Community
Support

Community
Support

People helping people.

By the summer of 2020, many restaurants and stores had reopened their doors after a difficult spring navigating the complexities of the COVID-19 pandemic. Though many businesses had reopened with restrictions in place, the hard work was far from over.

Knowing that small businesses across the state were struggling from lost revenue and the changing economic environment, we partnered with Patronicity1 to host the Great Lakes Giveback, a crowdfunding campaign to support local businesses. From restaurants to fitness centers, the crowdfunded donations helped small businesses across the state make mortgage and rent payments, keep employees on payroll, purchase PPE, and have a financial cushion until more guidance was released around the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

We committed $75,000 to the Great Lakes Giveback. Through that funding, we matched up to $1,000 in crowdfunded donations for each participating business. We heard stories of resilience. Gratitude. And creativity. Together, we can make an impact.

Impact by the numbers:
  • 44 campaigns ran from June 22-July 31
  • Participating businesses could receive $1,000 in matched funds from Lake Trust.
  • We matched $40,135 in donations, and the remaining $34,865 of our commitment was distributed between the 48 businesses
  • 1,192 patrons donated $97,000
  • In total, we awarded $172,000 to local businesses during the campaign

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Smyrna Bar & Restaurant was the top fundraiser, collecting $11,170 in donations to build a new outdoor dining area.

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People helping people video

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The Lake Trust Latest
Click On Detroit1
Concentrate Media1
Livingston Daily1
Live in the D1
Detroit Free Press1
Livingston Post1

Smyrna Bar & Restaurant was the top fundraiser, collecting $11,170 in donations to build a new outdoor dining area.

Read how the campaign impacted three businesses.

Great Lakes Post
Apple Blossom Kombucha Logo
UnoDeuce Media Logo

Read how the campaign impacted three businesses.

Giving back to community storytellers.

After his son was diagnosed with autism, Stefan Kogler worried about the future opportunities that would be available to his child. The interview process for potential jobs can be extremely difficult for individuals with special needs. Recognizing that his son was an extremely talented writer, Stefan founded the Great Lakes Post, an online publication dedicated to covering sports and entertainment topics in America. This organization has given Stefan’s son and many other individuals with special needs the opportunity to showcase their talents and creativity as writers, photographers, graphic designers, and videographers.

When the pandemic hit and funding dwindled, Stefan wasn’t sure how he was going to continue supporting his staff. With community support through the Great Lakes Giveback, however, the Great Lakes Post raised $2,375 and received a $1,000 match from Lake Trust. The funds were used to pay the salaries of the staff at Great Lakes Post.

Stefan shares the impact that the Great Lakes Giveback had on the organization:

“Obviously, the pandemic has affected individuals, families, communities, businesses. People have lost their jobs. Businesses have closed and it hit Great Lakes Post pretty hard as well. We are funded through sponsorship. And during this uncertain time, we didn't know where that funding would come [from] because all the money that we raise through sponsorship goes directly to the salaries of our staff.

During these crazy times, we did everything we could to make sure that our staff writers and photographers were financially compensated, and we were running on fumes. It wasn’t until we heard about the Great Lakes Giveback initiative that there was hope for us. Lake Trust is known for their community outreach and their promise to multiply positive impact. And when they promise something like that, they mean it. It resonated with Great Lakes Post because they offered us their support in finding ways for us to reach out to the community to raise funds to keep our uniquely talented individuals financially compensated.

It’s initiatives like the Great Lakes Giveback program that take communities and turn them into incredible communities, and I’d like to thank Lake Trust Credit Union for having positively impacted the quality of life of these amazingly talented individuals.”

Read more about this business at:
https://greatlakespost.com/1

The power of connection.

Caley Gunthorpe’s business, Apple Blossom Kombucha, was just starting to take off when the pandemic hit. Though stores were starting to cut back on stock due to dwindling sales attributed to the pandemic, Caley was still having success selling her kombucha (fermented tea that naturally yields living probiotics and electrolytes) at local farmers’ markets. She was outgrowing her current space at the Allen Street Neighborhood Center in Lansing, but funding to grow her business was hard to find at the time. Many grants and sponsorships required her business to have more individuals on the payroll or meet yearly revenue requirements. How was her start-up supposed to take the next step?

So, she decided to take a chance and apply for the Great Lakes Giveback. Upon acceptance into the program, Caley created a campaign for Apple Blossom Kombucha in the hopes that she could raise funds to help with rent in a bigger space and to purchase new equipment.

“At first I was super scared to put myself out there in front of all of my friends and family and customers, saying ‘Hey, give me money.’ But I put my heart and soul into writing my campaign and what I needed it for. And I think I raised my whole fund or the max amount in two days. It was so overwhelming.”

With the $1,100 she raised plus the $1,000 grant from Lake Trust, Caley was able to buy a new label machine and a new bottling machine, so she doesn’t have to cap all of the kombucha bottles by hand. And she was able to move to a larger space for brewing the tea. The campaign also helped Caley connect with customers and gave her the opportunity to personally thank them for supporting her.

“Great Lakes Giveback is a grant that has helped so much because there were no limitations.”

Learn more about this business at:
https://www.appleblossomkombucha.com/1

Apple Blossom Kombucha Co.
UnoDeuce Media
Finding the perfect match.

Serendipity. This is how Paul Schmidt, owner of UnoDeuce Media in Lansing, described the opportunity to join Great Lakes Giveback. As a member of Lake Trust for over 10 years, he felt an instant connection to the campaign because it aligned with his own work helping local nonprofits and socially responsible small businesses tell their impact stories. Paul is used to creating tools for nonprofits to use for fundraising efforts but joining the Great Lakes Giveback gave him the opportunity to be on the other side of the story, trying to raise funds himself.

In June 2020, he kicked off his campaign on Patronicity with a unique twist: The funds raised would be used to give back to other community organizations in addition to supporting his own business. He asked his followers to vote and decide on one of three local organizations to receive a free video to promote their services. Participants could vote for Lansing Spartan Youth Organization, All of the Above Hip Hop Academy, or One Love Global.

“I had this idea, months ago, to build this grant program so folks who feel like they don’t have funds can come to somebody for a grant to have a video made. I thought this [Great Lakes Giveback] was a good way to put it out there,” said Paul.

At the end of the campaign, UnoDeuce Media had exceeded their initial goal by almost $400 and received a matching grant from Lake Trust. Since fundraising was so successful, Paul decided to end his Great Lakes Giveback story a little differently than planned. All three Lansing-area organizations would receive a free video from his video storytelling agency, instead of just one.

Learn more about this business at:
https://www.unodeuce.com/1

Together, Lake Trust and the Lake Trust Foundation contributed $417,662 to Michigan communities in the form of sponsorships, grants, contributions, and scholarships in 2020.

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Supporting Main Street.

We started 2020 with plans to support local businesses in Howell, Lansing, and Mt. Pleasant by contributing to area rental subsidy programs. These programs help new businesses in downtown districts with a portion of their rent costs during their first year of business. This additional funding fosters entrepreneurship and serves as an engine of economic development in the community.

However, after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it became apparent that small businesses needed assistance with other, more pressing costs. We worked with Downtown Lansing Inc. to repurpose $10,000 of our $22,950 commitment from the Make It Downtown Lansing rent subsidy program to help support a new crowdfunding grant called Lansing Has Heart1. This program focused on helping businesses in the downtown district with rent and mortgage payments during the pandemic. Our support helped Downtown Lansing Inc. provide $3,000 grants to seven businesses in Downtown Lansing.

Around the same time, we also committed $25,000 to the Small Town, Big Hearts1 crowdfunding initiative in Brighton by partnering with the City of Brighton DDA. We pledged to match up to $750 for each business that participated in the campaign. We also awarded an extra $1,000 to four businesses who we felt embodied the spirit of Brighton and the spirit of Lake Trust. By the end of the campaign, contributions from 825 donors, plus our match program, provided more than $75,000 for 25 small businesses.

In late fall, many restaurants and businesses were still struggling due to capacity restrictions, reduced foot traffic, and the need for outdoor dining. So, we worked with Downtown Lansing Inc. again to award $1,500 grants to help downtown businesses get ready for the winter shopping season. The Power of Local program provided funding for businesses to create online shopping sites and brightly lit store displays that encouraged shoppers to stop inside.

By the end of 2020, we gave back over $166,350 to local, downtown businesses in Michigan through rent subsidy programs, contributing to local crowdfunding initiatives, and awarding grants.

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Our new home in Downtown Lansing.

In December 2020, our much-anticipated move to a new home in Downtown Lansing took place. Our relocation from 501 S. Capitol Ave. to a brand-new, standalone building at 624 S. Washington Ave. was a pivotal moment for both our members and our team. With a long history in the Lansing area, the nearly 3,600-square-foot relationship center solidified our commitment to the reinvestment and growth of Downtown Lansing.

To continue our support of the area, our new building features a community room. We look forward to hosting events and facilitating conversations with our neighbors in this space. In line with our sustainability efforts, green features of the building include on-site irrigation, scheduled LED lights, double insulated exterior walls, and more.

Instead of a traditional grand opening celebration, we hosted three free financial wellbeing webinars for members and the community. Topics included buying a home, retirement planning, and small business resources. The webinar content was well-received, with 199 people in attendance.

During the grand opening, our new and current members also joined us in our efforts to combat hunger. We ran a 10-day program where we donated $10 to the Greater Lansing Food Bank and also deposited $10 into each new account. Together, we were able to provide 750 meals for the food bank through this program. That’s the power of working together.

Three outdoor video teller machines at the branch make it possible for our members to engage with a Lake Trust team member in real-time during extended hours.

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Downtown Lansing branch

Three outdoor video teller machines at the branch make it possible for our members to engage with a Lake Trust team member in real-time during extended hours.

Employee working

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In 2020, we processed over 12,000 loans for over $392 million in CDFI designated communities. These loans help spur economic development by providing access to affordable financial products and services for consumers and businesses in underserved Michigan neighborhoods.

Working for good.

In 2020, we received the final installment of funding for our Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) grant. The grant funds of nearly one million dollars enabled us to support small businesses and foster growth in underserved communities in Michigan over the past three years.

With this support, we created a new micro business loan product, which can be used for loan requests under $50,000. We identified this need after learning that new, and even established businesses, lacked funding options to start or grow their operations. Since launching our micro business loan program in 2019, we’ve granted 236 loans for a total of $5.5 million. During the pandemic, these loans provided a financial cushion during a time of economic uncertainty and offered relief for business members who needed funding to pay for unforeseen expenses.

In September 2020, we received news that we were approved for a second round of CDFI funding. So far, we have received $433,000 of our $750,000 in grant funds. This additional capital will allow us to potentially assist 400 more businesses in the state and continue investing in communities that have historically lacked access to capital. This opportunity will also help us continue our mission of empowering our members and improving their financial wellbeing.

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Pymnts.com1

In 2020, we processed over 12,000 loans for over $392 million in CDFI designated communities. These loans help spur economic development by providing access to affordable financial products and services for consumers and businesses in underserved Michigan neighborhoods.

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