Orchard Park, N.Y. (WBEN) - Erie County Legislature Chairwoman April Baskin was joined by Buffalo Bills Executive Vice President and COO, Ron Raccuia and others from the organization on Wednesday to announce a new partnership that's geared towards helping local business owners in the region.
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The Bills and Erie County announced the new “Level Up” partnership - a county-based wraparound services initiative for business owners who come from disadvantaged backgrounds and operate a business within a low-income zip code in Western New York.
The program was developed by Legislature Chair Baskin, in coordination with Erie County’s departments of Environment and Planning, Public Works, and the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity.
"I think it's important to note that this is a separate pipeline to guide us to the CBA [community benefits agreement]. So this doesn't take away from any of the benefits in the CBA, but it's an addition to the CBA, a pipeline program that is going to prepare marginalized and disadvantaged business owners so that they can seize all the opportunities associated with the CBA," said Chairwoman Baskin on Wednesday. "The CBA was kind of the ground level vision and roadmap, and now we're building blocks to attach to it."
"This is a great way to start it, because this is really the driver of what the community benefits agreement will be about from an economic standpoint," added Raccuia on Wednesday. "Providing these opportunities for businesses in our community, lifting up different companies that have had disadvantages in the past, it's critical to executing and we're so proud to do this. April Baskin and her team in the County Legislature, they deserve all the credit. This was their brainchild, they brought it to us. We've embraced it, and we think it has great potential for our community."
As of today, the combined total of New York State, Erie County and Buffalo Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) certified contractors who live in Erie, Niagara and Monroe Counties and who own a business providing trades, supplies or professional services are less than 200 in total.
Erie County Level Up is a generational wealth building initiative designed to provide guidance to disadvantaged business owners located in Erie and neighboring counties. The goal of the initiative is to increase both MWBE certification and participation across the board.
"The Level Up program is built on concrete pillars that are identifiable markers that really pose barriers to businesses who are marginalized hitting a business acumen plateau," Baskin explained. "The first thing we're going to do is make sure you understand how to get county, city and state certified. You want to be a Minority Woman Business-Owned Certified Enterprise in order to be able to compete on the bid packages. That's just going to help you.
"The second thing is we want to get you matched with some banks that are partnering up with the Level Up program, so that you can get that capital to really scale your business up. You've got to spend money to make money, and not all marginalized businesses have that.
"The next thing is we want you to practice what it is to have a corporate contract before you try to bid on the stadium bid package. We've partnered with local corporations, multimillion dollar corporations like Tops Markets, to customize right-sized packages so that your products can be featured in Tops Markets. Or we're working with a local developer so that you can get a commercial right-sized contract so that your contracting firm can practice with a professional contract.
"And then the final pillar is SUNY Erie. If you want to learn more about bookkeeping, about getting an attorney, about how to bid on government contracts, we're partnering with SUNY Erie to help develop an accredited certificate and business entrepreneurship that will actually help this business get the concrete education that they need, so that their business is sustainable."
In collaboration with local banks, non-profit organizations and our region's premier private sector business, Level Up also secures:
- Subcontracting opportunities with major Western New York corporations
- Customized business credit lines with local banks
- Corporate joint-venture mentoring
- MWBE certification mentoring
- Business sustainability services
- Business grant assistance navigation
- Business management courses
Level Up provides a process and facilitation model to help Erie County disadvantaged business owners who have solidified a strong stream of revenue, clientele and brand recognition scale up to the next level.
The Erie County Level Up initiative is currently operating its 2023 pilot phase with 50 disadvantaged business owners who registered to participate at various community workshops hosted by Chairwoman Baskin.
The initiative will officially launch in January 2024, and will be housed in the Erie County Department of Business Assistance.
"We're making sure it's going to be a program that really realizes success for marginalized business owners. The last thing we want to do is to set people up for another local workforce initiative program that does not change their life," Baskin said. "So we're going to run this pilot through the end of this year. If any marginalized business owner, meaning you are a minority small owned business or you run a business in an impoverished zip code, you should just visit www4.erie.gov/levelup and put in your business information. When the program formally starts in January, the level of coordinator will reach out to you."
For more inquiries, you can also email LevelUp@erie.gov for more information.