The National LGBT Chamber of Commerce is holding its largest annual business conference in Philadelphia this year, with up to 5,000 people expected to participate.
NGLCC’s 2018 International Business and Leadership Conference, entitled “LGBT Unity,” will bring together some 1,300 LGBTQ business owners, 250 corporate partner, who have LGBTQ inclusion as part of their supplier-diversity programs, and government leaders and representatives from 15 countries. The conference is the single-largest LGBT event in the world, said Jonathan Lovitz, NGLCC’s senior vice president.
“We’re providing a platform to put more money in the hands of the community so that they can continue to vote with their dollars,” he said. “We’re supporting the companies who have our backs and paying it forward by making sure LGBT, and other diverse communities, are a part of utilizing [the community’s] own goods and services.”
The conference, from Aug. 14-17 at the Philadelphia Marriot Downtown, partners entrepreneurs and suppliers
in one-on-one matchmaker meetings for networking opportunities. Guests can participate in the marketplace expo to showcase new products and services. Martha Stewart will deliver the keynote speech.
The NGLCC, which is based in Washington, D.C., works with federal agencies to ensure inclusion of LGBTQ-owned businesses in government procurement and supply chains. The agency has nearly 1,100 certified business enterprises, 204 corporate partnerships and 60 affiliate chambers, including its Philadelphia chamber, the Independence Business Alliance.
“LGBT businesses are essential to the economic health of this country. An employer’s commitment to LGBT inclusion has to be part of every business operation,” Lovitz said. “We’re certifying more businesses because it is now essential for companies to have LGBT suppliers included in their supplier-diversity programs if they want to receive a perfect score on the [Human Rights Campaign’s] Corporate Equality Index.”
The index, launched in 2002, assesses LGBTQ-inclusive policies and practices at Fortune 500 companies, rating businesses on their treatment of LGBTQ employees, consumers and investors. According to HRC’s rating criteria for the 2018 CEI, a business must demonstrate LGBTQ-specific efforts, including LGBTQ suppliers, part of their supplier diversity program. Lovitz said more businesses are getting certified through NGLCC to maintain a perfect CEI score.
The NGLCC concluded in its 2016 “America’s LGBT Economy” report that the value of all LGBTQ-owned businesses totals to more than $1.7 trillion. That would make LGBTQ American businessess alone the 10th-largest economy in the world, Lovitz said.
“Over 900 certified LGBT-owned companies have created an estimated 33,000 jobs,” he said. “Imagine our potential when we’re finally given a seat at the table like the private sector’s Fortune-500 companies.”
The upcoming conference will help small-business owners expand their companies with an LGBT “Biz Pitch” competition for the most innovative LGBT-owned businesses, with the winner receiving $50,000 in cash and prizes. The contest is open to all conference attendees, but the applicants will be narrowed down to three finalist companies that will give five-minute presentations.
One of the business owners who will attend the conference is Noell Allen from A Total Solution CPA & Consultant Service, an NGLCC-certified company. The NGLCC provides a new opportunity to network with other businesses owners, she said.
“Our involvement with the organization and the conference has given way to new potential partnerships with other LGBT business enterprises. Our network has expanded exponentially just by being around like-minded businesses owners,” Allen said.