Grants totaling $1.9 million support both the implementation of projects and the creation of new plans

Kresge’s Detroit Program today announced 28 grants across the city in the sixth round of the initiative, which was announced in 2014 and made its first grants in 2015. These 28 – the largest cohort to date – were chosen from a pool of 183 applicants.

Capacity Building for Neighborhood Projects Grants (These grants include particular support for neighborhood steward organizations such as block clubs and neighborhood associations to engage neighbors in early stage discussions to select projects and begin planning with technical assistance from the nonprofit support organization Michigan Community Resources)

• Calvin’s Hope will engage the community to develop a network of Detroiters impacted by multiple sclerosis (MS) to plan for a hub focused on mental and physical health of MS survivors and their families.
• Carrie Morris Arts Production will engage the community to support future developments in the West Campau, Banglatown and Davidson neighborhoods of Detroit.
• Class Act Detroit will engage community to support development of a House of Hip Hop ­– a performing arts and cultural hub focused on heritage, music, dance and youth development – as a form of healing and expression for youth.
• East Outer Drive Block Club will engage community in a series of improvement projects focused on neighborhood pride and beautification on East Outer Drive in the Northeast Detroit area.
• Fenelon Conley Keystone Block Club will implement neighborhood safety and beautification projects in the Fenelon, Conley and Keystone neighborhoods.
• Girls Rock! Detroit will engage community in planning for the Girls Rock Community Radical Space centered on gender-expansive, trans, and female-identifying youth.
• Mt. Olivet Neighborhood Watch will engage community in support of the expansion and development of a hoop green house as well as a rainwater garden in Fletcher Park in the East Van Dyke neighborhood.
• North Corktown Neighborhood Association will engage community in planning to steward the development of a neighborhood land trust and future green space projects in North Corktown.
• Redeem Detroit will engage community to support the transformation of a vacant building into a center focused on life skills for young mothers and children.
• State Fairgrounds Development Coalition will engage community in activities to understand and map community assets as well as to mobilize community around land use, development and revitalization opportunities.
• Tiff Massey Studios will engage in planning activities to develop a creative community platform to connect the Bagley neighborhood in Northwest Detroit to resources, opportunities and educational support to creative placemaking opportunities for youth.

Project Planning Grants

• Allied Media Projects will engage in planning activities to support the development of a voluntary Community Benefits Agreement to guide the development of the LOVE Building on Grand River. The LOVE Building will provide long-term office space to organizations dedicated to removing specific barriers faced by people with disabilities, people returning from prison or facing legal obstacles, and people using media, art and technology for social justice.

• Detroit Heals Detroit will engage in planning activities to support youth ages 12-18 to purchase and co-design a community healing space focused on transforming trauma in a positive way.
• Grand 7 Detroit will engage in planning activities to co-design and develop a community health and education center in the Grand 7 neighborhood (named after Grand River and 7 mile).

• Grandmont Rosedale Development Corporation will engage in planning activities to support the development of a plan for a food hall to provide healthy food options as well as a community gathering space in the Grandmont Rosedale community.
• Teen HYPE will conduct a youth led community participatory evaluation to plan the development of safe space for youth and by youth.
• Voices for Earth Justice will support a neighborhood steering committee as well as a community engagement strategy to co-design a neighborhood vision and land use plan in partnership with the Hope Park neighborhood.
• Women of Banglatown will engage in planning activities to provide streetscape improvements as well as the development of a neighborhood asset map for the Banglatown area.

Planning and Implementation Grants

• American Riad will plan and implement a development of the North End Woodward Community Land Trust that will utilize public art and creative architecture to form a model for linking diverse cultures while expanding sustainable, resilient communities in the North End neighborhood.
• Bagley Community Council will transform two vacant lots into a perennial flower garden to provide accessible green space through their Bagley Blooms project in the Bagley neighborhood.
• Bridging Communities, Inc. will plan and implement the connection of two public green spaces into the Braden Street Greenway in the Chadsey Condon neighborhood to act as a vibrant and inclusive gathering space.
• Center for Community-Based Enterprise will plan and implement the transformation of a vacant building into a professional recording arts facility and artist residency for entertainment-based cultural organizing centering the African diaspora.
• Great Communities Now will plan and implement a community-engaged and designed corridor and neighborhood improvement plan along the Whitter corridor in the Denby neighborhood.
• Heritage Works will design and create a cultural community center and accompanying mural to foster a resilience hub in North Corktown.
• Southwest Detroit Business Association, Inc.will work with local property owners to plan, create and support business-ready, first-floor commercial spaces tailored to Southwest Detroit’s unique culture, infrastructure, businesses and community needs.
• The Yunion will be plan and implement a community hub and collaborative space focused on utilizing art as healing through the development of a state-of-the-art performing arts studio and computer lab in the Hope Village neighborhood.

Implementation Grants

• Bailey Park will implement a design and landscape plan created with an earlier KIP:D grant for alley activation and to repurpose vacant lots into an environmentally sustainable, multigenerational green space for neighborhood residents.
• Ruth Ellis Center, which serves LGBTQ+ young people ages 18-25, will build a public café space within its supportive housing complex. The café will provide job training for LGBTQ+ youth. This follows an earlier KIP:D planning grant.