ELEVATE Cohort III

Hello Applicant:

The Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development (CNHED) and George Washington University, School of Business (GWSB) are accepting applications for the Cohort III of the ELEVATE (Executive Leadership Education Venture Advancing Talented Entrepreneurs). This program is focused on helping local Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) more effectively and efficiently manage their business' products and services and increase revenue and employment.

All applicants are required to upload their photo and submit a short 3-5 minute video to complete their application. The deadline to submit your application is Tuesday, January 17, 2023.

If you need assistance please contact Evette Banfield at elevate@cnhed.org.

Thank you!

Question Title

* 1. First and last name

First name

Last name

Question Title

* 2. Name of business

Question Title

* 3. Check all of the affiliations that apply.

Certified Business Enterprise (CBE)

Minority Business Enterprise (MBE)

Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE)

HUBZone

8(a) Business Development

Small Business Enterprise (SBE)

Veteran-owned Small Business (VOSB)

Women Business Enterprise (WBE)

Women-owned Small Business (WOSB)

None of the above

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 4. Please upload your photo that we can use for promotional purposes (i.e. file type such as png. jpg or jpeg)

PNG, JPG, JPEG file types only.

Choose File

Question Title

* 5. All applicants are required to submit one short, 3-5 minute video responding to the four (4) questions below.

A. Describe a personal achievement that has had a significant impact on your business.
B. Describe a business challenge have you faced, and how did you address it?
C. What are your long-term aspirations for your business?
D. How can the Elevate program help you design, build and grow your business?

Please copy and paste the YouTube URL to your video in the space provided.

Question Title

* 6. Please indicate what are the most important (Top 5) knowledge, skills and abilities you need to grow your business’s products and services.

Business model

Cashflow management

Change management (i.e. strategy for dealing with change)

Contracting and procurement (i.e. insurance and bonding, responding to RFPs)

Financing strategies for growth

Human management capital

Leadership and management

Legal and licensing

Networking and relationship building

Marketing

Presentation skills

Pricing and contract negotiation

Research and development (products and services)

Risk management

Social media strategies

Supply chain management

Strategic alliances and joint ventures

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 7. Do you currently have a board of advisors?

Yes

Question Title

* 8. What percentage of your business sales reflects your contracting and procurement client base? Please fill in the percent below (e.g. 25% local government, 75% consumer).

Consumer

Federal government

Local government

Private sector (i.e. anchor institutions and corporations)

Total (must equal 100%)

Question Title

* 9. Which of the following “back office” functions do you have in-house or contract out?

	In-house	Contract Out
Accounting	Accounting In-house	Accounting Contract Out
Human Resources	Human Resources In-house	Human Resources Contract Out
Information and Technology	Information and Technology In-house	Information and Technology Contract Out
Legal	Legal In-house	Legal Contract Out
Marketing	Marketing In-house	Marketing Contract Out
Online billing system	Online billing system In-house	Online billing system Contract Out
Project management	Project management In-house	Project management Contract Out
Sourcing	Sourcing In-house	Sourcing Contract Out
Procurement	Procurement In-house	Procurement Contract Out

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 10. Gender

Female

Male

Transgender

Nonbinary

Prefer not to respond

(please specify)

Question Title

* 11. Contact information, email address and social media

Business mailing address

Business email address

Business phone number

Business website

Cellphone number

Twitter

Question Title

* 12. Is your business headquartered in the District of Columbia?

Yes

Question Title

* 13. Ward business is located

Ward 1

Ward 2

Ward 3

Ward 4

Ward 5

Ward 6

Ward 7

Ward 8

Question Title

* 14. Industry certifications

Project Management Professional (PMP)

Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP)

Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP)

SAP Certified Application Associate—CRM

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 15. Education level

2-year college

4-year college

Graduate school

Professional certification

Other

Question Title

* 16. Years owning your business

Question Title

* 17. Annual revenue for 2020 and 2021

Revenue for 2020

Revenue for 2021

Question Title

* 18. Industry

Real estate and construction

Healthcare and life sciences (medical)

Hospitality and tourism

Media and communications

Professional services (i.e. architecture, facilities management

Retail

Technology

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 19. Business structure

Sole Proprietorship

Partnership

Limited Liability Partnership

Limited Liability Corp

S-Corp

C-Corporation

Cooperative

Question Title

* 20. Number of employees in 2020 and 2021

Full-time in 2020

Part-time in 2020

Contractors in 2020

Full-time in 2021

Part-time in 2021

Contractors in 2021

Question Title

* 21. Please provide contact information of a current business reference

Name

Business

Phone

Question Title

* 22. How did you learn about ELEVATE?

DC PTAC

LEDC

WACIF

DC SBDC (Howard University)

CNHED

ELEVATE Graduate

Department of Small and Local Business Development

George Washington University School of Business

Deputy Mayor of Planning and Economic Development

Other (please specify)