$600K Awarded to Detroit Neighborhood Groups

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The New Economy Initiative, a project of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, recently awarded nearly $600,000 in grants to six non-profit organizations across Detroit through its Neighborhood Business Initiative.

“NEI is continuing to focus on building an economy in our region where opportunity and success are available for all,” says David O. Egner, NEI executive director. “By providing grant support to these existing organizations and resources, we are expanding their ability to reach and serve more entrepreneurs and businesses from within the neighborhoods that often need it the most.”

The new initiative is designed to grow and strengthen the network of support services for entrepreneurs and small businesses in underserved neighborhoods throughout Detroit. Through its research, NEI identified three focus areas where businesses need the most support: business advocacy, capital readiness and the physical places for businesses and ideas to thrive.

Egner says although the entire suite of NEI grantees serve entrepreneurs from every corner of the city, this first round of grants for the initiative is largely concentrated in three Detroit neighborhoods where it found particularly pronounced opportunities and needs: Osborn, Grandmont Rosedale and the North End. In addition, there are some general, non-geographic focused grantees as part of the announcement. NEI expects to make total grant commitments of up to $3.5 million to support the Neighborhood Business Initiative over the next three years.

A breakdown of the grants include: 

Osborn Neighborhood Alliance:$84,405

  • Support to assist new and existing businesses by connecting them to the resources they need to grow and thrive

Grandmont Rosedale CDC:  $110,000

  • Support for a comprehensive business development and commercial revitalization effort on the Grand River corridor in the Grandmont Rosedale community

 Central Detroit Christian CDC (North End):  $91,300

  • Support for a business empowerment and development program that will provide business support, marketing assistance, and management counseling for small businesses in Detroit’s North End neighborhood

 Accounting Aid Society:  $100,400

  • Support for accounting and tax assistance services to small business owners in Detroit neighborhoods

 Small Business Development Center (SBDC): $90,244

  •  Support for financial education and capital readiness training for small businesses and startups in underserved Detroit neighborhoods.

 FoodLab:  $117,000

  •  Support for improvement and growth of resources for food entrepreneurs in Detroit neighborhoods

 The Neighborhood Business Initiative grants contribute to the nearly $12 million that NEI has invested over the last five years in economic development focused in Detroit neighborhoods beyond the Downtown and Midtown, through programs such as ProsperUS, Build Institute, NEIdeas, TechTown SWOT City and more.