Microbusinesses
Microbusinesses create jobs, strengthen communities, and open pathways to financial stability, but many entrepreneurs face barriers to accessing capital and legal support. Our work helps remove those obstacles by supporting both microbusiness owners and the nonprofit organizations that provide critical legal, financial, and operational assistance to underresourced entrepreneurs. Please click below to learn more about this work.
- BrightStreet
- Rising Tide Capital
BrightStreet was launched to help underserved entrepreneurs access the capital and support they need to start and grow sustainable businesses. By providing affordable loans, grants, education, and peer networks, BrightStreet helps small business owners build enterprises that strengthen their families, neighborhoods, and local economies.
We guided BrightStreet through incorporation as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit, securing the charitable status essential for fundraising, partnerships, and long-term sustainability. Our team also drafted robust conflict of interest policies, core governance documents, and tailored loan agreements with strong borrower protections.
This legal foundation enabled BrightStreet to launch its first pilot in Newark, New Jersey, in partnership with Prudential, Newark Alliance, Rising Tide Capital, and Rutgers University, with plans to expand statewide. By closing critical gaps in access to capital, BrightStreet is helping lower-income entrepreneurs build generational wealth, promote family stability, reduce poverty, and foster vibrant local economies.
Since 2012, the firm has partnered with Rising Tide Capital in a long-standing pro bono program that expands access to high-quality legal services for underresourced entrepreneurs. Led by lawyers in the firm's Emerging Companies and Venture Capital (EC/VC) group and supported by lawyers across Lowenstein's corporate practices, the program leverages transactional experience to help small business owners overcome barriers to launching and growing sustainable enterprises.
Over nearly 15 years, Lowenstein lawyers have assisted more than 150 Rising Tide Capital clients across industries ranging from health care and consumer goods to cannabis and online commerce. Multidisciplinary teams provide hands-on support tailored to early-stage businesses, including entity formation, governance, contract drafting, lease negotiation, intellectual property counseling, and compliance guidance.
The program runs twice each year and has become one of the firm's most enduring pro bono initiatives—advancing economic opportunity while giving our lawyers meaningful opportunities to build client-counseling and leadership skills. The Rising Tide Capital partnership reflects Lowenstein's broader commitment to inclusive growth, community stability, and long-term impact.