National Veteran Business Development Council (NVBDC) is the leading certification organization to ensure credible and reliable documentation exists of Veteran status, ownership, and operational control. NVBDC has become recognized as the source for corporations seeking certified Service-Disabled/Veteran Owned Businesses (SD/VOBs).
NVBDC is Vets helping Vets. We have established a firm foothold on the national and international stage, working with America’s leading corporations’ support to uphold our commitment to Veterans transitioning into the workforce. The empathy felt throughout our organization to apply the skills, talents, and accomplishments earned by those serving our country to civilian occupations contributes to the foundation of our existence.
Corporations could not rely on the information provided by Veteran Owned Companies alone to award contracts that met their supplier diversity goals worth billions of dollars. NVBDC was requested to provide a certification program to meet the standards with trustworthy information to match Service-Disabled/Veteran Owned Business (SD/VOBs) diverse suppliers with corporate procurement needs.
The next level of discovery was to ask and identify, “What is a Veteran.” Misconceptions to this question’s answer have caused controversy through various organizations building verification or certification programs for Veterans. The unfortunate result was a domino effect of fraud and lost opportunities to actual diverse Veteran Owned Businesses of all sizes. The process of identifying a Veteran is more involved than most organizations portray and identify as their definition of a Veteran.
NVBDC is reliable and rigorous, providing a uniformed approach to verifying the Veteran status, operational control & authority of each Veteran applicant. There are 2.5 million Service Disabled and Veteran Owned Businesses in the United States. NVBDC has the formula, with access and opportunity through our Corporate Member support, that validates our fellow Veterans across ethnicity, age, women, LGBTQ, and Service-Disabled, to provide self-empowerment, independence, dignity, and respect.
In April 2014, after completing the certification process testing with representatives from the Detroit 3 (GM, Ford & Chrysler), Kellogg’s, WBENC, NMSDC, VetBiz Central, SCORE, & the Department of Veteran Affairs, NVBDC launched its national certification program. Today NVBDC’s Certification Program is recognized as the Gold Standard and the only accepted SD/VOB Certification Program by the Billion Dollar Roundtable.
Our credentials speak loudly, and in six years, we have certified over 800 SD/VOBs. We have made a positive impact in the Veteran Entrepreneurial ecosystem, with a significant record of awarded contracts to SD/VOBs worth over $2 Billion. Corporate diverse supplier spend within the market place is over $80 Billion, and we want to extend our reach to make sure these funds reach our Veterans.
By providing certification services, the NVBDC is empowering Veteran Entrepreneurs. We help Veterans achieve their goals to obtain corporate contracts that sustain and increase revenue, thereby enabling the creation of jobs. Our work ultimately supports community & economic development efforts by going after the root cause of poverty – the lack of meaningful employment. Our efforts support job creation, improving low-income urban communities, and reducing crime by putting people back to work. NVBDC’s long term plan is to have offices in all 50 states.
We have already initiated a plan to locate and appoint 50 State Managers who will be the key representatives in each state to be trained based upon their program role descriptions and responsibilities. The State Manager will also oversee a program that includes a scholarship program to high school or college ROTC members or a child or grandchild of an Honorably Discharged Veteran. Building on NVBDC programs, benefits, and outreach is a continuous effort to support Veteran entrepreneurship. The opportunities are in place to reach, employ, and offer a chance to enhance the lifestyle of a transitioning Veteran into civilian life. We know that there must be an additional component to our programs to help the Veteran community with the unfortunate circumstances in our world today.
To help reopen, maintain, and provide growth opportunities for our SD/VOBs, we must have a strategy that includes a program to support diverse suppliers’ access to Corporate Supplier Diversity Professionals and their internal programs. Business and the economy work best when prosperity is widely shared, especially among populations who have faced barriers to opportunity. An inclusive economy requires a systems approach that can bring together communities.
Service-Disabled and Veteran Owned Businesses of any size, race, gender, or sexual orientation have been affected during the current COVID-19 era of disparity. The decisions we make now can make or break our economy and impact the future of our society. The forefront of our plan is to help SD/VOBs with the expense of getting or renewing their NVBDC Certification in all communities across the United States. We all need to support the initiatives for recovery because, ultimately, our brothers and sisters who banded together to protect us need our help.
So, what is NVBDC’s initiatives for recovery?
- Recognized as the leading authority for Veteran Business Certification, NVBDC has access and opportunities with America’s major corporations and wants to increase the reach to open doors for our diverse Veteran community.
- Over the next month, we want to join together to help Service-Disabled and Veteran Owned Businesses with their new or renewal expenses for NVBDC Certification.
- We ask the community to band together to help the diverse Veteran supplier network gain access to the opportunities NVBDC offers.
- Our system works, and we will share success stories and testimonials with the community to understand that this process has a proven track record.
- The economy relies on the balance of supply and demand. NVBDC’s initiatives for recovery support how you can participate in making sure the pendulum has an equal swing.
- Acknowledgment can be anonymous, but we would certainly appreciate our community knowing our supporters and can post your name or company name on our website.
- We want to help as many Veteran Owned Businesses achieve their own success goals. Our corporate support has offered SD/VOBs opportunities; we want to extend their reach through an increase in NVBDC Certifications.
We appreciate any contributions to our campaign, and please help us spread the word as NVBDC helps with our initiatives for recovery.
