Business driven, campus inspired, and community engaged, Seattle University's Resource Amplification & Management Program (RAMP-up) is a unique, experiential learning environment that brings together minds and hearts on campus and beyond to work with underserved local businesses in Seattle’s Central Area and surrounding neighborhoods.
The RAMP-up team, consisting of highly-trained students and coaches, works closely with these businesses and their service providers for one or more years so they can augment their own capacity to remain, grow, and thrive in the neighborhood. As Seattle undergoes rapid, dynamic changes, it is vital to preserve the social, ethnic, and economic fabric of these businesses, which has made the city such an attractive destination.
RAMP-up offers business coaching, resource connections, business planning, project management assistance, and other technical support. It’s a win/win/win: Seattle U students receive solid experiential learning, the university creates deeper connections with its local neighborhoods, and the businesses gain access to additional resources and business services.
In 2023, the Albers School of Business and Economics was chosen as one of three anchor institutions to support the Liberty Project, the City of Seattle's newest business growth program. Albers' RAMP-up will be providing strategy development for Liberty Project programs that focus on increasing revenues for businesses owned by underrepresented communities in the city, particularly Black-owned businesses.
Mission: RAMP-up seeks to significantly transform the local small business economy and Seattle University's own campus, as a model for thriving business-campus-community engagement.
Vision: A vibrant, connected neighborhood with a diversity of locally owned businesses that strengthen the ethnic, social, and economic fabric of the community.
Key Objectives
Qualified RAMP-up clients receive a Seattle University client account manager and resource team for a one-year engagement, which is renewable. The RAMP-up team also offers these services to qualified nonprofits and other organizations that are currently servicing neighborhood businesses. Student CRMs make a commitment for at least nine months.
They were there for me on the legal work, writing proposals, doing their due diligence, talking with people … SU and the RAMP team made it possible for me to get further along.
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On February 28th, 2024, RAMP-up will be hosting procurement professionals and purchasing decision-makers at Shop Seattle U, an expo showcasing some of Seattle's most promising, diverse businesses. For inquiries about Shop Seattle U, contact Janie Ng at janieng@seattleu.edu.