Campaign
Explore our thematic campaign driving economic opportunities and discover how you can support families, small businesses, and communities across Michigan.
Support Michigan's Black-owned and Latino-owned Small Businesses
Our goal is to raise $15,000 in 30 days to help Black-owned and Latino-owned small business owners access the support they need to build stronger businesses and brighter futures.
Together, we can help entrepreneurs create opportunity—not only for themselves, but for their employees, families, and communities.
- $20 provides educational materials for one entrepreneur
- $50 supports one hour of financial education programming
- $100 provides one entrepreneur access to a financial education workshop
- $250 supports three sessions of personalized business coaching
- $500 helps fund one SmartCEO Accelerator session
- $1,000 sponsors one entrepreneur’s participation in the SmartCEO Accelerator
Every Small Business Has a Story
When Karmen opened Marvelous Kidz Learning Center in Grand Rapids, she was helping families overcome one of the region’s most pressing challenges: access to affordable, high-quality childcare. In a community where childcare shortages force parents to leave the workforce and delay career goals, her center now serves dozens of children and supports working families every day. [Learn More]
When Jacqueline, an immigrant pharmacist, opened her independent pharmacy in Ypsilanti, she stepped into a critical healthcare gap. Shortly after opening, her pharmacy absorbed over 70% patients left behind by another chain pharmacy closure, helping ensure community members could continue receiving medications and care without interruption. [Learn More]
When Elisa started M&I Interiors, a Latino-owned construction company in Grand Rapids, they began with conversations around a kitchen table and a desire to serve her community while creating generational wealth. As access to working capital became a barrier, OppFund provided a loan at a moment of acute need, accelerating her firm into the largest commercial contract. [Learn More]
These stories are different, but they share a common thread—they are stories of entrepreneurs who saw a need in their communities and were willing to do the hard work to meet it. They are creating jobs, supporting families, improving access to essential services, and building stronger local economies.
At OppFund, we believe entrepreneurs should not be held back by limited access to opportunity. Through financial education, business coaching, leadership development, and access to capital, we help business owners build stronger businesses that create lasting impact in their communities.
When you support this campaign, you help more entrepreneurs like Karmen, Jacqueline, and Elisa turn vision into opportunity, for themselves, their employees, their families, and the communities they serve.
Small Business Owners Need Your Support
Black-owned and Latino-owned businesses play a vital role in Michigan’s inclusive economy. Despite their impact, many entrepreneurs continue to face significant challenges accessing the resources necessary to grow their businesses.
According to a 2024 Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago survey, Black-owned small businesses in Detroit identified access to capital as one of their most pressing unmet needs, particularly for working capital, small-dollar loans, and short-term cash flow support.
Research from the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative found that Latino-owned businesses are significantly less likely to receive the full financing they request compared with White-owned businesses. Latino entrepreneurs also continue to report challenges accessing business resources and support services that are culturally and linguistically accessible.
These barriers don’t just affect individual business owners. They impact families, employees, neighborhoods, and local economies.
The good news is that targeted support can help entrepreneurs overcome these challenges and unlock new opportunities for growth.
Your Contribution Empowers Many
For more than 40 years, OppFund has worked alongside small business entrepreneurs to help them build financially healthy, sustainable businesses.
Funds raised through this campaign will support two complementary initiatives that help business owners at different stages of their entrepreneurial journey.
1. Financial Empowerment for Black and Latino Entrepreneurs
A strong business starts with a strong financial foundation. Many entrepreneurs begin with great ideas and deep industry expertise, but may not have access to the financial knowledge and tools that support long-term business success.
Your donation will help entrepreneurs:
- Strengthen personal and business financial management skills
- Understand cash flow, budgeting, and financial planning
- Build and improve business credit
- Prepare for financing opportunities
- Increase financial confidence and resilience
Through workshops, coaching, and practical tools, entrepreneurs gain the skills needed to make informed decisions, navigate challenges, and build stronger businesses.
2. SmartCEO Accelerator
Growing a business requires a different set of skills than starting one. The SmartCEO Accelerator is designed for a cohort of established small business entrepreneurs who are ready to take their businesses to the next level.
Your donation will help business owners:
- Develop strategic growth plans
- Strengthen leadership and management skills
- Improve business operations and profitability
- Access expert advisors and industry mentors
- Build networks that open doors to new opportunities
The Accelerator equips entrepreneurs to lead growing companies, create jobs, and expand their impact in the communities they serve.
Your Support Matters
When an entrepreneur succeeds, the impact extends far beyond the business itself. A stronger business can mean:
- More local jobs
- Increased household income
- Greater economic stability for families
- New opportunities for employees
- More vibrant neighborhoods
- Stronger local economies
Your gift helps entrepreneurs move from surviving to thriving. It helps business owners gain the confidence to make financial decisions, the leadership skills to grow their companies, and the resources needed to create lasting impact in their communities.
Most importantly, it helps ensure that talent, determination, and vision—not barriers to opportunity—determine an entrepreneur’s future.
If you are an OppFund-supported small business, we welcome in-kind donations of your branded merchandise with a minimum contribution of 10 items. They will be used to support our investor outreach and fundraising work.
Please send donations to:
Opportunity Resource Fund1155 Brewery Park Blvd Suite 250
Detroit, MI 48207
Hear from Small Business Entrepreneurs
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