SUPPLIER DIVERSITY INITIATIVE

The purpose of the Supplier Diversity Initiative is to connect local businesses in North Aurora and Northeast Denver with CU Anschutz Medical Campus departments. CU's goal is to establish and maintain strong relationships with local businesses that can meet some of the University's needs for goods and services.  Through CU's Anschutz Medical Campus Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement, this initiative is being created to benefit both the campus and the nearby community.

By including and supporting diverse businesses in our supply chain, we create opportunity, promote innovation, and stimulate growth that enriches our community as a whole.

The initiative is being created in partnership with the City of Aurora – Small Business Development Center, On Havana Street, the Center for Community Wealth Building, and the University of Colorado System Procurement Service Center.  The initiative follows suit with the mission of the University's Small Business Program to maximize opportunities for small business concerns to participate in the University's business of procuring goods and services at all dollar levels and regardless of funding source.

Getting Started:

This initiative is focused on small and minority-owned businesses in the areas surrounding the CU Anschutz Medical Campus (specifically Adams, Arapahoe, or Denver County).

Your business is eligible if you are a small, locally-owned business. 

What Comes Next:

CU may list your business on the CU Anschutz Medical Campus Supplier Diversity website after review of your application. Please allows 2-4 weeks to review your form.

University staff will reach out to the main business contact to learn more about service(s) and/or product(s) to assist with the promotion of goods. Also, gather information about past/current work with CU or learn about any challenges or issues which has limited work with CU. The University is committed to helping your business succeed and your input will help strengthen this initiative.

University Departments and Offices will be informed about your business and encouraged to reach out about your product(s) or service(s).

CU Anschutz will continue to add industry categories and vendors to this webpage with local, diverse, and small businesses. To start, we are focused on caterers, restaurants, and marketing services (i.e. messaging, website development, graphic design, and social media). These categories were selected because they are services frequently used by departments and available in Northeast Aurora and Northeast Denver.  Additional industry categories will be added in the near future, as the program grows.

If you know of businesses that meet our eligibility criteria (see below), please encourage them to complete the Vendor Application Form so we can include their business on this webpage.

Share this webpage with your entire department and encourage staff to start doing business with our small business neighbors.

Departments and offices that are active with the Supplier Diversity Initiative will be recognized as Procurement Champions and promoted on this site.

Share your experience when working with featured vendors. Remember that the most effective marketing for small businesses is word of mouth.