The National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce will pull into town next week to connect local LGBT business owners with opportunities for growth and development.
NGLCC will host a workshop and networking event from 9:30-11:30 a.m. May 11 at William Way LGBT Community Center, 1315 Spruce St., as part of its national Road Show tour.
The event is being staged in partnership with Independence Business Alliance, the local LGBT chamber of commerce, and NGLCC affiliate.
Phillip Giorgianni, NGLCC senior manager of supplier diversity and outreach, said a primary goal of the gathering is to inform local business owners of the process for and value of attaining NGLCC certification.
“The LGBT certification is based on what’s been done over the past few decades for women and minority business owners,” Giorgianni said. “When corporate entities decide they want to penetrate deeper into this market and invest in the community, certification can serve as a bridge that provides a third-party, official stamp of approval that these organizations are LGBT-owned. It assures the corporate partners that they’re going to do business with a legitimate LGBT business and also provides LGBT business owners access to that corporate entity.”
Certified businesses can also gain access to auxiliary educational programs and mentorship opportunities, among other benefits.
The program began in 2005 and NGLCC has since certified 295 organizations.
NGLCC aims to increase that number to 400 by November.
IBA president Evan Urbania said about a dozen organizations in the Philadelphia area have earned NGLCC certification.
To attain certification, businesses must be at least 51-percent LGBT-owned or -operated — a status that must be verified through supporting documents — and belong to an NGLCC affiliate and provide business details.
Giorgianni said awareness of the program is on the rise but the Road Show is being used to further disseminate the information.
“We want people to know about all the opportunities that are available to them,” Giorgianni said. “We have 130 corporate partners and they do tens of millions of dollars of work with our universe of certified suppliers. Whether businesses are in marketing or IT or make hair-care products, these corporations want to do business with them.”
Urbania noted that interested guests will have the opportunity to hear from NGLCC and IBA representatives, local certified business and corporate partners.
“The bottom line is that if you’re an LGBT-owned business and want you to learn how to expand to reach larger corporations, this event is for you,” he said.
For more information, visit www.nglcc.org.