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Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship

We are a dedicated institute for student entrepreneurs across campus and beyond. We aim to maximize your success by fostering your entrepreneurial mindset, promote inter-disciplinary collaboration and provide support for the creation and development of your new ventures. Jumpstart your ideas and get involved today!

Tune in for excitement!

Passion. Potential. Pitches. Don't miss any of the 2025 New Venture Challenge excitement.

Tune in Friday, April 11 at 1 p.m. for great ideas and fierce competition. Then, join the judges, mentors, spectators and teams as they see who is going home with thousands of dollars in venture financing. The awards broadcast begins at 6:30 p.m. and one team will walk away as the overall best venture. 

Start your entrepreneurial journey

Central Michigan University’s College of Business Administration is the home of the Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship and the first Department of Entrepreneurship in the state of Michigan. We are a student-centric hub where experiential, curricular, and external entrepreneurial opportunities intersect.

Our mission is to maximize student success by fostering a campus-wide entrepreneurial mindset that promotes inter-disciplinary collaboration and the creation of new ventures.

We aim to create innovative programming, boost cross-campus and ecosystem collaboration and provide a comprehensive mentoring program.

Our institute provides extracurricular opportunities and is open to all undergraduate and graduate CMU students.

Student opportunities

  • Meet experienced alumni, faculty, entrepreneurs, investors, and other business and political leaders.
  • Learn practical skills, innovative thinking, and connect with mentors and entrepreneurial resources.
  • Attend skill-building workshops and compete in pitch competitions and Hackathons.
  • Take part in special scholarship programs and travel experiences.
  • Pitch your venture at our signature New Venture Challenge event and compete for up to $20,000 in cash awards.

      Find your path

      Are you interested in becoming an entrepreneur?

      Every journey is unique. Explore the opportunities that interest you.

      Announcing the inaugural Go Grant winners

      by Ari Harris

      This week, Central Michigan University President Neil MacKinnon announced the recipients of the university’s first Go Grant awards, notifying more than two dozen students, faculty and staff that their projects were selected for funding.

      MacKinnon announced the new funding opportunity during his First 100 Days address in February and said he had hoped to receive several dozen applications. Just weeks later, he notified the CMU Board of Trustees that more than 120 grants were submitted for consideration.

      “This far exceeded my expectations and hopes — I imagined we’d be able to select close to 20 projects, a few for each priority” MacKinnon said. “But we received 122 truly great proposals. In the end, we were so impressed that we increased the pool of funding available to allow us to fund additional projects.” 

      Two female students hold giant checks at an awards presentation
      President MacKinnon, center, presents Go Grant award checks to students Judith "Kay" Dale, center left, and Alexandria Beavers,center right, for their PREPaRE CMU initiative. Also pictured are Joe Garrison, left, and faculty advisor Daniel Drevon, right.

       

      MacKinnon said he greatly appreciated all of the time and energy put in by the Budget Priorities Committee during the review process, and agreed to increase the pool for Go Grants awards to nearly $575,000. The sum will provide funding for 27 projects in the year ahead.

      A project for every priority, and then some

      Each of the proposals submitted aligned with at least one of the four Strategic Priorities included in CMU’s 2023-2028 Strategic Plan – and several proposals will make progress on more than one priority.

      Joe Garrison, CMU’s budget officer and special assistant to the university president for strategic initiatives, said that more than half of the winning proposals would have a positive impact on two or more priorities.

      Two men stand in front of a window holding an oversize check
      President Neil MacKinnon, left, presents a $20,000 Go Grant Award to Dan Gaken for the Campus to Community initiative. The grant will fund a day-long event bringing students together with the broader Mount Pleasant community.

       

      “One of the selected initiatives will touch all four priority areas,” Garrison said. “The thoughtfulness and enthusiasm of the submissions was inspiring. A great deal of good will come from these initiatives.”

      Among the winning proposals were initiatives to:

      • Support faculty research and professional development
      • Increase the efficient, effective use of technology
      • Strengthen partnerships and engagement between CMU and the local community
      • Boost CMU pride
      • Enhance crisis preparedness
      • Improve campus facilities

      A full list of the selected Go Grant projects and recipients is available on the 2025 Go Grants webpage.

      Next steps for grantees

      Garrison said each of the grant recipients had been notified this week. In the next few weeks, recipients will receive information on how to draw on their funding and begin work on their projects.

      As each team makes progress on their initiatives, Garrison said he will work with University Communications and the Office of the President to provide updates on the collected efforts.

      “We hope to host an event in Spring 2026 to allow each of the Go Grant recipients to share their experience and the outcomes of their work,” he said.

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