Watch ‘Bill Talks Business’ – Small Business First video interview
On September 1, 2020, we began implementation of the Small Business First (SB1st) program. This program will change the way we do business and further align our procurement practices with UC’s overall mission and values as a core institution in the State of California.
The small business community, which includes the vast majority of minority businesses, is the engine of our State’s economy. 99.8% of California businesses are small and employ 48.8% of California’s private workforce. For every $100 spent at a small business, approximately $68 stays in California. Contracting with and procuring from small and diverse businesses, creates and sustains jobs that strengthen our economy.
One of the most important questions we face today, as we grapple with a global pandemic, economic downturn, and increasingly devastating fires, is what can we, as the University of California, do to meet the spirit and commitments of our core missions – teaching, research and public service? The University of California is the third largest employer in the State, and we support 1 in 46 of all California jobs and contribute $32.8B annually to gross state product. What can we do?
We can leverage our purchasing power to offer equitable opportunities and access to small and diverse businesses which have historically faced systemic barriers to doing business with UC and have been especially decimated by Covid-19. I can’t think of a better way to start focusing UC’s purchasing power than sourcing from small, often local businesses run by under-resourced populations through the SB1st Program.
It is key that UC work now and quickly to make meaningful change in our procurement practices as the rate of business closures nationwide, especially minority business closures, has skyrocketed. UC Santa Cruz research reports that from February 1 to mid-April, 2020, 440,000 of the 1 million African American-owned businesses in the nation had closed for good – a 41% plunge in just two and a half months. Likewise, 32% of Latinx-owned businesses and 26% of Asian-owned businesses had closed permanently.
We believe it imperative that UC immediately extend a lifeline to our small business community, whose revenue from commercial customers has woefully reduced. I encourage each of you to frame the SB1st program in the context of our University’s overall mission – teaching, research and public service, and remember that we’re here to effect positive change for all Californians and the world.