Our Approach

We are leveling the playing field in business ownership

Our Mission

Northern Initiatives provides loans and business services to Michigan entrepreneurs and small business owners who add jobs and help their communities thrive.

This isn't about loans, it's about building stronger communities

CDFIs like Northern Initiatives and its partners are building stronger local economies, enhancing job growth, and supporting economic mobility. That means more business startups, more funding for business expansions, and greater economic empowerment for everyone living and working in under-invested communities. A small business loan isn’t just a loan: it represents a chance at building community wealth, improving quality of life, and creating positive, sustainable change.

Our Unique Approach

Access to capital is only part of the equation — albeit a big one. Business owners often need support in addition to funding. That is why Northern Initiatives provides coaching, resources, and tools to help our customers achieve their business goals.

What Success Looks Like

Business Ownership

Communities where your access to capital is defined by the quality of your business. 

Startups and Growth

Businesses that build better futures for themselves, their employees and their communities.

Strong Communities

From jobs to resources, our small business partners are helping their employees and communities thrive.

Our Impact

$ 0 M

Given in small business loans

0

Total jobs created and retained by our small business loans

0 %

Of our loan customers receive additional business support

0 %

Of our 2022 customers were startups

Our Customers

Loans By Region  2017-2023

Featured Success Stories

Edmonds Trucking

Grand Rapids, Michigan
Jerry Edmonds loves the freedom and the rush of trucking. “It’s hurry-up, but organized and structured,” he said. His family – parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles…
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Beesmooth Cafe, The Buzz

Manistee, Michigan
Natasha Partridge is ready to move. Her café’s original location, with a furnace installed the same year she was born, is draining her. “Everything I…
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The Candied Yam

Grand Rapids, Michigan
Jessica Tyson is involved. She’s involved in her community, her partnerships, her church, her family, and – at the center - her business. The Candied…
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First Catch

Baraga, Michigan
Paul Smith really likes to fish and is more than ready to make a living at it. But sometimes, the winds of fortune blow strangely.…
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Millie’s Farms

Newaygo, Michigan
A loan to Millie’s Farms, a woman-owned family farm in Big Prairie Township near Newaygo, put Northern Initiatives over the $100 million mark in loans…
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