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Grants to help foster community in Detroit neighborhoods

Steve Carmody
/
Michigan Radio

There are several major projects going on in Detroit these days. 

The M-1 RAIL line and a new hockey arena are among several projects attracting hundreds of millions of dollars into Detroit’s city center.  

But what about Detroit’s neighborhoods?   

The Kresge Foundationplans to spend up to $5 million to give a boost to Detroit neighborhoods.

Rip Rapson is the president and CEO of the Kresge Foundation. He says the grant will help neighborhood groups make investments to build a sense of community. The types of projects that would be funded will vary by the needs of the different neighborhoods.  

Rapson says the point is to improve the human bond in neighborhoods, not just the infrastructure.

“These are things that over time just knit a community’s fabric in a more powerful way,” says Rapson. “Neighborhoods are places in which people know one another. People are mutually supportive of one another.”

Credit Steve Carmody / Michigan Radio
/
Michigan Radio
Kresge Foundation President and CEO Rip Rapson

Seven to ten major grants will be awarded. Smaller grants will also be available for smaller neighborhood projects. 

Groups can apply for the grants until early December.   Winning proposals will be announced next March.

Steve Carmody has been a reporter for Michigan Public since 2005. Steve previously worked at public radio and television stations in Florida, Oklahoma and Kentucky, and also has extensive experience in commercial broadcasting.
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