How We Help
BENEFITS OF CORPORATE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE WBDC
Creating Opportunities for You to Connect with and Learn from Your Peers
In 2004, the WBDC initiated quarterly meetings for our Corporate Partners. These powerful sessions connect you to colleagues and provide timely and relevant information on current WBE (Women’s Business Enterprise) and supplier diversity issues. The group sets the agenda each quarter to address your most pressing needs.
Recognition of Your Support
The WBDC publicly recognizes your company as a Corporate Partner in WBDC marketing materials, including our quarterly online newsletter, “About Women's Business.” and our annual full-page thank-you ads in the Chicago Sun-Times and Crain’s Chicago Business.
Meeting your Needs by Growing our Database of Certified WBEs
We want your pipeline of certified WBEs to continue to grow. With a database of over 1,000 certified WBEs from our nine-state Midwestern Region, the WBDC has the largest WBE certification program in the country. We handle the certification process for women business owners in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Furthermore, our affiliation with the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) expands our WBE database to include more than 6,500 women business owners nationwide. As a Corporate Partner of the WBDC’s WBE Program, your benefits include:
* Certification services of the WBDC’s rigorous screening process. We’ve seen a dramatic increase in the
number of applications received and have increased our program to process these applications in a timely
manner. We’d be pleased to help certify your database of women suppliers.
* Access to the WBDC’s growing database of women-owned firms as prospective vendors and suppliers.
Our complete WBE database is also accessible online through WBENCLink at
www.wbenclink.org/.
* Discretionary access to the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council’s nationwide database of
over 6,500 WBEs. If you’re seeking WBEs outside of our nine-state Midwestern Region, please contact our
PTAC Director who will conduct searches of WBENC’s national database.
*Creating Opportunities for You to Build Profitable Relationships with WBEs
The Women's Business Development Center recognizes our job doesn’t end once a WBE application has been processed. We’re in a unique position to help your company connect with our WBEs and we’ve developed a number of programs to help build strategic alliances and relationships between you, your buyers, and our WBEs.
* Outreach services of the WBDC’s team of experts helps you announce contract opportunities to WBEs.
Our team identifies WBEs in a particular industry and geographical area and describes your company’s
WBE opportunities and programs.
* WBDC assistance with pre-bid conferences and Corporate Connections workshops provides opportunities
for your buyers and your prime suppliers to meet pre-qualified potential WBE vendors one-on-one and to
build relationships. If you haven’t had the chance to participate in Corporate Connections -- which can be
at your facility or at an outside location--- we’d like you to join in. Corporate Connections is also a part of
our annual Entrepreneurial Woman’s Conference.
Why WBDC?
WHAT SETS THE WBDC APART FROM THE REST?
We help you by building the capacity of WBEs.
Now in its third decade, the Women’s Business Development Center serves entrepreneurs at all stages of development, from home-based businesses to established, growth-oriented, technology companies. We do this, through targeted training, professional business counseling, financial assistance, and access to a wide array of information and resources.
We’re proud of our record. Since we first opened our doors in 1986, the WBDC has assisted more than 55,000 women in the greater Chicago area and have helped establish women’s business assistance centers in six states across the nation. We’re a nationally-recognized leader with successful programs and policies that positively impact women’s economic development and business ownership. The WBDC offers its programs and services in Spanish to better serve the diverse business community.
For the past two decades, the WBDC has provided women entrepreneurs with comprehensive programs that enable them to increase their capacity and become viable suppliers to your company. Below is a summary of our accomplishments in 2007.
# Entrepreneurial Training Programs – The WBDC provides small minority and women business owners with a variety of training options from developing a business plan to building global markets. In FY 2007, more than 3,200 participants attended 232 classes.
# Business Counseling – We offer our business counseling services free of charge. In FY 2007, we counseled over 800 individuals in all aspects of business ownership and growth.
# Finance Program – The WBDC provides financial assistance and access to capital through traditional equity financing, bank loans and loan packaging, lines of credit, and micro loans (under $35,000). In FY 2007, our finance team helped clients secure over $3 million in loans.
# Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) – Through our PTAC, the WBDC provides small business owners with expert advice on every step of private and public sector contracting, including assistance with WBE, MBE, SBA, 8a and SDB certification. In FY 2007, our PTAC helped women and minority business owners to secure over $100 million in these types of opportunities.
# Local, National & International Advocates and National Leaders – The WBDC has long been recognized and honored for our leadership in developing programs and policies that empower small-, minority- and women-owned businesses.
Corporate Sponsors
We couldn’t exist without the generous support of our corporate, government, foundation, and individual supporters. If you’d like to learn how you can support the Women’s Business Development Center, please contact Hedy Ratner at hratner@wbdc.org.
Marquee Contributors ($40,000 +)
2016 Fund for Chicago Neighborhoods
BP America, Inc.
Bank of America Charitable Foundation
Citibank, NA
Citigroup Foundation
McCormick Foundation
The Partnership for New Communities
Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC)
Premier Contributors ($25,000 +)
AT&T
AT&T Foundation
CME Trust
Charter One Bank
ComEd
Edward M. Marx Foundation
Grand Victoria Foundation
Harris N.A.
Health Care Service Corporation/BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois
Hewlett–Packard Company
JPMorgan Chase Foundation
Leo Guthman Fund
Lurie Besikof Lapidus & Company, LLP
M&I Foundation, Inc.
Merrill Lynch
Microsoft Corp.
Motorola, Inc.
National City Bank
OfficeMax
OPEN from American Express®
RubinBrown LLP
Sara Lee Foundation
Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust
Taproot Foundation
United Airlines
Walgreen Co.
Major Contributors ($10,000 – $24,999)
Aetna Foundation
Avon Products, Inc.
CDW
CNA Foundation
Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Fund, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee
Dominick’s Finer Foods
Ernst & Young LLP
Fredrikson & Byron, P.A.
Futura Marketing, Inc.
HSBC–North America
Integrys Energy Group
J&J Exhibitors Service, Inc.
Jewish Women’s Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago
Kayhan International
Kraft Foods
Macquaire Capital USA Inc.
Macy’s Foundation
Northern Trust
Prudential
RSM McGladrey, Inc.
Smead Manufacturing Company
Target Corporation
Trench–It, Inc.
United Parcel Service (UPS)
The University of Chicago
The University of Chicago Medical Center
University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)
Supporters ($2,000 – $9,999)
Alliant Energy
Allstate
American Airlines
American Chartered Bank
American Family Insurance
American Hotel Register Company
Ariel Capital Management, LLC
Avis Budget Group, Inc.
Banco Popular
Baxter Healthcare Corporation
Elizabeth Beidler Tisdahl Foundation
Francis Beidler Foundation
CVS Caremark
Cardinal Health
Cargill, Inc.
Carlson Companies
Cedar Concepts Corporation
Chicago Foundation for Women
Comcast Cable Communications, Inc.
Direct Selling Association
Ecolab
Environmental Design International inc.
General Mills
Gidwitz Family Foundation
Nancy Goodman Donor Fund
Harley-Davidson Motor Company
HMH Foundation
Haworth, Inc.
IBM
Itasca Bank and Trust
Jack & Goldie Wolfe Miller Foundation
Jewel-Osco
Johnson Controls Inc.
Kelly Mitchell Group, Inc.
Leo Burnett USA
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
William G. McGowan Foundation
Major League Baseball
Manilow Suites, Inc.
Manpower
Marathon Petroleum Company LLC
Mayo Clinic
Medtronic, Inc.
Mekus Tanager
National Van Lines, Inc.
Navistar
New Age Transportation, Distribution and Warehousing Inc.
Nicor Gas
Overture Premiums & Promotions LLC
PepsiCo Chicago
Private Bank
REO Movers
RR Donnelley
Rush University Medical Center
S.C. Johnson
S.E.I.U
S. USA Life Insurance, Inc.
Smurfit–Stone Container Corporation
Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP
Staples National Advantage
State Farm
Southwest Airlines
Supervalu Inc.
Terry Savage Productions Ltd.
Turner Construction Foundation
U.S. Cellular
United Scrap Metal
University HealthSystem Consortium
Volt Technical Resources
W.W. Grainger, Inc.
Washington Mutual
Wells Fargo
Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company
Xcel Energy
Media Partners
Black EOE Journal
CATALINA Magazine
Chicago Sun-Times
City Woman Chicago
Comcast
Crain’s Chicago Business
Enterprising Women Magazine
Extra Newspaper
FOX 32 Chicago
Hispanic Network Magazine
Hoy Newspaper
La Raza
Latina Style Magazine
Latino Social Magazine
MBE Magazine
Minorities and Women In Business Magazine
Minority Business News USA (MBN USA)
Ms. Magazine
NBC5 Chicago
Pioneer Press
Professional Woman’s Magazine
Reflejos Newspaper
Suburban Woman North Shore
Telemundo
Today’s Chicago Woman
Univision Radio
WE – Women’s Enterprise USA
WGBO – TV66 Univision
WVON Radio
Entities listed are as of January 21, 2009. We have made every effort to ensure that all contributors are recognized.
Government Partners
The Women’s Business Development Center would not exist without the generous support of our corporate, government, foundation, and individual supporters. If you would like to learn more about how you can support the Women’s Business Development Center, please contact Hedy Ratner at hratner@wbdc.org
Government Support ($5,000+)
Chicago Housing Authority
Chicago Public Schools
City of Chicago, Department of Aviation
City of Chicago, Department of Business Affairs and Licensing
City of Chicago, Department of Planning and Development
City of Chicago, Department of Procurement Services
Cook County, Department of Planning and Development
The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Illinois Entrepreneurship Network, Small Business Development Center
Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA)
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
The State of Illinois, Department of Central Management Services
U.S. Department of Energy
U.S. Department of Labor – Women’s Bureau
U.S. Small Business Administration
U.S. Small Business Administration - Office of Women’s Business Ownership
