Sacramento – Today, the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) hosts a first-of-its-kind forum for Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) owners in California. The forum is unique in that Federal, state and private entities are collaborating to put government contracts into the hands of our disabled Veterans.
“When public and private sector organizations join forces on behalf of our DVBEs, then both our Veteran entrepreneurs and local economies benefit,” said Keith Boylan, CalVet Deputy Secretary Veterans Services. “Our Disabled Veteran business owners should leave this important event knowing how to effectively compete for contracts with government and non-government entities. Additionally, Veterans are establishing new relationships with those seeking to contract with DVBEs for the goods and services they provide. ”
Our CalVet forum shows DVBEs and suppliers how to:
- Become certified by the State of California
Find state and federal bidding opportunities compete for contracts
Effectively manage their business
Take advantage of the support and services available through the CalVet and the California Department of General Services (DGS).
Attendees can meet one-on-one with more than 50 suppliers and Federal, state, public utility, and private-sector procurement decision-makers for targeted and specific business matchmaking discussions.
The State of California contracts with DVBEs for approximately $300 million in goods and services every year. CalVet established the DVBE program in 1989 with the goal of awarding at least 3% of all state contracts to certified disabled Veterans. CalVet’s DVBE Outreach and Education Program works to increase the number of DVBEs available to state agencies in their contracting and purchasing efforts and to increase DVBE participation in those efforts. The Federal government is the world’s largest purchaser of goods and services, spending over $536 billion during Fiscal Year 2011. The Federal goal to set aside at least 3% of all contracting dollars exclusively for disabled Veterans was established in 2003.
For more information about CalVet’s DVBE Program, go to https://www.calvet.ca.gov/VetServices/P ... se-Program. aspx.
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