Java Hope Project empowers jobless with entrepreneurship

Brenda Moore believes people without jobs who are receiving government assistance can improve their prospects with coffee. A coffee business, actually.

The Java Hope Project focuses on helping women break the cycle of poverty through business development by offering extensive small-business skills training programs. The Ypsilanti-based non-profit does this by teaching its clients the basics of budgeting and running a business, then gives them opportunity to start their own coffee stand business.

"It's a rigorous program," says Moore, executive director of the Java Hope Project. "We require they show up to class everyday. If something catastrophic happens they are required to call in."

The idea is that sparking the entrepreneurial spirit in these women will help them break the cycle of poverty. Moore points out that it not only helps them learn how to live within a budget but also give them a path to make a good income through their own business. Moore claims operators of these coffee stands have the potential to make in excess of $100,000 a year.

"It can be very lucrative because unlike coffee shops it doesn't have a high overhead," Moore says.

The Java Hope Project has a staff of three and is in its first class of eight people and expects to expand that by the end of the year. Moore hopes to offer the Java Hope Project's services across Metro Detroit one day. The non-profit also recently took first place in the New Enterprise Idea category of the Pure Michigan Social Entrepreneurship Challenge, a prize worth $5,000 in seed capital.

Source: Brenda Moore, executive director of the Java Hope Project
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.