Business driven, campus inspired, and community engaged, SeattleU’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 SeattleU 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 and other technical support, and project management assistance. It’s a win/win/win: SeattleU 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.
Vision: A vibrant, connected neighborhood with a diversity of locally-owned businesses that strengthen the ethnic, social, and economic fabric of the community.
Mission: RAMP-up seeks to significantly transform the local small business economy and SeattleU’s own campus, as a model for thriving business-campus-community engagement.
Key Objectives
Qualified RAMP-up clients receive a SeattleU 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.