Michigan Municipal League

7 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 5 working capital, payroll, rent, utility payments, and other expenses by businesses that have suffered significant, COVID-related hardships. Adrian distributed the money evenly among the 22 local businesses, with each business receiving $2,272. ‘Small Town, Big Hearts’ in Brighton Brighton’s Downtown Development Authority last year launched its “Small Town, Big Hearts Initiative” to raise money for businesses struggling from the COVID pandemic. The DDA used the online Patronicity crowdfunding platform to connect donors with businesses seeking financial help. Lake State Credit Union matched contributions to individual businesses up to $750, for a total of $20,000. As of mid- April, 1650 patrons had contributed $55,372 to 25 businesses. Free Services to Business Owners in Dearborn COVID accelerated longtime plans by Dearborn’s Downtown Development Authorities to establish a business assistance team to provide a variety of free services to Dearborn business owners. Among those services are technical and financial consulting, and interns from the University of Michigan-Dearborn to provide marketing and business assistance. Dearborn also offered grants of up to $5,000 to COVID-affected microbusinesses that didn’t otherwise qualify for other types of government programs. The grants were funded by the New Economy Initiative, a Detroit-based philanthropy. The aid programs described above are just some of the dozens of initiatives undertaken by communities across the state to keep local businesses afloat during the historic pandemic. Markus said his city’s assistance programs were well worth the cost, noting, “At the end of the day, the damage from losing businesses would have been worse. The view was that’s why these government programs exist.” Article submitted by Matt Bach, assistant director of strategic communications for the Michigan Municipal League, and freelance writer Rick Haglund.