Accelerating MWBE
Revenue

Ascend Long Island

Ascend improves Management skills, increases access to Money, and grows Market connections in a tailored approach to maximize the unique opportunities that businesses have in cities across the United States through a customized approach to accelerate business and job growth. The Ascend Long Island Program is housed at the IdeaHUb at Hofstra University.

This unique program has an individualized focus on helping local underrepresented firms solve unique problems that they may encounter and produce measurable growth opportunities.

Opportunity Starts With You

Long Island’s economy is built on the strength of its local businesses — from construction trades and professional services to manufacturing, logistics, healthcare suppliers, and emerging tech firms. Ascend Long Island exists to help these businesses scale, compete, and secure meaningful opportunities with the region’s largest employers and institutions.

Rooted in a collaborative model of business development, higher education, and mission‑driven financing partners — and inspired by JP Morgan Chase’s Small Business Forward Initiative — Ascend brings a proven growth ecosystem to Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Your business fuels Long Island’s future.
We help you reach the next level.

Our Goal — Increasing Opportunities for Long Island Businesses

Ascend’s proven 3‑M Model equips entrepreneurs with the capabilities needed to grow sustainably in a competitive regional market.

Management

Strengthen leadership, operations, staffing, compliance, and systems — essential for scaling in Long Island’s regulated, procurement‑driven environment.

Money

Understand Long Island’s anchor‑driven economy, identify high‑value opportunities, and position your business to compete in sectors such as construction, healthcare, education, transportation, and municipal services.

Market

Improve financial literacy, capital readiness, and access to funding — including CDFI financing, working capital, and growth capital aligned with anchor‑contract requirements.

Developed by the University of Washington Foster School of Business, the 3‑M framework is the backbone of Ascend’s approach.

We Partner for Your Growth

Ascend Long Island extends the successful Ascend NYC model — led by the Business Outreach Center Network (BOC), BOC Capital Corp. CDFI, and Columbia University Facilities and Operations — into a region with its own unique economic drivers.
Our work is shaped by Long Island’s unique economic landscape, including:
• Major healthcare systems
• Colleges and universities
• Municipal and county governments
• Utilities and energy providers
• Real estate developers and construction managers
• Transportation and infrastructure agencies
• Cultural institutions and nonprofit anchors
These institutions represent billions in annual purchasing. Ascend Long Island helps local firms access those opportunities and become long term, high performing supply chain partners.