The Council for Supplier Diversity, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, drives economic empowerment in underserved communities through supplier diversity initiatives. We’re dedicated to expanding opportunities for women, minorities, service-disabled veterans, and other underrepresented businesses. We strongly believe that diverse business growth is essential for reducing poverty and unemployment and fostering societal integration and wealth creation in the US.

As a committed partner, we help diverse suppliers expand their operations and improve their economic standing. This growth enables them to create opportunities for others in underserved communities. We provide services such as supplier diversity sourcing, physical office space, conference and training room space reservations, specialized business lending services to provide businesses the funding they need to expand, and a variety of supplier development and training programs to help our suppliers grow their businesses, create jobs, and contribute to the economic empowerment of the local community.

One of our highlights over this past year has been implementing our accelerator program in collaboration with our partner, Southern California Gas Company. This program addresses the long-standing issue of underrepresenting African-American businesses in the gas pipeline construction space, where economic opportunity exists. We took an industry with virtually no African-American suppliers and developed a program to build their capacity to do this type of work by connecting and partnering them with experienced companies already working in the space. The partnerships created as a result of this program will allow them to secure contracts and get exposure to projects that were previously out of reach. We have seen great success with this model this year, and we hope to expand it to other industries in the new year!

Additionally, we take pride in advancing our “Category Sourcing Exchange” model. These tailored gatherings offer a unique platform for buyers specializing in particular product/service categories to engage with relevant suppliers. These events facilitate a direct link between supply-chain decision-makers and diverse suppliers, ensuring productive connections. Our DBEs who take part in these exchanges get to sit face-to-face with corporate buyers, providing them an extremely valuable opportunity to make connections in their industries and an efficient way to secure new business. Our category sourcing exchanges have been a hit from both the buyer and the supplier side; a win-win!

We are excited to announce that we will be holding our year-end meeting and recognition reception on Thursday, December 14th. This event is not just a celebration; it’s an opportunity to join hands in our collective efforts to strengthen the local economy and foster economic opportunities through supplier diversity. This is a great opportunity to get updated on the advancements the Council has made over the past year, and network with our corporate members, DBEs, and other community partners who will be in attendance. By attending, you contribute to the success of our many programs designed to empower the next generation of entrepreneurs and foster economic growth in our local community. We encourage you to go to our website and register for this event! Sponsorship opportunities are also available on our registration page.

Ronald B. Garnett

President & CEO

rgarnett@supplierdiversitysd.org

Website: https://www.councilforsupplierdiversity.org/

Year-End Event: https://csd.wufoo.com/forms/w1ok0xsc0tij8s9/