Ford students assist Detroit small business owners with re-opening challenges

Ford students assist Detroit small business owners with re-opening challenges

The economic havoc caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has been especially disruptive to small businesses, which often depend on foot traffic and operate on smaller profit margins than their larger counterparts. As Michigan prepares to reopen its economy, small business owners are struggling with the financial viability of their businesses, the concerns of their families and their employees’ families, the needs of their customers, and the risks COVID-19 poses to their communities.
The University of Michigan’s Center on Finance, Law, and Policy, housed in the Ford School of Public Policy, has been awarded an $80,000 grant from the Ralph C. Wilson, …

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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 …