MBE Grants

A doctrine of equal opportunity guides the federal government grant program.

As far back as the 1954 Supreme Court decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case that made discrimination in public schools unconstitutional, and the later introduction of affirmative action in government hiring practices prior to the landmark civil rights legislation of the 1960s, the U.S. government has increasingly embraced the doctrine of equal opportunity. This growing commitment led to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and subsequent federal policies requiring Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) participation in government grant awards.

The MBE and WBE Programs

The Minority Business Enterprise and Women's Business Enterprise initiatives were created to give minority-owned businesses a fair opportunity to compete for the more than 1,000 grants awarded by 26 federal agencies each year. Federal financial assistance grants are funded by congressional appropriations and are given to public and private entities such as states and nonprofits for projects that fulfill a worthy public purpose. In 2010, the top five grant-issuing agencies were the Departments of Health and Human Services, Interior, Agriculture, Education and Justice.

Minority Business Enterprise Classification

While each federal agency has its own application and grant award process, generally any private concern that is at least 51 percent minority owned or is a publicly-owned company in which 51 percent or more of the stock is minority held and daily operations are managed by at least one minority owner will qualify as a Minority Business Enterprise. Minority business owners must be American citizens whose heritage is at least 25 percent Asian-Indian, Asian-Pacific, Black, Hispanic or Native American. Other disadvantaged business enterprises owned by veterans, disabled entrepreneurs and women also qualify for fair access to available government grant awards.

Applying for a Grant

Public, private and individual grant applicants can access government agency projects on line at www.grants.com and can find general information about a particular agency's grant programs in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance at www.cfds.gov. Applicants must detail specific procedures to encourage and facilitate MBE participation in the proposed project for which the federal grant is sought. Minority business owners are encouraged to register as certified Minority Business Enterprises with appropriate organizations such as Minority and Women Business Enterprises to gain exposure to grant recipients seeking to fulfill their minority business subcontracting requirements.

Grantee Target Marketing

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, for fiscal years 1997 to 2003, the five groups to receive the most federal agency grants, in descending order, were state governments, nonprofits, Indian tribes, educational institutions and local governments. Minority business owners would benefit by joining national, regional and local business development organizations that sponsored contacts and seminars with groups most likely to receive federal grants. Such organizations as the National Minority Supplier Development Council (nmsdc.org) and its regional affiliates can also assist minority business owners to structure their businesses to meet the requirements for participation as primary or subcontractors of federally-assisted projects.

References

• Federal Grants Wire: What Are Federal Grants?
• Minority and Women Business Enterpriseses: Our Mission
• Environmental Protection Agency: Minority Business Enterprise/Women's Business Enterprise (MBE/WBE)
• Lawnix: Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena - Case Brief Summary
• Environmental Protection Agency: The Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act of 1977
• National Organization for Women: The Origins of Affirmative Action

Resources

• U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency: General Information