8 hours ago
Fort Worth-area companies are seeking certification as a “small business” after city leaders dropped goals to hire women- and minority-owned firms.
The city — which suspended its DEI initiatives last year to comply with federal orders — now has Small Business Enterprise goals for city projects. Companies, both large and small, certified as a small business enterprise are eligible for a 5% bid preference on contracts up to $100,000.
For contracts over $100,000, the city has a 30% utilization target.
The new certification gives businesses greater visibility, access to bid opportunities, and makes connections to resources, training, mentorship and matchmaking support easier, city officials said.
“We have a new section of the website built-out around our Small Business Development Program, which has been stood up in response to those changes,” city spokesperson Andrea Duffie said via email.
Gilberto Atayde, vice president of operations with the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said businesses are receiving the new certification on an ongoing basis as the city pivots to its new program.
“Right now, we’re encouraging our businesses to submit their applications,” Atayde said. “The interest hasn’t dropped, to be honest. I think people are always looking to find ways to stand out in the market.”
Atayde said businesses will need to be recertified every two years but that has benefits.
“It’s a more formal process,” he said. “It’s a good way to show potential contractors or people that could be a contractor that your paperwork is in order; you’ve been filing taxes; you have all your documentation in a row; and you have experience to show that you’ve done this type of work before.”
The Small Business Development Program was created in August immediately after the Fort Worth City Council voted 7-4 to suspend diversity, equity and inclusion-related initiatives to comply with President Donald Trump’s orders and protect millions of dollars in federal grants that the city receives. The city receives about $40.6 million in federal funds annually.
Council members voted 10-1 to create the new program intended to mitigate the impact of removing incentives for hiring minority- and women-owned businesses.
City officials said Fort Worth is committed to supporting small businesses and working with the Fort Worth Chamber, the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce to do so.
“The Small Business Development Program has really become a cornerstone of our work to help support our small business community,” Ori Fernandez, assistant director of Economic Development, said in a statement. “In partnership with the chambers, we’re trying to help these small businesses strengthen their capacity, build supportive relationships in the community and access meaningful resources to help them grow.”
Business leaders launched informational sessions to help small businesses meet the new certification requirements.
Officials with Fort Worth’s Black and Latino chambers of commerce said they have always been inclusive of all, as their missions aim to help support minority-owned businesses in their community work.
“Promoting Black-owned businesses is part of our mission; the ban on DEI has not changed that,” Michelle Green-Ford, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce, previously told the Fort Worth Report. “However, our mission does not exclude anyone from becoming members and participating in our programs.”
Earlier this month, four business owners and a trade association sued to stop acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock’s emergency rules for changing the Historically Underutilized Business Certification program in December because they have lost government contracts, The Texas Tribune reported.
“Acting Comptroller Hancock took a program created by statute and rewrote it without any legal authority,” Alphonso David, president and CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum, and lead counsel for the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “His actions are baseless and unlawful and must be reversed.”
Hancock has said the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision that ended affirmative action in college admissions and an executive order by Gov. Greg Abbott issued last year that banned DEI policies in Texas agencies justified the changes.
Atayde said the Fort Worth Hispanic chamber is helping business owners through the local changes and the process to be certified as a Small Business Enterprise. Contracting agencies are responsible for the certifications, he added.
Eric E. Garcia is senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at [email protected].
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