Our mission at CoreCivic to better the public good isn’t limited to our high-quality correctional services, innovative government real estate offerings and life-changing reentry programs. We also promote growth and diversity in communities through our Diversity Business Inclusion (DBI) program.

The company’s DBI program, which launched in 2009, uses collective purchasing power to support businesses the U.S. Small Business Administration categorizes as small and diverse, including those owned by women, minorities and/or veterans.

“CoreCivic seeks out product and service providers that are innovative and flexible enough to meet the unique needs of the corrections profession,” said Dawn Mason, CoreCivic’s managing director of purchasing overseeing the DBI program. “And those needs are often served best by businesses with an entrepreneurial culture. Using small, diverse businesses is a win-win solution for our facilities, our partners and the economic growth of the communities in which we serve.”

One example of the DBI program's impact is DevMar Products LLC, a Nashville-based janitorial and sanitation supply company that provides janitorial products to all of CoreCivic’s facilities.

Sharon Reynolds, CEO and president of DevMar Products LLC, said this relationship with CoreCivic has been instrumental to her company's growth.

"Since partnering with CoreCivic, we have been approached by other Fortune 500 companies to serve their supply chains, which has allowed us to grow to national and international status,” Reynolds said. “Without the CoreCivic relationship, this would not have been possible."

In the past year, CoreCivic’s DBI program has led to partnerships with organizations that provide products and services ranging from pest control and lawn care to commercial kitchen equipment and roofing work. CoreCivic spent over $80 million with these suppliers from May 2017 to June 2018.

CoreCivic’s partnerships in the program go beyond a traditional supplier relationship. The company also provides mentorship and best practice sharing with partners through several local and national organizations that help small, minority-owned businesses access the resources and knowledge to grow and succeed.

A few examples include:

• CoreCivic’s participation in the Centers of Excellence, a mentor-protégé program that connects corporations with selected, certified minority-owned businesses.
• CoreCivic’s membership in the Tri-State Minority Supplier Development Council (TSMSDC), which is a regional affiliate of the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC).
• CoreCivic's support of TSMSDC's Education Foundation that provides scholarships to deserving youth (see accompanying photo).
• CoreCivic’s corporate membership with the southern regional chapter of the Women's Business Enterprise National Council.

“Our DBI program would not be so successful without the incredible support we get from CoreCivic at the top of the company,” said Mason, who was nominated this year by the TSMSDC for its Corporate Representative of the Year Award for her continuing efforts to create opportunities for small, minority-owned businesses.

“Our leaders believe our commitment to diversity should be strong inside our company and extend to the businesses we partner with too,” she added. “At the same time, our business partners give us the flexibility and innovation we need to meet our facilities’ needs. It makes good business sense.”