When it comes to conversations about community investing, plans are often described by silos of work: housing or economic development, education or safety, health or jobs.

Certainly, the specifics of each of those are critically important. But, from an impact perspective, rarely do any of them stand alone. When we connect the dots, we stop talking about projects or programs and begin talking about strong families, businesses and communities—places where everyone has a fair chance to succeed.

That same comprehensive view of equity and opportunity is at the heart of LISC’s new partnership with Abbott, the global healthcare company, to invest in diverse suppliers. Together, LISC and Abbott are directing $37.5 million to fuel small businesses owned by people from diverse backgrounds—including people of color and women—so they can grow and better compete for corporate contracts in the healthcare field.

The program is called the Abbott-LISC Initiative to Support Diverse Businesses in Health, and it is a model for expanding work around supplier diversity. It will provide growth capital and loans to small businesses working to help manufacture diagnostics, medical devices, nutrition, and other health products, while also connecting them to technical assistance and coaching to build their capacity for the future.

As details of the new program came together, I was particularly struck by comments from businessowners on why the program is so important. “There are tons of studies out there that show that diversity of thinking, diversity of people, diversity in just about any aspect of your business goes directly to the bottom line,” said Karl C. Johnson, Jr., president and chief financial officer of Detroit-based Diversified Chemical Technologies, in a new video about the program. “As more companies understand that, there's not only a social imperative but there's a business imperative behind it.”

Imperative. That certainly is the right word to describe this work.

Half of businesses owned by women and people of color are not able to access the capital they need to grow. And over the last two years, those challenges have been exacerbated by the pandemic, as many of those same businesses found it difficult to access relief funds or meet their broader financing needs.

Those capital gaps have a negative ripple effect on owners, workers, their families and their local economies—not to mention the well-being of the fields in which they work.

Read the full article about investing in diversity by Lisa Glover at LISC.