When President Obama pressed Congress for a comprehensive stimulus package last year, it was with the goal that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, once passed, would fuel a recovery that eventually would revive the entire U.S. economy.
At the time, the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce® predicted that the nation's LGBT-owned businesses would benefit from the Recovery Act's $787 billion in economic investment. That prediction is starting to come true.
Signed into law by President Obama on Feb. 17, 2009, the Recovery Act allocated federal funds for a wide variety of programs—ranging from unemployment compensation to nutritional programs to health care for low-income families—and reduced individual and corporate income tax collections.
"We knew that our NGLCC-certified businesses would be obvious selections for Recovery Act projects, because they are top-notch companies with proven records of success," said Justin Nelson, co-founder and president of the NGLCC. "We thank the Congress and President Obama for their courage in funding a program that has helped and continues to help revitalize the economy."
In 2009, NGLCC co-founders, Justin Nelson and Chance Mitchell, and NGLCC board chairman, Walter Schumbert, were invited to meet with President Barack Obama and his chief economic advisors one week after his inauguration to discuss the economic stimulus, along with 60 other business leaders including the CEOs of IBM, Google and Honeywell.
OmniStudio, an NGLCC-certified business enterprise, is one of a number of LGBT-owned companies that have been awarded contracts with the federal government—contracts financed with Recovery Act funds.
Last December, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that it had selected the Washington, D.C.-based design and communications firm to assist in the production of the National Broadband Plan.
As part of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program established in the Recovery Act, the FCC was tasked with creating the plan. More than 400 pages, the plan, delivered to Congress on March 16, will set the course for the implementation of broadband Internet access for everyone in the United States.
"This recovery contract came at a critical time for our company," said Eileen Kessler, president of OmniStudio. "2009 was a very challenging year, and we worked hard to develop a stronger presence in the Government market. FCC's trust in us enabled Omni to hire additional staff and gave us good financial foundation for 2010."
OmniStudio's contract with the FCC comprised all aspects of production, including copyediting, layout, Spanish translation and creating versions of the report that are accessible to visually impaired persons.
Omni's government contracting work got another shot in the arm with a substantial contract with the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Omni partnered with Widmeyer Communications in that firms' successful effort to win the contract to provide strategic, marketing and design support for the CPSC's 2010 pool and spa safety education campaign.
A fortuitous meeting that brought these two businesses closer together occurred at the NGLCC's Out for Business! conference in Seattle, Washington in 2009. After reconnecting with Widmeyer's Ben Finzel there, Kessler and he continued their conversations in the following months and when the opportunity was announced to compete for the contract, this business partnership was a natural fit. Kessler and Finzel met through networking with other Capital Area Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (CAGLCC) members.
"Meeting Ben through our network in the local and national chambers was so fortunate," Kessler said. "His firm was an ideal communications partner for the CPSC contract. This is a perfect example of business-to-business success—getting out there and developing relationships with other businesspeople involved in your chamber."
Finzel agrees. "Now more than ever, networking is critical to business success," Finzel added. "CAGLCC provides an opportunity to meet and work with colleagues with similar interests and experiences—that's an invaluable connection and one we're very happy to continue."
