Business financing in Washtenaw County.
County-by-county financing guides. No paperwork. No social. No ID.
1 institutions are headquartered inside the Washtenaw County line, Ann Arbor included, and 10 more keep a branch here. Below, we say which is which.
Not this lane? Home FinancingPersonal Financing
The doors in Washtenaw County.
The CDFIs, credit unions, and microlenders that actually say yes — county by county, in two languages. We are not a lender. Nobody paid to be listed. And where a county has no good doors, we say so.
- 11
- DOORS HERE
- 1
- BASED HERE
- 76
- MI COUNTIES WITH DOORS
- Lane
- Business Financing
- People
- 372Kresidents of Washtenaw County
- Covers
- Ann Arbor
- Elsewhere in MI
- Wayne County →43 doors — the biggest list of any other county in Michigan
- State
- Michigan →76 of 83 counties hold a door in this lane
Certified by the U.S. Treasury to lend where a bank will not. Nonprofit, patient, and used to a file that is not clean.
American 1 Credit Union · Michigan First Credit UnionOwned by their members, not by shareholders. They look at your whole story rather than a score, and that is the difference when a bank says no.
American 1 Credit Union · CommunityAmerica Credit Union- University of Michigan Credit UnionPersonal · Home · Business capital
Based elsewhere, with a member-facing office inside the Washtenaw County line. You can walk in.
- American 1 Credit UnionCDFI-certifiedPersonal · Home · Business capital
- CommunityAmerica Credit UnionPersonal · Home · Business capital
- Credit Union OnePersonal · Home · Business capital
- DFCU Financial Credit UnionPersonal · Home · Business capital
- Lake Michigan Credit UnionPersonal · Home · Business capital
- IN THIS LIST
2 of the 11 doors inside the county line are CDFI-certified.
The U.S. Treasury certifies them to lend to the people banks pass over. It is a loan, not a favour.
- Lake Trust Credit UnionPersonal · Home · Business capital
Show the other 4Show fewer
- Michigan First Credit UnionCDFI-certifiedPersonal · Home · Business capital
- Parda Credit UnionPersonal · Home · Business capital
- People Driven Credit UnionPersonal · Home · Business capital
- True Community Credit UnionPersonal · Home · Business capital
- Accion Opportunity FundAccepts ITIN
Nonprofit small-business lender. Accepts ITIN in place of SSN. Serves most states, in English and Spanish.
Business capital - Grameen AmericaAccepts ITIN
Microloans for women entrepreneurs. Requires photo ID and proof of address — no SSN requirement. Branches in major metro areas.
Business capital - Mission Asset FundAccepts ITIN
Zero-interest lending circles and credit building. SSN or ITIN accepted. Works through nonprofit partners across the country.
Personal
How to read this list.
We do not ask for your name, your email, or your number. Nothing on this page changes based on who you are.
A door is headquartered here when its head office sits inside the county line. The rest are based elsewhere and keep a branch you can walk into. We list both, and we label which is which.
Every institution on this page comes from public federal data — the CDFI Fund certified list (Aug 2026), NCUA credit union data (Jun 2026), and the SBA microloan intermediary list (Sep 2026) — plus a short national tier we verified by hand. We refresh each list as its agency publishes. No listing is paid.
Washtenaw County is a university economy with a working one wrapped around it: the campuses and hospitals in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, the restaurants and rentals that serve them, and the landscapers, builders, and cleaning crews who keep it all running — plus farms out toward Chelsea and Manchester. This guide explains how business financing works here, who qualifies, what to bring, which credit unions serve the county, Michigan rules worth knowing, and the traps to avoid.
It's a process, not a rejection.
Business financing is money you borrow, or occasionally receive as a grant, to start, run, or grow work that earns income. For solo tradespeople and small owners, it usually means an equipment or vehicle loan, a working-capital loan or line of credit, a microloan for a first-time business, or an SBA-backed loan from a participating lender.
Washtenaw County's economy has a clear center.
The University of Michigan and its medical system in Ann Arbor, and Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, are among the largest employers in the state.
Around them sits a ring of small businesses that depend on them: restaurants and caterers, student and faculty rentals, cleaning and maintenance contractors, movers, childcare, home health aides, and a startup scene that grew out of university research.
The trades here run on Michigan's seasons. Landscapers, roofers, painters, and concrete crews do most of their work from spring through fall, and many switch to snow removal or interior work in winter. That pattern is normal, but it means income arrives in waves, and a line of credit or seasonal working-capital loan can carry a crew through the slow stretch without resorting to expensive short-term debt.
Outside the two cities, toward Chelsea, Dexter, Saline, and Manchester, the county turns to farms, orchards, and small-town storefronts. Farm and rural businesses have access to federal programs through the Farm Service Agency and USDA Rural Development that city businesses do not.
One more reality: rents and property costs in Ann Arbor are high for Michigan. A storefront or shop space can cost more here than in neighboring counties, which shapes how much a new business needs to borrow.
Forget what the banks say.
Lenders look at your income, your track record of paying obligations, your credit, and whether the amount you want fits your business. Good candidates here often include:
- Seasonal trades — landscaping, roofing, painting, concrete, snow removal — who can show a year or two of invoices or 1099s and explain their winter pattern
- Contractors who work for the university, hospital, or property managers and can show repeat clients
- Restaurant and food entrepreneurs, from food trucks to small storefronts serving the student and downtown crowds
- Cleaning, moving, and maintenance businesses tied to the rental turnover cycle around campus
- Small landlords with one to a few doors who want to finance repairs or buy another unit
- Farm and rural owners in the western and southern parts of the county
- Early-stage founders with a product or service idea — though for very new businesses, microloans and free counseling come before bank credit
If your credit is thin, start with a credit union or a microloan. If you have an ITIN instead of a Social Security number, the national nonprofits listed below lend to ITIN holders; ask any local institution directly whether it does.
If most of your income comes from April to November, bring twelve months of bank statements and explain the pattern up front.
Get your papers in order.
- 01Photo ID and your Social Security number or ITIN
- 02Michigan business registration
Articles of organization for an LLC, or an assumed name certificate if you work under a business name
- 03Any trade license your work requires
Such as a residential builder or maintenance and alteration contractor license
- 04Two years of personal tax returns, and business returns if separate
- 05Six to twelve months of business bank statements — twelve if your work is seasonal
- 061099s or a list of your regular clients and general contractors
- 07A simple profit-and-loss statement
- 08A list of equipment, trucks, trailers, and plows you own
- 09Short
Plain explanation of what the money is for and how the business will repay it
- MISSING ONE?Ask Iris which one you're missing.ASK A QUESTION ↓
The doors worth knowing.
Washtenaw County's door pool is mostly credit unions that keep branches here. Here is how it lays out.
ALL 11 DOORS, BY NAME AND BY TOWN- 11
- DOORS HERE
- 118
- ACROSS MI
Based in Jackson, Michigan. A credit union — owned by its members rather than by shareholders, which is exactly what changes the conversation after a bank has said no. It is CDFI-certified.
BEST FORA personal loan, or building a credit file from nothing, and buying, repairing or refinancing a home.Based in Lathrup Village, Michigan. A member-owned credit union, which means the people deciding on your file answer to depositors in the same towns you work in. It is CDFI-certified.
BEST FORBuying, repairing or refinancing a home, and working capital, equipment and payroll for a small business.Based in Lenexa, Kansas. A credit union: no shareholders to satisfy, and a habit of reading a whole story rather than a single score.
BEST FORWorking capital, equipment and payroll for a small business, and a personal loan, or building a credit file from nothing.Based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. A credit union — owned by its members rather than by shareholders, which is exactly what changes the conversation after a bank has said no.
BEST FORA personal loan, or building a credit file from nothing, and buying, repairing or refinancing a home.
Don't fall into these traps.
When winter slows the work, MCA offers arrive. They take a cut of every deposit and can cost far more than any loan. Plan for winter with a line of credit in the fall instead.
A real lender does not ask for an application or insurance fee by wire or gift card before approval.
Read the end of the contract. A low monthly payment that ends in a huge final payment can cost you the truck or plow.
If you read better in Spanish, take the papers home and get help. Never sign blank pages.
In Michigan, a notary public is not a lawyer and cannot give legal advice.
Any offer that expires today is a reason to walk away.
Everything below is set by Michigan, and it reads the same in every county in it. The 11 marks above are this county's own doors — who opens one is decided by them, not by the state.
The rules where you are.
LLCs and corporations file with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). Sole proprietors using a business name file an assumed name certificate with the county clerk.
Michigan licenses residential builders and maintenance and alteration contractors through LARA. Many lenders and most homeowners will want to see your license, and unlicensed residential work can leave you unable to collect what you are owed.
Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and the townships each handle their own building permits and rental inspections. If you work on rentals, knowing the local inspection rules makes you more valuable to property managers.
Michigan's economic development agency and local partners periodically run small-business grant and loan programs. They change often; your local SBDC counselor will know what is open.
Michigan has a flat state income tax. Keeping clean state and federal returns is the single most useful thing you can do for your next loan application.
The short version.
- 01
Washtenaw County's business economy orbits the universities and hospitals, runs on Michigan's seasons, and turns rural to the west and south. Plan for the winter slowdown, keep your licenses current, and bring twelve months of statements.
- 02
Two CDFI-certified credit unions, Michigan First and American 1, keep branches here, along with eight other outside credit unions and one based in Ann Arbor. ITIN holders have national nonprofit options. SCORE and the Michigan SBDC offer free help.
- 03
Origen Capital is a directory, not a lender. We do not collect your information, and we do not sell you anything. Use this guide to know where to knock, then talk directly with the institution.
Same county, another question.
Home FinancingPurchase, renovation, HELOC, and bridge loans for homeowners and investorsSEE IT IN WASHTENAW COUNTY →
Personal FinancingPersonal loans, credit building, and ITIN-friendly financing optionsSEE IT IN WASHTENAW COUNTY →76MI COUNTIES WITH DOORSThe whole stateEvery county in Michigan, in this same lane.118 institutions fund small businesses inside Michigan county lines.OPEN THE STATE →Still don't see your situation?
Ask Iris. She'll explain it the way it should have been explained the first time.