When we use the term "minority," we refer to people who are Black, Hispanic, Asian Pacific, Asian-Indian Subcontinent, and Native American. We also include women and target disenfranchised community members as a whole.
"Racial differences in startup capital are the single most important factor explaining racial disparities in business outcomes" (p. 178) Fairlie, Robert W. and Alicia M. Robb. Race and Entrepreneurial Success: Black-, Asian- and White-Owned Businesses in the United States. MIT Press. 2008
The State of Minority- and Woman-Owned Business Enterprise: Evidence from New York, NERA Economic Consulting, April, 2010.
Governor David Paterson's letter to New Yorkers dated May 5, 2010, introducing the NERA study recommendations.
In order for taxpayer monies to be spent on a construction project, contractors must be surety bonded.
Surety underwriters look at Capacity, Character and Capital to determine a contractor's bond ability.
In order to manage a public-works project, a contractor must have 10-15% of the project value on hand to finance mobilization, payroll, and materials.
Surety bonds are a rigorously underwritten credit-based product - and minority firms' lack of capital has limited their ability to secure bonding.a
In general, funds control enlists the services of a 3rd party organization to oversee, collect and disburse the monies collected on a job throughout the course of its completion. This ensures that the funds for a given project are first used to pay the expenses of that project, rather than diverted to other uses, thereby decreasing the risk of payment claims on the surety bond.