Women-owned business
To qualify, a business must be at least 51% owned, operated and controlled by one or more women who are U. S. citizens.

Minority-owned business
To qualify, a business must be at least 51% owned, operated and controlled by one or more of the minority groups listed below.

Qualifying groups:

• African-Americans
  U.S. citizens having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.
• Asian-Americans
  U.S. citizens who originate from Japan, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Korea,Samoa, Guam, U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Republic of Palau), Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Laos, Cambodia (Kampuchea), Taiwan, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Macao, Hong Kong, Fiji, Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Nauru, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, the Maldives Islands, or Nepal.
• Hispanic-Americans
  U. S. citizens of Spanish culture whose origins are Mexico, South or Central America or the Caribbean Islands.
• Native-Americans
  American Indians, Eskimos, Aleuts and Native Hawaiians.

Certifications
To ensure that a firm is a bona fide minority or women-owned business, we require certification from one of the following preferred agencies:

• NMSDC - National Minority Supplier Development Council
• WBENC - Women's Business Enterprise National Council
• SBA - Small Business Administration
  8(a) Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB)

Certifications from other city, state or federal agencies may also apply