Ann Arbor SPARK receives state funding to build out entrepreneurial services with local partner orgs

Last month, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced that Ann Arbor SPARK and 26 other Michigan organizations would receive more than $73 million to provide services to small businesses as entrepreneurial hubs.
 
SPARK will administer its $3.4 million grant to local business owners alongside several Washtenaw County partners, including Jewish Family Services, the Washtenaw Community College Entrepreneurship Center, the Michigan SBDC Greater Washtenaw Region, and others.
 
"We’re excited to administer [the grant] because it means we get to work closely with the community service providers in our region," says Kristine Nash-Wong, director of entrepreneurial services at SPARK, who will spearhead the project locally. "We have a lot of great resources for small businesses in our area to begin with and this enables us to grow those services and reach more businesses."
 
According to Nash-Wong, SPARK will also aid with enrollment, reporting, and marketing and promotion.
 
To spread the word about the grant to local business owners, Nash-Wong says, "we will be relying heavily on our community partners. … We're looking at a grassroots way of promoting this effort because we want to make sure that we're reaching all of the small businesses that will benefit from the program."
 
Each of SPARK’s partners in the effort will take a slightly different approach, Nash-Wong says.
 
While she says Jewish Family Services will provide "coaching and services for immigrant small business owners," for example, the Washtenaw Community College Entrepreneurship Center will focus on "an early-stage small business incubator."
 
"There's going to be a wide range of expertise available to help [business owners] with coaching and consulting," Nash-Wong says.
 
Business owners interested in learning more are encouraged to fill out the form under "Request Program Updates" at this link.

Natalia Holtzman is a freelance writer based in Ann Arbor. Her work has appeared in publications such as the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Literary Hub, The Millions, and others.