Reporting on supplier diversity.

What Is a CDC Lender? How SBA 504 Loans Work in 2026

A CDC lender is a Certified Development Company, an SBA-certified nonprofit that is the only place you can get an SBA 504 …

Oct 23, 2026 · Mario Bailey

Guide · 9 min

How to Become a Vendor for Prince George's County, Maryland

Prince George's County rewrote its procurement law twice in eight months. Small purchases now need quotes from County-based small businesses, $1 million …

Oct 23, 2026 · Mario Bailey

How to Become a Vendor for Montgomery County, Maryland

Montgomery County, Maryland does not issue a minority-business certificate of its own. It accepts seven outside ones, reserves every informal solicitation for …

Oct 23, 2026 · Mario Bailey

New 8(a) Awards Fell a Third in FY2026: Set-Aside Data

Federal agencies made 1,334 new 8(a) awards from October 2025 through June 2026, down from 2,007 a year earlier and 2,688 two …

Oct 23, 2026 · Mario Bailey

How to Become a Vendor for Miami-Dade County Public Schools

M-DCPS runs its own certification program, takes vendor applications as an emailed PDF, and posts bids on Euna OpenBids. Schools buying with …

Oct 23, 2026 · Mario Bailey

How to Become a Vendor for LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified)

A City of Los Angeles RAMP account will not show you LAUSD bids. The district posts every solicitation on SAP Ariba Discovery, …

Oct 23, 2026 · Mario Bailey

How to Become a Vendor for Houston ISD (HISD)

Registering in HISD's IonWave portal does not make you a vendor. Only an award on a specific solicitation does, and the diversity …

Oct 23, 2026 · Mario Bailey

How to Become a Vendor for Hillsborough County Public Schools

HCPS runs registration, bid notices and its small business program through one portal, VendorLink, but it certifies no one. You bring a …

Oct 23, 2026 · Mario Bailey

How to Become a Vendor for Fairfax County Public Schools

FCPS has its own Bonfire portal, separate from Fairfax County's, and sends construction through different offices than supplies. Register in the wrong …

Oct 23, 2026 · Mario Bailey

How to Become a Vendor for Clark County School District

Clark County School District does not pre-qualify suppliers or maintain a bidders' list. That list lives in Euna Procurement, formerly Bonfire, and …

Oct 23, 2026 · Mario Bailey

How to Become a Vendor for Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

CPS will not onboard you because you applied. You either win a solicitation or a principal sponsors you, and until a Board …

Oct 23, 2026 · Mario Bailey

How to Become a Vendor for Broward County Public Schools (BCPS)

BCPS runs three separate vendor systems: a supplier registration portal, DemandStar for bids, and B2Gnow for its own small business certification. Most …

Oct 23, 2026 · Mario Bailey

Guide · 10 min

You're Certified. Now What? A Playbook for State and City Credentials

Most guidance stops at approval. Here is the part after: which registrations the certificate does not cover, why primes are the faster …

Aug 15, 2026 · Mario Bailey

NYC M/WBE Certification: Requirements, Documents and How to Apply

Free to apply, and the paperwork is where it goes wrong. What NYC SBS actually asks for, and why a City certificate …

Aug 15, 2026 · Mario Bailey

Guide · 9 min

How to Become a Vendor for NYC Public Schools (NYC DOE)

NYCPS runs its own Vendor Portal, separate from PIP and PASSPort. Registering in the wrong one is the reason certified firms wait …

Aug 15, 2026 · Mario Bailey

Guide · 9 min

How to Become a Port Authority of NY & NJ Vendor

The Port Authority runs its own certification, not a pass-through of someone else's. Six categories, a 20% MBE contract goal, set-asides up …

Aug 15, 2026 · Mario Bailey

CDFI Loans for Minority-Owned Businesses: What a CDFI Actually Is, and How BCF Works

A CDFI isn't a minority-lending program. It's a Treasury-certified lender category built around serving underserved markets, and that overlaps with minority-owned businesses …

Aug 15, 2026 · Mario Bailey

Contract Financing for Minority-Owned Businesses: Three Real Options

Won the contract, need the cash to start it. Here's the SBA loan built for that, how MBE certification speeds up private …

Aug 15, 2026 · Mario Bailey

SBA 7(a) Loan for Women-Owned Businesses: What WOSB Certification Actually Changes

A 7(a) loan doesn't come with better terms for a certified WOSB. Here's what the certification does change, and why lenders build …

Aug 15, 2026 · Mario Bailey

How to Choose an SBA Lender as a Certified Diverse Business

Two businesses with identical financials get different answers from different SBA lenders. Here is what varies between them, and how to check …

Aug 15, 2026 · Mario Bailey

SBA 8(a) Program: What Financing Benefits It Actually Includes

Nobody hands you a check for getting 8(a) certified. What the regulation actually gives you is a mentor's equity investment and a …

Aug 8, 2026 · Mario Bailey

Financing for DBE Contractors: What the 49 CFR Part 26 Prompt-Payment Rule Actually Buys You

DBE certification doesn't come with a loan. It comes with a 30-day payment clock the state DOT is obligated to enforce, which …

Aug 8, 2026 · Mario Bailey

Mobilization Funding for Government Contracts: Why the Government's Own Payment Rules Don't Cover It

The government's own payment rules reimburse costs you've already spent, not costs you're about to spend. Here's what actually finances the gap …

Aug 8, 2026 · Mario Bailey