State-Of-Black-Oregon-2015

To boost entrepreneurship and small, mediumand large business, we must:• Coordinate existing small businessdevelopment, economic opportunity andminority business development programs tomake them better-known and more accessible• Expand access, training and investment ofsmall business development programs forBlack entrepreneurs• Increase and improve targeted capital-accessprograms such as microenterprise and venturecapital funds for Black entrepreneurs• Set up crowdfunding ventures that providecapital to Black entrepreneurs by allowingthem to raise smaller investments of capitalfrom other entrepreneurs• Make federal, state and local procurementopportunities more accessible for Blackentrepreneurs by combining existing programs• Provide technical expertise assistance andtraining to Black entrepreneurs on building andgrowing their business5Bolster employer commitment toOregon’s Black CommunitiesWe all benefit when businesses have a socialresponsibility to work with communities toensure equal access to livable wage jobs, andinvest in growing and diversifying the state’spool of job applicants.In addition to compiled disparities in educationoutcomes and job readiness, Black Oregoniansface employment barriers that include practicesin hiring, workforce advancement, pay scaleand earnings. These are areas that public policycan’t control. As community education andworkforce development efforts are under way,employers should also do their part to addressbarriers to Black equality, such as lack of skillsdevelopment and job training, hostile workplaceenvironments, hiring from limited networks andpoor outreach to Black communities.Local businesses can help bolster Blackemployment by:• Developing reports that show the businessbenefits of a diverse workforce• Ensuring that industries better reflect thediversity of the communities in which theyoperate through carefully outlined communitybenefits agreements, local economicdevelopments—such as urban renewal areas—and other publicly funded initiatives• Expanding first-source hiring processes andenforcing targeted hiring provisions in allstate, city, county and economic developmentconstruction and service contracts• Creating customized training and hiringplans that lead to permanent jobs for BlackOregonians and communities most impactedby unemployment using the projected trainingneeds to create scalable customized trainingmodels• Establishing and supporting professionalnetworking associations in high-growth, highdemandand high-wage industries, focused onbuilding new pipelines and retention modelsfor Black Oregonians• Identifying and supporting culturally specificnonprofits as the best vehicles for servicedelivery• Using Excellence in Diversity Awards, prioritycontracting opportunities and other incentiveprograms to recognize companies for theirworkforce diversification efforts, especiallythose related to hiring Black OregoniansOur Jobs Plan for Black Oregon was developedby the Urban League of Portland in partnershipwith John Gardner, Director of Business Servicesfor Worksystems Inc. Our approach was informedby multiple community partners and developed tocomplement state-wide jobs initiatives.110