Empowering Communities for Change.
Unifying Residents, Local Businesses & Civic Leaders.
Connect & Celebrate
Join us for an evening of small business networking, connection, and celebration — bringing together small businesses, , financial institutions, and community leaders for one night at Three Cats in Clawson.
Date: August 13, 2026 Time: 5:00 – 7:00 PM Place: Three Cats, 116 W 14 Mile Rd, Clawson, MI 48017 Cost: Free — complimentary food & drinks included
The evening includes a short program and awards ceremony recognizing standout small business owners and our banking partners.
Space is limited.
Reserve your spot now.
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Our Mission
Community-Up empowers communities by promoting social equity, collaboration, and sustainable development.
Build Homes, Strengthen Communities
AAHC Homeownership Initiative
Since 2023, Community-Up has partnered with the Ann Arbor Housing Commission to prepare Housing Choice Voucher recipients for successful, sustainable homeownership. The program pairs weekly financial coaching with structured mortgage-readiness support — and it's produced real transitions from renting to owning
AAHC Homeownership Initiative
Since 2023, Community-Up has partnered with the Ann Arbor Housing Commission to prepare Housing Choice Voucher recipients for successful, sustainable homeownership. The program pairs weekly financial coaching with structured mortgage-readiness support — and it's produced real transitions from renting to owning:
- 10 households closed on homes across 2023–2025 (2 in 2023, 2 in 2024, 6 in 2025 — including 4 new-construction homes at Dorsey Estates, 1 long-term rental buyout, and 1 USDA-financed home)
- 35 residents fully pre-approved by lenders
- 133 residents coached 1:1 on credit, budgeting, and mortgage readiness since program launch
- Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program: 5 graduates and $80,000+ in escrow savings distributed in 2025 alone; 17 families exited housing assistance due to increased earnings
Homeownership Summits
Twice-yearly summits connect residents directly with lenders, housing counselors, and down-payment assistance programs. In 2025, two summits (April and November) drew a combined 324 registrations; across 2024–2025 the summits have reached 471 total participants.
Weekly Coaching & Workplans
Beyond the summits, Community-Up runs ongoing weekly sessions for voucher recipients — budgeting, debt-ratio planning, credit improvement, and long-term financial planning — with 71 participants engaged in 2025 alone (48 new, 23 returning).
Foster Local Business Success
MOMENTUM Accelerator
MOMENTUM is Community-Up's capital-readiness program — a cohort model that turns viable-but-unbankable small businesses into lender-ready enterprises. Each business leaves with a completed bankability matrix, a funding-readiness portfolio, and direct introductions to lenders and CDFIs.
- 29 small businesses completed the
MOMENTUM Accelerator
MOMENTUM is Community-Up's capital-readiness program — a cohort model that turns viable-but-unbankable small businesses into lender-ready enterprises. Each business leaves with a completed bankability matrix, a funding-readiness portfolio, and direct introductions to lenders and CDFIs.
- 29 small businesses completed the program across two cohorts (11 in 2024, 18 in 2025 — a 64% increase in enrollment)
- The share of graduates leaving bankable and approved for funding rose from 40% to 60% in one year
- Every graduate receives a Technical Assistance Grant covering 90 days of professional bookkeeping and QuickBooks setup, plus 6+ hours of individualized coaching
- Graduates are matched to 20+ partner organizations — CDFIs, banks, micro-lenders, and technical assistance providers
- Each cohort closes with a Showcase Day pitch competition; 2025 grant winners included businesses receiving $1,500, $1,000, and $500 in catalytic funding
- Next cohort launches Q3 2026
[Photo gallery: cohort sessions, showcase day, graduate spotlights]
Rebuild & Rise
In partnership with Washtenaw County, Rebuild & Rise puts capital directly into the hands of small business owners rebuilding after disruption — combining a structured cohort curriculum (bankability, cash flow, burnout prevention, AI/social media marketing) with direct grant funding.
- 15 graduates each received a $2,500 implementation grant ($37,500 total) to put toward CRM systems, marketing, equipment, or working capital
- Curriculum delivered through Community-Up's programming partner, Compliance and Community Consultants
Note: your notes described this as an 8-week cohort with $30K distributed — the signed contract specifies a 13-week curriculum and $37,500 in participant grants. Worth confirming which reflects what actually ran before this goes into a grant application.
HFC Entrepreneurship Hub / Money Moves Workshop Series
Community-Up helped launch Henry Ford College's Entrepreneurship Hub, designing and facilitating a three-part workshop series grounded in real lending experience — teaching entrepreneurs how businesses actually get funded, not just how to write a business plan.
- 65 total attendees across three workshops (Sell to Survive, Contracts & Cash, Scroll to Sold)
- 9.46/10 average likelihood to recommend the Hub to a friend
- Every core instructional measure (content quality, relevance, clarity) averaged above 4.0/5 across all sessions
- Funding/grants/lending access was the #1 topic participants asked to see more of
Women Empowering Financial Wellness
Building Data-Backed Community Alliances
Community-Up convenes women business leaders and community members around the intersection of money, mindset, and wellness — pairing financial literacy with sessions on the psychology of money and the health factors (energy, hormonal health, memory) that shape financial decision-making at every career stage.
Building Data-Backed Community Alliances
Building Data-Backed Community Alliances
- Wayne County Homeownership Preservation Initiative — outreach and program-building alongside the Wayne County Treasurer's Office, grounded in the County's own 10-year foreclosure recidivism data, to keep at-risk owner-occupied households out of tax foreclosure
- Taxpayer University — homeowner education curriculum built with the Washtenaw County Treasurer's Office
Support for Emerging Nonprofits
Connecting Community & Resources
Community-Up now offers fiscal sponsorship as a fee-for-service program: for organizations that don't yet have their own 501(c)(3) status, Community-Up acts as the nonprofit umbrella, allowing them to receive grants and tax-deductible donations under our umbrella while they build toward independent status.
- Fee: 5–10% of funds administered,
Community-Up now offers fiscal sponsorship as a fee-for-service program: for organizations that don't yet have their own 501(c)(3) status, Community-Up acts as the nonprofit umbrella, allowing them to receive grants and tax-deductible donations under our umbrella while they build toward independent status.
- Fee: 5–10% of funds administered, scaled to the level of financial oversight and reporting required
- Best fit for grassroots groups, emerging nonprofits, and community projects that need nonprofit status to access funding right now
Connecting Community & Resources
Connecting Community & Resources
Fostering community connections and resource sharing to create lasting impact and promote social equity.
Join the Movement
Empower Our Community
Your support drives change for a stronger, more connected community.
Our Partners
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Visit Us & Let's Grow!
We invite all community members to visit us during our hours to share ideas and collaborate on projects.
Our Community Hours
Open today | 09:00 am – 05:00 pm |
