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City of Worcester, MA

Eric D. Batista
City Manager

City of Worcester Launches Grant Program for Diverse Business Certifications

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 4/19/2024 12:26 pm

WORCESTER, Mass. – The City of Worcester announced Friday the launch of the Diverse Business Certification Grant Program.

This program provides a $5,000 grant to Worcester-based businesses that achieve one of the following certifications with the Massachusetts Supplier Diversity Office (SDO).

  • Minority-Owned Businesses (MBE)
  • Women-Owned Businesses (WBE)
  • Veteran-Owned Businesses (VBE)
  • Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Businesses (SDVOBE)
  • Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Owned Businesses (LGBTBE)
  • Disability-Owned Businesses (DOBE)

Applications are now being accepted and can be found at www.worcesterma.gov/arpa. The application form is available as a fillable PDF and can be submitted via email to ARPA@worcesterma.gov. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until November 1, 2024, at 5 p.m.

The municipality has scheduled technical assistance workshops for the Diverse Business Certification Grant Program in the following locations (no registration required):

  • April 22, 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. Lakeview Ghanaian SDA Church, 233 Mill St.
  • April 26, 4 - 5 p.m. Worcester Public Library in the Saxe Room, 3 Salem Sq.
  • April 29, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. Main South Business Association at the Main South CDC Offices, 875 Main St.
  • May 9, 10 - 11 a.m. Massachusetts Small Business Development Center at Clark University – Higgins University Center, Lurie Conference Room, 950 Main St.
  • May 20, 6 - 7 p.m. Latin American Business Organization (LABO), 33 Highland St.
  • May 21, 12 - 1 p.m. WorcLab, 44 Portland St., 4th floor

The first step to achieving certification with the SDO is attending a pre-certification webinar hosted by SDO. This is a required webinar for all businesses applying for a certification. See schedule for webinar below:

  • Thursday, April 25, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
  • Thursday, May 30 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
  • Thursday, June 27 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
  • Thursday, July 25 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Applicants interested in attending one of the webinars above can fill out this Google Form that the City will provide to the SDO. Applicants can also register directly for webinars beginning in August on the SDO registration page.

Any questions about the Diverse Business Certification Grant Program may be sent via email to ARPA@worcesterma.gov.