Northern Initiatives announced a boost to diverse small businesses in Michigan through a $500,000 Wells Fargo Foundation grant. The funding is part of the Wells Fargo Works for Small Business: Diverse Community Capital program, which offers capital and technical assistance to minority-owned small businesses through Community Development Financial Institutions. “Access to capital is one of the leading barriers minority entrepreneurs face when looking to start a business,” said Dennis West, President of Northern Initiatives. “This significant investment is vital to our ability to position diverse small business owners to successfully launch and grow.” Three years ago, Richard Flowers started Reliable Medical Transportation, LLC in Grand Rapids — which provides door-to-door non-emergency medical transportation for disabled, elderly, wheelchair-bound and insured clients —with no capital of his own. To launch his business, he borrowed $17,000 from various people in his network and secured a co-signer for the loans on his first two vehicles. Eighteen months after his launch, Flowers said he paid back the startup costs to his friends. As demand for his business grew, he took out additional loans to add more vehicles to his fleet, but because of not fitting with standard underwriting guidelines, these loans came with unfavorably high-interest rates. Through Grand Rapids Area Black Businesses, Flowers connected with Northern Initiatives to begin the process of securing financing for a $250,000 loan. Today thanks to financing from Northern Initiatives and Grand Rapids-based Rende Progress Capital, Flowers has expanded both his fleet and his employee base to meet the growing demand for his services. “As a Community Development Financial Institution, we focus on lending to applicants, like Richard, who can be challenged by underwriting blemishes, to find financing reasonably priced with terms that support the borrower’s profit plan,” states West. “We bring money and know-how to the small businesses we serve, making them and ultimately their communities, stronger.” A portion of the $500,000 grant from Wells Fargo will support enhancements to Initiate, Northern Initiatives’ online customer portal. Every loan customer has access to Initiate’s tools, resources, videos, and webinars to help them grow their business. With funding from Wells Fargo, Northern Initiatives will make Initiate more accessible to its Spanish-speaking customers in addition to offering it as a resource to other CDFIs, microlenders and other supporters of small business growth and development. “Our goal is to grow Initiate as a knowledge-building resource for not only our customers but for other organizations delivering technical assistance to small businesses,” says West. “Today we have 9 CDFIs using Initiate and helping small businesses in 32 states. With funding from Wells Fargo, we hope to grow that number significantly.” Wells Fargo Commercial Relationship Manager Charles Lott added, “Northern Initiatives is deeply embedded in the community and has the skill to deliver personalized coaching and services to underserved small business owners.”