History
In 2014, Tuscaloosa Builds was initiated as a proactive response by former Council President, Harrison Taylor, to manage the allocation of federal funds received in the aftermath of the 2011 tornado that severely impacted the City of Tuscaloosa. Over the years, Tuscaloosa Builds evolved into a comprehensive business opportunity program dedicated to supporting disadvantaged business enterprises. This was accomplished through facilitating contracting opportunities for city bids, offering guidance through the business license process, and organizing networking events. As we have approached the ten-year anniversary of Tuscaloosa Builds on March 11, 2024, we are excited to announce an innovative relaunch, introducing Tuscaloosa’s Business Opportunity Program, which now replaces the former name, in order to better reflect the program’s expanded scope and mission.
History
In 2014, Tuscaloosa Builds was initiated as a proactive response by former Council President, Harrison Taylor, to manage the allocation of federal funds received in the aftermath of the 2011 tornado that severely impacted the City of Tuscaloosa. Over the years, Tuscaloosa Builds evolved into a comprehensive business opportunity program dedicated to supporting disadvantaged business enterprises. This was accomplished through facilitating contracting opportunities for city bids, offering guidance through the business license process, and organizing networking events. As we have approached the ten-year anniversary of Tuscaloosa Builds on March 11, 2024, we are excited to announce an innovative relaunch, introducing Tuscaloosa’s Business Opportunity Program, which now replaces the former name, in order to better reflect the program’s expanded scope and mission.
Mission
Tuscaloosa’s Business Opportunity Program is committed to fostering a supportive environment for all residents and new business owners. We recognize that diversity strengthens our community, and we are dedicated to creating a culture of respect, providing equal opportunities, and promoting inclusion to support small businesses and entrepreneurs. Tuscaloosa’s Business Opportunity Program’s purpose is to provide opportunities for small business owners to become connected with the City’s contractual and bid openings. In addition, Tuscaloosa’s Business Opportunity Program supports opportunities for entrepreneurs to share in procurement and contractual opportunities based on their scope of work.
Primary Goals
Tuscaloosa’s Business Opportunity Program will channel its efforts towards improving its effectiveness across four significant areas:
Information Hub: Create and promote a hub for information and resources available to the community by connecting and supporting businesses with business formation and development, planning, training, capacity-building, financing, workforce development and networking.
Regular Assessment: Conduct regular assessments and surveys to evaluate the programs’ business climate.
Business Coalition: Create and promote an IMPACT Coalition with The EDGE, Skilled Trades, West AlabamaWorks!, the Chamber’s Diverse Business Council, and the Alabama Small Business Development Center (at minimum) with quarterly meetings to ensure that community goals are being set and met, a community calendar is maintained, and resources are provided to small businesses.
Support Small Businesses: Support small businesses through opportunities to classify their business agencies and applying for a City of Tuscaloosa business license, provide a public City of Tuscaloosa website that can connect entrepreneurs to training and capacity building guidance from other local agencies, and provide opportunities to be listed in a database of local small businesses.