Finding Funding for Your Business
The best revenue is earned revenue but sometimes a business requires financial services to navigate new opportunities for growth, expansion, and fluctuations in seasonal markets. Join NLEA and Venture North for a training and networking workshop designed to navigate the landscape of financing opportunities for small businesses. This will include:
- Introduction to NLEA's services and Venture North's programs
- Identifying and locating property for your business venture
- Tax abatement opportunities for commercial and industrial development
- Funding and financing
- Traditional financing
- Alternative Low-interest loans
- Business grant opportunities
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Other partner organizations that can support your business enterprise
Join us on Wednesday, January 28th from 12:30 – 2:30 PM at the Cheboygan Area Public Library.
Thank You to Our Committed Sponsor: Awakon Federal Credit Union.
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Catalyst Conversations: Ag Industry Updates
There are over 1,200 farms in the NLEA region generating more than $78.9 million in agricultural products according to the 2022 Census of Agriculture. NLEA’s Catalyst Conversations event will dive into the regional agriculture industry landscape. A panel of industry experts –including Greg Shooks, Owner of Cellar 1914 and Shooks Farms; Dr. Jaime Luke, Assistant Professor in Michigan State University’s Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics; Ted Sherman, Operations Manager at Burnette Foods; and Patrick McGuire, Owner of Royal Farms
— will discuss the events and trends shaping the regional agricultural sector.
Join us on Wednesday, February 18th from 10 AM – 12 PM at the Historic Elk Rapids Town Hall.
Thank you to our committed sponsors: Networks Northwest and the Elk Rapids Chamber of Commerce.
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2026 Economic Symposium
In case you missed it – our early bird registration has opened for the 2026 Economic Symposium taking place on Friday, May 15th at Boyne Mountain Resort! The 2026 event, themed “Made, Grown, and Built in Northern Michigan,” will shine a spotlight on the industries that fuel our economy and shape our communities.
There are still select sponsorship opportunities available! Contact Sam Bailey to learn more.
Thank you to our committed sponsors: Consumers Energy, Enbridge, Great Lakes Energy, Networks Northwest, Baker College, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, ITC Holdings, and Kilwins.
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Education and Policy
NLEA's Sam Bailey Accepted into the Inaugural Leading Rural Michigan Program
The NLEA is excited to announce that Strategic Initiatives Manager, Sam Bailey, was selected for the inaugural cohort of the Leading Rural Michigan program. The Michigan Office of Rural Prosperity and Michigan State University Extension are leading this new, year-long program designed to equip emerging leaders with the tools, perspectives, and relationships necessary to lead change in their rural communities. Sam shared, “I am thrilled to represent the NLEA and the region in this program and looking forward to learning from rural leaders across the state to bring best practices back to our region.”
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Education and Policy
NLEA Shares Update on the Sunset of Key Redevelopment Resources
Despite efforts to extend the sunset of the Commercial Rehabilitation and Commercial Redevelopment Acts, critical local economic development tools, these acts sunset in 2025. The tools have long played an important role in helping communities facilitate redevelopment and small businesses close financing gaps for the construction and redevelopment of commercial properties in locally approved commercial areas across Northern Michigan. With the sunset of these acts, communities will see slower reinvestment in vacant properties and underutilized commercial corridors. Senate Bills 721 and 722 cleared the Senate and were and referred to the House Finance Committee for consideration.
NLEA is sharing this information to help local leaders, businesses, and partners better understand what’s at stake and how allowing this act to sunset negatively impacts locally driven economic development efforts.
| | We Can Help You Fund Your Next Project! | | |
Grants and Incentives Assistance
The NLEA has a team of economic and community development professionals with experience in grant writing services and incentive assistance to support your next development project. Contact Jessica Lovay to see how we can help you!
Low-Interest Business Loan Assistance
We can help you explore your financing options through our partnerships with Great Lakes Energy (GLE) and Venture North. Reach out to Dave Kronberg to learn more about these programs and how you may qualify.
Great Lakes Energy Loan Programs
- 0% GLE USDA Loan (up to $1M)
- GLE Revolving Loan Fund (up to $250,000)
Venture North Loan Programs
- Express Loan ($5 - $25,000)
- New Business Micro Loan (up to $50,000)
- Existing Small Business Loan (up to $350,000)
| | New Michigan Research and Development Tax Credit | | Michigan’s Research & Development (R&D) Tax Credit is a new incentive designed to support businesses that invest in innovation and product development. Businesses that conduct qualifying R&D activities—such as research intended to discover technological information, experimentation to develop or improve a product, process, or system, or testing focused on improving functionality, performance, reliability, or quality—in Michigan may be able to reduce their tax liability by claiming this credit. Companies of various sizes that are actively developing, improving, or testing products, processes, or technologies may be eligible for the credit. | | CTE Hiring Event Hosted by CharEm-ISD | | |
Char-Em ISD’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) Department is hosting a Hiring Event that offers businesses a direct pipeline to highly trained, job-ready talent just before graduation. This exclusive event connects employers with seniors who have completed rigorous, hands-on technical programs in high-demand fields such as construction trades, manufacturing, automotive, welding, agriculture, culinary, and more. Businesses can conduct on-the-spot interviews, shorten their hiring timelines, and make immediate job offers to candidates prepared with resumes, portfolios, and industry certifications in hand. If your organization is looking to fill immediate openings with skilled, motivated workers ready to enter the workforce, this event is a valuable opportunity to recruit locally and efficiently. Register your business by February 13th, 2026.
Event Dates & Locations:
• Harbor Springs High School — March 4th, 2026 | 8:00 AM–12:00 PM
• Boyne City High School — March 17th, 2026 | 8:00 AM–12:00 PM
| | 2026 Microloan for Farmers' Applications Now Open! | | Access to capital can be a major barrier for small farms and food businesses looking to start or grow. Crosshatch’s microloan program—offered in partnership with Oryana Community Co-op—helps address this challenge by providing zero-interest loans ranging from $500 to $10,000. These loans support local food production and strengthen the long-term sustainability of farms and food businesses across the region. Applications for the 2026 microloans are now open for eligible businesses in Antrim, Benzie, Leelanau, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Manistee, Missaukee, and Wexford counties and are due by February 17th, 2026. | | Networks Northwest Releases the Northwest Michigan Hybrid and Remote Worker Study | | Networks Northwest has released a new Northwest Michigan Hybrid and Remote Worker Study examining the region’s growing remote and hybrid workforce. Supported by funding from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and informed by surveys of nearly 800 respondents, focus groups, and national data, the report provides insight into workforce trends, demographics, and the needs of teleworking professionals across the ten-county region. The NLEA supported the study alongside regional partners by hosting an in-person focus group in Petoskey to gather firsthand input from remote workers, assisting with marketing efforts, and using the findings to inform talent attraction strategies, workforce retention, and community adaptation as telework continues to impact more than 23% of the regional workforce. | | Learn More About NLEA Services | | The NLEA is a nonprofit economic development organization serving Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, and Emmet Counties and has been helping businesses and communities succeed and grow since 1984. Whether you are a community looking for assistance with property redevelopment and grant management or a business looking for assistance to secure funding for new equipment or expansion, the NLEA is here to help you. Learn more about these and additional services below. | | |
Meet Dave!
As your local resource, we're here to help your business succeed and grow -- with support for funding, site selection, local incentives, development, and data to back your project. Learn more below.
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Meet Jessica!
We support communities in retaining and attracting year-round, family sustaining jobs through economic development training, local incentives, and infrastructure funding. Learn more below.
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