Reflecting on 2025, Tabor 100 highlights the extraordinary impact the Liberty Project continues to have on supporting City of Seattle’s small business owners. Partnered with the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business and Seattle University’s Albers, The Liberty Project continues to be an impactful and innovative program, uplifting small Seattle businesses, with an emphasis on BIPOC-owned businesses.
The goal: help entrepreneurs expand to, or stay in Seattle, through one-on-one technical assistance, consulting, financial resources, and bespoke professional development to overcome barriers and give back to their community.
Since the launch of its first cohort in 2024, The Liberty Project has provided support to 64 small businesses from a variety of industries, such as food/retail, professional consulting, childcare/education, construction/trades, and more. With Tabor 100, enrolled businesses received professional one-on-one technical assistance at no cost to them, improving operations such as business development, accounting, and marketing. Many of these businesses also received capital through Tabor 100’s innovative loan and grant programs, ultimately increasing their chances of obtaining new growth opportunities.
With Seattle University, these businesses received access to financial literacy and opportunities for capital through targeted educational programming, strategic outreach, and specialized workshops on credit-building pathways. With the University of Washington, these businesses also received access to student consulting programs, resulting in hundreds of hours of consulting services to help said businesses create & see through implementation plans to execute their business & financial strategies.
These 61 businesses are not just numbers on a spreadsheet- they are people. Passionate and driven Seattle-based people whose contributions to the city have been direct results of the program’s existence. Some are bakeries like Caked Goods, which after temporary closure, reopened its location in Seattle via direct financial technical assistance and loan support. Others are entities like Fresh Family, a hazardous waste and commercial construction company who, due to resources received from the program, grew their practice, received multiple government contracts, enabling them to create living-wage job opportunities. These are but a couple of many stories highlighting Liberty Project’s real-world impact on it’s businesses and the Seattle community.
The Liberty Project still proves to be a symbol of what community and economic prosperity can look like when we invest back in those entrepreneurs and business owners who define it. Here, we express immense gratitude from Tabor 100 and on behalf of it’s anchor partners at UW and SU for its partnership with the City of Seattle in making this program possible. We hope to continue developing the Liberty Project Program, creating a better, more inclusive future for Seattle’s small businesses, the city, and our communities.
