Lenawee Now Serivces
Look At What’s In Our Toolbox
Lenawee Now offers a variety of resources and incentives to help support and enhance business growth for new and existing businesses. With help from Lenawee Now, you can access the tools necessary to build your business. Lenawee Now is pleased to provide this toolbox. Inside, you will find brief descriptions of local programs designated to help you construct your emerging business.
Financing
Investments | Funds
Lenawee Now works with businesses and organizations with programs to help them grow and create jobs in Lenawee County, Michigan.
Workforce Development
Lenawee Now works alongside Workforce Development Organizations to create training opportunities for employers and job seekers.
Entrepreneurial Services
Lenawee Now helps provide resources, financial and legal technical assistance, training, and access to funding entrepreneurs,
Economic AND TAX SErvices
Lenawee Now offers assistance with business and tax programs that allows businesses to grow through tax exemptions and other economic services.
Our Tools
Financing
Investments | Funds
Lenawee Now loan funds and programs are used to help your business grow and prosper to ensure economic success and job security in Lenawee County, MI.
Lenawee County Business Revolving Loan Fund
The Lenawee County Business Revolving Loan Fund helps businesses get started, grow, and provide jobs in Lenawee County. This program works in conjunction with private financers (banks, equity) to provide financing ($25,000 to $500,000) for projects.ichigan Works! Southeast+2WLEN-FM Radio 103.9+2
USDA Loan Programs
The Lenawee Now USDA Loan program has the funding necessary to assist small businesses to get started, to grow, and to provide jobs in Lenawee County. This program works in conjunction with private financing (banks, equity) to provide micro-financing ($10-$25K) for projects. Loans are specifically tailored for businesses that, for whatever reason, have found it difficult to meet traditional lending institution requirements.
This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Lenawee Investment Opportunity Network Fund (LION Fund)
The LION Fund was started to provide entrepreneurs and startup businesses with access to the necessary funding to start or expand a small business. The LION Fund consists of a team of local investors who look to spur growth in Lenawee County. Residents with new business ideas can contact Lenawee Now, who will help with conducting market research, creating financial projections, and developing a business plan.
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Great Lakes Women’s Business Council
This program provides small business loans to start-up and existing enterprises, owned by women or men. GLWBC loans have a $50,000 maximum.n Lenawee+2Align Lenawee+2
Our Tools
Workforce Development
There are several key workforce development organizations in Lenawee County, Michigan:
Michigan Works! Southeast — Serving Lenawee County through a One-Stop Career Center in Adrian, Michigan Works! Southeast helps job seekers access training, career counseling, and placement services, and partners with employers on workforce grant programs. Michigan Works! Southeast+2WLEN-FM Radio 103.9+2
Lenawee Now — This public-private economic development organization plays a central role in workforce development, working closely with employers, educators, and other stakeholders. They run talent-pipeline initiatives, employer-led collaboratives, and support for skills-training projects. Lena Weenow+2Lena Weenow+2
Align Center for Workforce Development — A newer, dedicated workforce center based at 440 E. Church Street in Adrian. Align offers career exploration, customized job training, and connections between job seekers, employers, and educators.
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Align Lenawee Talent Consortium — Convened by Lenawee Now and other partners, this consortium brings together educators, businesses, parents, and students to align training programs with local employer needs, co-design credential pathways, and foster career readiness.
Child Care Network (Hillsdale / Lenawee / Monroe) — This organization works on workforce issues related to early childhood care, supporting local businesses and their employees through child care planning, scholarship programs, and resources to reduce child care barriers for working parents. Child Care Network
These organizations work in coordinated ways — combining services, training, and employer engagement — to strengthen the local talent pipeline, reduce employment barriers, and help meet the workforce needs of Lenawee County’s economy.
Local economic development organizations like Lenawee Now partner with Michigan Works Southeast and Align Center for Workforce Development to deliver workforce training programs, addressing barriers such as training space, transportation and childcare, and helping participants significantly boost their wages.
Our Tools
Entrepreneurial
Services
Lenawee Now Entrepreneurial Services include:
LION Fund
There are many steps to launching a new company, including securing capital to cover crucial startup expenses. Often, traditional funding isn’t a feasible option at the early stage of development, which can hinder or stall a new business. To increase entrepreneurial activities in Lenawee County, a group of investors and Lenawee Now created the Lenawee Investment Opportunity Network Fund (LION Fund). Designed to provide entrepreneurs and startups access to the necessary funding to start or expand a small business, each of the local investors has contributed to the economic success of Lenawee, including ProMedica who has kick-started the fund with a generous investment.
Launch Lenawee
Launch Lenawee is a business development incubator project operating in the Adrian Armory Events Center. Launch Lenawee uses the expertise of the community resources already available. It offers support for entrepreneurs and small businesses by providing access to business development services, mentorship, business loans, and networking opportunities.
Square One
Entrepreneurship starts at square one with an original idea and can blossom into a billion-dollar business. Lenawee Now designed Square One so that people can share their business ideas with the world and get instant feedback (and maybe even a little cash). Our community has a rich tradition of great entrepreneurs and their new ideas.
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SBA Programs
SBA loan guarantee programs provide a financial guarantee to qualified, eligible businesses to enhance their ability to obtain long-term capital financing from lenders.
BAT
Each semester, a team of Adrian College interns work alongside the staff at Lenawee Now to help clients with business expansion and retention in Lenawee County. This team works closely with startup and existing companies on customer discovery, startup planning, marketing, business plans, and financial pro forma’s. The common goal among projects is to give the client the best opportunity to receive financing. This rigorous program provides interns with practical application of what they have been learning in the classroom and exposes them to real-life business situations preparing them for professional careers.
Capital Access Program
The Capital Access Program works similar to a loan loss reserve fund. The bank, the borrower, and the MEDC pay a small premium into a reserve that makes it possible for the eligible borrower to receive financing.
Venture Capital & Angel Sources of Funding
As part of the Greater Ann Arbor Region (GAAR), Lenawee businesses have access to a wealth of venture capitalists and Angel investors. The mission of these private firms is to make equity investments in early-stage and emerging growth companies.
Lean Rocket Local
The Lean Rocket Local Fellows Program removes common barriers for local entrepreneurs by providing resources, financial and legal technical assistance, training, and access to funding through a partnership with American 1 Credit Union.
Michigan Business Growth Fund Collateral Support Program
The Collateral Support Program seeks to enable eligible companies to acquire the necessary financing that might otherwise be unavailable due to a collateral shortfall. The program will supply pledged cash collateral accounts to lenders to achieve this goal for approved projects.
Michigan Business Growth Fund Loan Participation Program
The Michigan Loan Participation program is designed to assist eligible businesses to finance expansion or diversification projects. The program will participate with lenders to provide financing to pursue this goal for approved projects.
Crowdfunding
Public Act 264 of 2013 gives non-accredited Michigan investors a streamlined process to invest in Michigan Small Business; in turn allowing these businesses to raise the much needed capital typically denied to them to start or expand their business.
Our Tools
Economic and Tax Services
Lenawee Now works with local businesses to help access to economic and tax services for Lenawee County Businesses.
Property Assessed Clean Energy
PACE is real estate financing available to commercial property owners to reduce energy/water waste. Through PACE, commercial property owners can receive 100% financing for energy efficiency improvements to their buildings. Lean & Green Michigan is the statewide administrator for PACE financing.
Michigan Business Development Program
This program is designed to provide incentives, loans or other economic assistance to businesses for highly competitive projects in Michigan that create jobs and/or provide investment. The Michigan Business Development Program (MBDP) is available to eligible businesses that create qualified new jobs and/or make qualified new investment in Michigan
Industrial and High-Tech Property Tax Exemption
Public Act 198 of 1974 (P.A.198) provides property tax abatements to industrial processors, high-technology activity companies, research and development laboratories, and large communication centers which can reduce certain real property taxes by 50% on new investment. A P.A. 198 abatement is negotiated at the local municipal level and is available for up to 12 years.
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New Warehousing, Distribution and logistic Facilities in Border Counties
Public Act 138 provides up to a 50% reduction in real property taxes for a new warehouse, distribution, or logistic facilities located in a border county (Lenawee is a border county). To qualify for this incentive, at least 90% of the facility, excluding the surrounding green space, must be used for warehousing, distribution, or logistic purposes and occupy a building or structure at least 100,000 square feet in size.
Obsolete Property Protection
Public Act 146 of 2000 provides for a tax incentive to encourage the redevelopment of obsolete buildings. The tax incentive is designed to assist in the redevelopment of older buildings in which a facility is contaminated, blighted, or functionally obsolete. The taxable value on a facility is frozen for up to 12 years. By freezing the taxable value, a business can significantly improve a building without increasing the property taxes on the building.
Adrian-Tecumseh Smart Zone
A SmartZone is a state-authorized and financially supported tax increment financial district that supports expanding and developing high-tech businesses.
Commercial Rehabilitation Act
Public Act 210 of 2005 provides a property tax abatement for the rehabilitation of commercial property that is 15 years or older. The commercial rehabilitation tax freezes the taxable value of that building at the pre-rehabilitation level and only levies specific taxes on the new investments.
CONTACT Lenawee Now!
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