Georgetown’s New Supplier Program Supports Diverse DC Businesses

Posted in Announcements

Georgetown has launched a new Supplier Diversity Program to identify, support and engage with more diverse companies in Washington, DC. The program, an extension of the university’s equity, diversity and inclusion efforts, seeks to strengthen business opportunities and partnerships with diverse suppliers in the following ways by 2025:

• spend 20% of the university’s total supplier budget on diverse suppliers; 
• contribute $8 million of local supplier spend to DC-based diverse suppliers; 
• ensure that 10% of the university’s active suppliers are diverse, with a focus on construction, supplies, professional Services, and repair and maintenance. 

To achieve these goals, Georgetown will support diverse suppliers with tools and opportunities to engage in business practices at the university. It will also provide resources for university departments and business offices on how to support, source and select diverse suppliers in different sectors, and engage department leaders on how to integrate diverse suppliers into the procurement process.

As a Catholic, Jesuit university, Georgetown has been committed to promoting the common good in all aspects of its business operations and in its local Washington, DC community. As part of this mission, the university provides fair and competitive compensation packages for full-time contractors who work on its campuses, as well as certain types of benefits, such as equal access to community resources, for all Georgetown workers. For the past 30 years, the university has partnered with the District of Columbia Office of Small and Local Business Development to help more local, small and disadvantaged businesses participate in the university’s construction and procurement activities. Georgetown has developed relationships with local, diverse suppliers and hosted supplier events and business fairs on campus to generate more business opportunities. In 2015, Georgetown became an active partner in the DC Community Anchor Partnership, a collaborative initiative of DC institutions organized to strategically support DC minority-owned business enterprises (MBEs). 

The university is dedicated to increasing the diversity of its suppliers in the coming years and invites diverse suppliers to join its program.