Community, philanthropic, and civic leaders in Pontiac, MI, recognized a critical opportunity to examine the roots of the city’s challenges in small business and affordable housing development.
The Pontiac Funders Collaborative in partnership with the Pontiac Community Foundation sought out the expertise of a consulting team that could examine both arenas and provide recommendations for a path forward. LEH partnered with The Eckblad Group to design and execute two market analysis projects aimed at providing clarity about on-the-ground challenges and actionable solutions. The consulting team began with an analysis that would help local leaders understand the capital landscape for socially and economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs in Pontiac and Community Development Financial Institution approaches to fill identified gaps. The Pontiac Funders Collaborative in partnership with the Pontiac Community Foundation published the resulting report, “CDFI Solutions to Support Small Business Capital Access in Pontiac, MI,” in October 2022. The second project featured analysis that would help local leaders understand what role CDFIs could play in providing access to capital to create more affordable housing units in Pontiac. The resulting report can be viewed here: Capital Solutions to Support Affordable Housing Access in Pontiac, MI. For both research projects, the consulting team, led by LEH’s Leslie Hoffman, used a multi-phase research method to first examine current market conditions in Pontiac, then identify and analyze potential capital access issues, solutions, and resources.
You can read the plan here:
