Northern Initiatives

Northern Initiatives has been named Michigan SBA Microlender of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Association.

For more than three decades, Northern Initiatives has used SBA programs to help underserved entrepreneurs and small businesses access capital. According to the SBA, Northern Initiatives has issued 615 SBA microloans totaling $13,025,410 since 1994. In 2025, the year for which the organization is being honored, Northern Initiatives made 22 SBA microloans totaling $580,245.

The SBA microloan program provides loans of up to $50,000, with the average loan around $13,000. Across Michigan, the SBA delivered $1.3 billion in financing in 2025.

Chuck Hurst, Northern Initiatives Vice President of Lending, accepts the SBA Microlender of the Year Award from Laketa Henderson, SBA District Director.

This is one of our most inspirational businesses - Uproot Market & Eatery! First of all, it's in an historic downtown building that sat vacant for 50 years and has now been beautifully restored and enlivened. Second of all, it is a DELICIOUS store! The Battle Creek region has mastered the art of growing food, and Uproot seizes on all of it! Manager Stacy Niemann says this is the job she's always dreamed of. The ways the entrepreneurs and businesses in downtown Battle Creek support each other is the most inspirational thing of all.