Detroit’s small business owners see summer boost through entrepreneurs project

Applying academic skills to real-world business challenges

Small businesses in Detroit, as across the country, have had to make major adjustments to survive the COVID-19 pandemic economic downturn. A cadre of students from U-M have been able to work with many of these businesses through an internship program coordinated by the Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project (DNEP) at the Ford School of Public Policy and +Impact Studio for Local Business (ISLB) at the Ross School of Business. 
I have been fortunate to be a part of one of the multidisciplinary teams, collaborating with students from Ford and Ross as well as the Stamps School of Art & Design, the …

Michigan Ross and Ford Students Work with the Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project

COVID-19 changed everything for small businesses in Detroit. Now business owners have dozens of new issues to think through as they pivot business models, weigh costs & benefits, and figure out when and how to re-open. Thanks to the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, they have almost 40 Michigan Ross and Ford students on hand to help.

Dean Barr on the need to do more for communities and small businesses

Dean Barr on the need to do more for communities and small businesses

Hundreds of billions of dollars have been allocated to help small businesses and individuals in response to the COVID-19 financial crisis. Yet for low-income households and small businesses, accessing those funds has proved to be a challenge, according to Ford School Dean Michael Barr. In two commentaries, Barr argues that policy changes can help reach these underserved, under-banked communities.
More than 8 million households in the United States lack any savings or checking account, according to government data. And many banks approved by the Small Business Administration to process applications for the Paycheck Protection Program, or “PPP,” only worked with businesses …

Dispossessing Detroit: How the Law Takes Property

U-M helping Detroit’s small businesses locate, navigate coronavirus-related financial aid

The University of Michigan is working with Detroit’s small businesses to help them find sources of federal financial aid amid the COVID-19 pandemic and assist them in navigating the rules and regulations they will encounter in the application process.
The Ford School of Public Policy’s Center on Finance, Law and Policy, through its Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project, has compiled resources business owners need to access the roughly $375 billion in grants and loans earmarked for small businesses in the $2 trillion stimulus package signed into law last month.
Justin Erickson, program manager for the Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project said the resources respond …

Entrepreneur Resource for COV-ID: Update Your Business Hours

With a statewide shelter in place order in effect in Michigan, small businesses in Michigan are being forced to pivot or seek emergency/disaster funding to survive. 
In support of the University of Michigan’s Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project, the Center on Finance, Law & Policy will be releasing a series of resources to help business owners. The first resource was released today, which is simply a guide to help businesses update their listings on Google. 
The idea for the resource came from RA Malika Begum (Ford School of Public Policy MPP), who observed that people are using Google to determine which businesses are …

Dispossessing Detroit: How the Law Takes Property

Ford School involvement highlighted among growing U-M Detroit partnerships

The University of Michigan ramped up its collaborations on a multitude of projects in the city of Detroit during the pandemic, including outreach to residents on issues ranging from unemployment to the COVID-19 vaccine.
Initiatives such as Poverty Solutions, which created an Economic Mobility Partnership with the city of Detroit, and a partnership with four community organizations to help lower utility bills for residents are among a host of endeavors that touch on education, cultural expression, business, health care and the arts.
“Faculty, students and staff from all three of our campuses work alongside Detroit partners to learn and serve in ways …