Business Innovation

Creating and maintaining sustainable jobs while generating wealth in the community
About Business Innovation

In order to advance our community revitalization efforts, Urban Upbound creates initiatives that increase assets, resources, and economic opportunities in the communities we serve. Our Worker Cooperatives Program works with local entrepreneurs to incubate worker-owned businesses.

Our objective is to create and maintain sustainable jobs, and to generate wealth in order to improve the quality of life of workers while at the same time promoting community and local development. Through our program, we have been able to incubate five cooperative businesses: OnPoint Security (the first cooperative business started by Urban Upbound!), OSHA Solutions, Paw Partners, Sunlight Ecoservices, and Progressive Cleaning Solutions.

Our Services

We take our clients from start-up to six-figures enterprises by offering technical assistance services in several areas of business development including:

  • Governance
  • Marketing and design
  • Financial planning
  • Strategic planning
  • M/WBE certification
  • Back office support
  • Access to capital through the UU Federal Credit Union
Who is Eligible?

Our services are available to individuals or groups at any stage in the business development process. While we champion the worker cooperative model, we also support BIPOC and low-income entrepreneurs looking to incorporate as a traditionally small business. Due to the high volume of demand for these services, we can’t always offer a high-touch approach to all clients. Please contact our team at [email protected] for more details.

Our business support specialists partner with the Urban Upbound Federal Credit Union and with various other service providers to offer a holistic approach. As such, we welcome referrals from partner organizations.

To learn more about Urban Upbound’s Business Innovation program and how to participate, contact us at [email protected].