Resources - Let's Do Business Now!

Information on Certification

Certification as a disadvantaged, minority and/or woman business enterprise (DBE/MBE/WBE) is available through the City of Los Angeles:

For a City of Los Angeles Certification Application, click here.

The California Unified Certification Program (CUCP) provides DBE certification from one certifying agency in California. The CUCP is honored throughout the state and eliminates duplicate or multiple agency DBE certifications.

Certification as a DBE/MBE/WBE allows additional opportunities to bid on government contracts with several agencies throughout the State of California, including the following local agencies in the Los Angeles region:

• Metropolitan Water District
• Metropolitan Transportation Agency
• Department of Water & Power
• Caltrans
• Port of Los Angeles
• Los Angeles World Airports
• Los Angeles Community College District
• Los Angeles Unified School District
• City of Los Angeles

Other Certifying Agencies

• Minority Business Certification through Southern California Minority Business Development Council
• Woman-owned business certification through Women Business Enterprise National Council
• CPUC Certification through the Supplier Clearinghouse
• SBA 8 (a) Federal Certification
• HUB Zone Certification
• SDB Certification
• Community Business Enterprise Certification through County of Los Angeles

Online Tools for Community Based Organizations

Below are documents and various white papers for suggested reading for Community Based Organizations, which are available as PDF downloads.

	Business Planning for Nonprofits: What it is and why it matters The business planning process offers a non-profits decision makers an opportunity to step back and to connect the dots between mission and programs, to specify the resources that will be required to deliver those programs and to establish performance measures that allow everyone to understand if the desired reults are being achieved.
	Becoming a Highly Effective Organization To become more effective, nonprofits need to improve across five organizational dimensions: leadership, decision making and structure, people, performance measures and initiatives, and culture. How can this be done?
	Ten Nonprofit Funding Models This article describes the models so that non-profit leaders can more clearly articulate those that they believe could support the growth of their organizations.
	Nonprofit M&A: More Than a Tool for Tough Times This article describes the potential for M & A to create real value in the non-profit sector particularly if more philanthropists take on the mantle of matchmaker and help non-profits explore and evaluate M & A opportunities.

Scholarship Information

The Let’s Do Business 3 Scholarship Application is now available. Scholarships will be between $5,000- $10,000 and intended for select nonprofit organizations to provide technical assistance and business development services for small diverse businesses. Applications will be due on October 15th and recipients will be contacted by November 1st. Please submit completed applications to Preeti Vissa at preetiv@greenlining.org.

Download the Let's Do Business Scholarship Application