RAMP-up

What is SeattleU’s RAMP-up?

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, Mission & Objectives

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

• Increase the capacity of local, underserved businesses so they stay, grow, and thrive as pillars of their communities.
• Augment the resiliency of the local business ecosystem by partnering with existing service providers and organizations.
• Strengthen SeattleU’s capacity as an anchor institution to offer key resources and connections within the local business ecosystem.

How Does RAMP-up Work?

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. 

Recent Press

• KOMO News 4: Homestreet Bank Hometown Heroes: Seattle U RAMP.up
• SeattleU Newsroom: SU Awarded $750k Grant to Bolster BIPOC Business and Vendors
• Crescent Collaborative: Case Study: Earl's Cuts Styles Makes a Move
• City of Seattle Office of Economic Development Bottom Line Blog: Carrying on a Community Legacy at the Barbeque Pit in Seattle's Central District
• King 5 News: Seattle's historic Barbeque Pit makes a comeback in the Central District
• Crosscut: Seattle is Looking for ways to Save Beloved Local Establishments
• Crescent Collaborative: A Case Study on Small Business Survival- Earl's Cuts & Styles
• King5 News: Longtime barber stays in gentrified Central District with help from Seattle University
• King5 News: Seattle University helping nearby small businesses survive gentrification
• SeattleTimes.com: Remembering the past while making way for change in the Central District
• SeattleU Newsroom: Barber’s New Lease Signals Growth Within Central District

RAMP.up Clients in The News