa.gov" email address. Example: email@AGENCY.wa.gov
Emails ending in .com or .org are generally not used by government representatives.
Important Exception – You may receive emails containing official RFPs and bidding information from the email – omwbe@diversitycompliance.com. These emails are sent in partnership with OMWBE, using our certification software.
New Certifications
43 businesses obtained OMWBE certification in January! We share these monthly lists of newly certified firms with our contract and procurement contacts at State Agencies and Institutions of Higher Education.
