Grand Traverse Industries blends business and purpose — creating real paychecks, real skills, and real belonging for people with disabilities while funding programs that build a more inclusive community.

We are creating a community-based location for our art studio and art gallery, as well as a cafe. This highlights both STEPs Culinary Program and our Progressive Art Studio Collective. We are creating opportunities for students who graduate from our advanced culinary program to so an internship prior to competitive, integrated employment. In addition, we are creating a space for artists to create their artwork, as well as inviting the public into the gallery to see the work and purchase pieces that appeal to them. Our social enterprise will support individual with intellectual/developmental disabilities to pursue their goals towards employment.

W.I.S.E. Partnership is a Detroit-based social enterprise developing the WISE Central Hub — a community-centered campus transforming vacant land into spaces for urban agriculture, youth entrepreneurship, workforce development, arts, and wellness.

Brookelyn’s Thrifty Threads is a youth‑led social enterprise that diverts textiles from landfills while providing hands‑on workforce development, mentoring, and community access to affordable clothing. It operates as a circular‑economy hub where young people learn sorting, pricing, customer service, and retail operations while keeping thousands of pounds of clothing in local reuse and recycling streams.

Rebel Nell is a Detroit-based social enterprise that empowers women facing barriers to employment by providing them with transitional support, comprehensive education, and jobs as creative designers. They create one-of-a-kind jewelry and accessories by repurposing fallen layers of local graffiti, turning urban history into wearable art.

Culinary Queens with Blue Diamonds is a social enterprise that teaches girls and young women ages 14–24 essential life and leadership skills through cooking, planting, harvesting, storing, and growing food. We also prepare youth for employment and help connect them to opportunities within the culinary arts industry, particularly with food trucks, mobile food businesses, and local restaurants.

Anastasia and Katie’s and the new Good and Strong Coffee Shop & Cafe, offer locally roasted coffee, house-made baked goods, snacks, smoothies, sandwiches and more. The cafes inclusively employ people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and serve as a training space for building skills for long-term employment, under the nonprofit Mi Work Matters.

Spark Works are eco-friendly, artisan fire starters handcrafted by adults with disabilities, combining natural wood shavings and wax in convenient 2 oz cups. These powerful, long-burning starters ensure a quick, mess-free, and reliable fire for campfires, fireplaces, or grills, while supporting meaningful vocational training and independence for their makers.

Uloma House is a community-based social enterprise that delivers integrated home care, health literacy, workforce development, and transportation services to underserved populations, particularly immigrants, seniors, and low-income families. We combine healthcare support and economic empowerment to reduce disparities while creating sustainable employment pathways within the communities we serve.

The WeCycle Outlet is a community-based resale store that gives electronics, office supplies, and refurbished office furniture items a second life while creating hands-on job training opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Every purchase supports environmental sustainability, workforce development, and meaningful employment right here in our community.

A big-hearted office supply store in the heart of Michigan, committed to meeting our community where they are — and building meaningful connections along the way.

Relax 9 is based in Detroit, Michigan, serving residents across the city and surrounding communities through workforce training and community-centered economic development initiatives.

Eye Care for Detroit is a mobile and clinic-based social enterprise that delivers affordable, high-quality eye exams, disease screening, and glasses directly to homebound and underserved residents. Our mission is to ensure that where you live or what you earn never determines whether you can see clearly and protect your vision for life.

Lincoln Stone Paper crafts eco-friendly, tree-free notebooks from sustainable stone paper, while empowering Detroit's underserved communities through employment and economic opportunity.

Most programs weren't built for neurodiverse families, and it shows. Community Canvas is bringing autism-informed art education to Monroe County, designed from the ground up so families finally find belonging and each other.

D’Artillery is a social enterprise supporting immigrant and refugee women to build skills for economic empowerment through sewing training, small batch manufacturing and ESL.