March 15, 2016
The Kresge Foundation today announced grants totaling $1.5 million to 21 civic groups to undertake revitalization projects in Detroit neighborhoods.
The grants will be used to renovate vacant buildings, convert vacant lots to gardens, introduce high school students to the concepts and practices of entrepreneurship and much more.
The grants are the second round of Kresge Innovative Projects: Detroit. The three-year, $5-million initiative aims to support nonprofit community groups. Nine organizations are receiving grants ranging from $50,000 to $150,000 in this latest round. Kresge also is giving grants of up to $25,000 to 12 organizations to do planning for future work.
“When we launched this initiative in 2014, we hoped to shine a light on positive changes by tapping into the knowledge and creativity of city residents,” said Wendy Lewis Jackson, Kresge Detroit Program deputy director. “Added to the 18 in the first round of the initiative, these 21 projects are building a momentum of change.”
Among the groups receiving these latest grants:
Black Family Development will use its grant to transform vacant lots in the Osborn neighborhood using Detroit Future City’s “Field Guide to Working with Lots.” The guide includes plans for low-maintenance lawns, maple tree groves, barriers to deter illegal dumping and other landscape treatments.
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John Gallagher, March 15, 2016, Detroit Free Press