Minority
Business Certification Options in Nebraska:
The State of Nebraska does not have a statewide women- or minority-owned business certification program such as practiced in various cities and states around the country.
Below are listed several ways this issue is addressed by the organizations identified. In addition to options described below, a firm may identify itself as woman- and/or minority-owned when registering with the Nebraska Dept. of Administrative Services Materiel Division, but they do not officially 'certify' this status of firms on their bid list.
If you would like further information on the State of Nebraska's procurement policies and procedures, contact
the Materiel Division of the Department of Administrative Services at 402-471-2401 or visit their web site
at: http://www.das.state.ne.us/materiel/purchasing/purchasing.html
The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) has a
certification program: http://www.wbenc.org/Certification/
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The current options for business ownership certifications in Nebraska:
STATE:
The Nebraska Department of Roads has adopted Federal 49-CFR,
Part 26 (DBE - Disadvantaged Business Enterprise) standards as a
certification program for companies with which they contract (primarily
construction, but transportation companies may inquire). Call or e-mail Joe
Kisicki at (402) 479-4531 / jkisicki@dor.state.ne.us or visit their DBE web
site at: http://www.dor.state.ne.us/letting/dbeinfo.htm
for further information.
FEDERAL:
Women-Owned Small Business Federal
Contract Program: To be eligible, a firm must be at least 51% owned and controlled by one or
more women, and primarily managed by one or more women. The women must be U.S.
citizens.
-- http://www.sba.gov/content/women-owned-small-business-federal-contract-program
Central Contractor Registration (CCR) is the primary
registrant database for the U.S. Federal Government. CCR collects, validates,
stores and disseminates data in support of agency acquisition missions.
They have a registration database online that allows a company to
'self-certify' by type of ownership:
-- https://www.bpn.gov/ccr/default.aspx
* The Nebraska
Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) provides assistance with
obtaining self certification for
free. PTAC also helps get businesses register in the Central Contractor Registration.
-- http://ptac.unomaha.edu/contactus.cfm
A company can be Federally certified as minority
owned. First, they can identify themselves as minority owned (based on
ethnicity, not gender) in each solicitation they submit for a government
contract. If the company's
minority-owned status is challenged, the Small Business Administration may be
called in to verify the company's claim of being minority owned. Second, a
company can apply through the SBA Small Disadvantaged Business Certification
Program. For information on this option, please see: http://www.sba.gov/content/disadvantaged-businesses
SBA 8a Certification program (see: http://www.sba.gov/content/8a-business-development. The contact person for this in the Omaha SBA office is Kathleen Piper at (402) 221-7205. As in the other program, minority owned status is based on race, not gender.
OMAHA:
Contact Kathy Hendrix at 402-444-5056 / khendrix@ci.omaha.ne.us - or Maria Partida 402-444-5053 / mpartida@ci.omaha.ne.us in the City of Omaha Human Rights and Relations Department (Gail Kinsey Thompson, Director). The Department has discontinued it's woman- and minority-owned business certification program. For information on their new Tier 1 and Tier 2 poverty area certification program see: http://www.co.douglas.ne.us/omaha/humanrights/contract-compliance
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