The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) has announced that it will launch a new fund for the benefit of minority- and women-owned businesses (MWBEs) and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses (SDVOBs) through a partnership with Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) NYC, a support organization for underinvested communities, and The Cayemitte Group, an insurance brokerage. The fund will seek to aid MWBEs and SDVOBs in competing for DASNY contracts.
The funding will be made available to MWBEs and SDVOBs specifically in order to help them qualify for surety bonds required on DASNY contracts, as well as to pay project-related costs on credit during the period in which contractors are awaiting reimbursement from the state. The Cayemitte Group will also provide businesses with various additional forms of support, including financial management and funds control, in order to assist them in staying stable throughout the life of a contract.
The new fund is intended in part to address inequities such as those identified by a survey funded by J.P. Morgan, which found that roughly half of Black-owned businesses that were surveyed were unable to access bank loans or institutional capital between 2015 and 2020. Providing a means to remedying this is intended to boost the participation of MWBEs and SDVOBs in DASNY contracting.
"This program supports DASNY's long-standing commitment to ensuring our partners reflect the diversity of New York State and to encouraging the growth of MWBEs and SDVOBs to create jobs and strengthen our economy," said Reuben R. McDaniel, III, President & CEO of DASNY, in a press release.
Read the press release from DASNY at https://www.dasny.org/news/2021/10-million-lisc-investment-fuels-program-expand-mwbe-and-sdvob-opportunities-dasny.
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