3 Tips for Orgs with Purchasing Power Who Want to Build Equity

In the wake of social unrest following increased attention on racial injustice this summer, there was a universal call for consumers to use their buying power to uplift and support Black-owned businesses in their communities and afar. 

What was largely missing from the conversation was calling upon corporations, large-scale charities, and government organizations to also “buy Black.” 

While individual consumers can and should do their part, moving the needle requires entities with deep and wide reach to adopt this mandate as well. Buying Black means increasing the number of contracts and procurement opportunities for Black-owned companies — many of which exist to help change systems (think infrastructure and technology) by offering innovative solutions to age-old problems. In other words, companies that are helping transform the way we do business as usual.

The United States government is the largest buyer in the world, spending an estimated $500 billion on contracts annually, yet you’d be hard-pressed to find a Black-owned tech company like Resilia on these lists. Black founders face barriers to funding, and it’s been this way for decades. Once they do receive the funding, Black-led startups face similar barriers when they set out to sell to enterprise-level customers. 

If allies want to break the barriers of success within tech and other areas of contracting, they can start by taking a comprehensive look at their vendor list and with whom they choose to do business. 

Here are a handful of suggestions for any organization with purchasing power (corporations, private foundations, cities) that want to build equity in the process of choosing vendors and contractors.

• Audit your vendors: If allies really want to break down silos and ensure equitable practices are being instituted, take an audit of who you do business with, and award contract and partnership opportunities to qualified Black-owned companies.

• Increase participation in contracting and supplier opportunities: Companies and organizations have to define, but also choose, the vendors they use. Generally, this is done through supplier discovery which leads to a shortlist, and then onto an advanced supplier review in some cases. Whereas in other cases, the company or organization can elect to purchase software, hardware, or any other product or service through a single or sole source agreement.

• Alter organizational and corporate governance: It’s not only important to add Black faces to boards, but it’s also important that they are encouraged and allowed to help create equitable practices for minorities and Black people within the company infrastructure. Otherwise, their placement on the board only does just that, fill a vacant seat.

If you have the time, check out the full version of this article on Medium.