Detroit Mission-Based Lenders Meet Each Month to Talk About You. Here’s Why That’s a Good Thing.

Need funding but not sure where to start? You’re not alone—and there’s a group working behind the scenes to make it easier.

DNEP’s Siobhan Barrett, a former loan officer, co-chairs a monthly meeting with Frederick Paul II from the New Economy Initiative called the Small Business Success Summit. Together, they bring together lenders and business support organizations across Detroit for one reason: to help you find the right funding and support faster.

Here’s how it works:

Let’s say you apply for a loan, but that lender can’t help—maybe you need $150,000 for an expansion into a new market, but they only do loans under $50,000. Instead of sending you away with nothing, that lender brings your situation (without your name) to the monthly meeting.

The group talks through it together: Who can help? What does this business owner actually need? Then they connect you directly to the right person or organization for support or funding so you don’t have to keep guessing who to contact.

This group recently kicked off the 2026 series, hosted at Jefferson East, Inc.

Their focus? Tackling the most common barriers entrepreneurs face—like getting your paperwork ready, improving credit, managing cash flow, and finding growth financing.

Bottom line: Instead of navigating Detroit’s funding landscape alone, you’ve got a network of lenders and support providers working together behind the scenes to get you to the right resource, faster.

Want to learn more about how Detroit lenders, business service organizations, and community organizations collaborate to support entrepreneurs? Check out the NEI Worktable action groups.