Strengthening the Regional Economy

In support of the Plan for Pitt, we make local and small businesses aware of business opportunities with the University of Pittsburgh and we promote these suppliers to the purchasing community at the University. We encourage departments to purchase from local and small businesses when possible. 

Helpful Definitions

Small Businesses

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has established size requirements that define the maximum size that a business — and its affiliates — can be to qualify as a small business. SBA assigns a size standard to each NAICS code. Most manufacturing companies with 500 employees or fewer, and most non-manufacturing businesses with average annual receipts under $7.5 million, will qualify as a small business. However, there are exceptions by industry. You can view these in Title 13 Part 121.201 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) or in SBA’s table of small business size standards. To determine if your business qualifies as "small" for government contracting purposes, use SBA’s Size Standards Tool.

Local Businesses

Local businesses are those within the radius of the following select counties: Allegheny | Armstrong | Beaver | Butler Fayette | Greene | Indiana | Lawrence | Washington | Westmoreland |Cambria | Somerset | McKean | Allegany (NY) | Cameron | Cattaraugus (NY) | Elk | Forest | Potter | Warren | Crawford | Erie | Venango | Mercer  

The following resources are intended to help departments identify local and small businesses for purchasing needs as well as to help suppliers find opportunities to do business with Pitt.