FLINT, Mich. – The Ruth Mott Foundation has granted $267,400 for the cleaning, maintaining, and beautification of vacant properties in north Flint.
The award to the Genesee County Land Bank’s Clean & Green program is one of 15 grants totaling $1,083,250 recently approved by the Ruth Mott Foundation Board of Trustees. Blight elimination is one of the key strategies identified by north Flint residents and adopted by the Foundation as part of its strategic plan to focus on north Flint.
“The Clean & Green program supports dozens of passionate community-based groups who are dedicated to their neighborhoods,” Land Bank Executive Director Michael Freeman said. “Eliminating blight in neighborhoods is a high priority for the Land Bank.”
As part of the program, community groups receive stipends to regularly clean up and maintain vacant lots held by the Land Bank and others in the spring, summer, and fall. The application period for 2022 is expected to open at the end of the month.
This is the tenth year the Ruth Mott Foundation has supported the Clean & Green program. Block clubs, schools, churches, neighborhood associations, and local nonprofits are some of the nearly 100 community-based organizations that have participated in Clean & Green over the last decade and longer. Many youth are employed through the program.
“Clean & Green is critical in helping north Flint residents access resources and support in neighborhood blight elimination efforts,” said Raquel Thueme, Foundation president. “Thanks to these residents and the Land Bank, Clean & Green neighborhoods are cleaner, safer, and healthier for everyone who lives there.”
For more information on Clean & Green, visit http://www.thelandbank.org/clean_green_prog.asp.
Last year, nearly 70 groups throughout Flint signed up for the program, with the majority of those groups working in north Flint. The Foundation defines its focus area of north Flint as the city limits on the west, north and east sides, and the Flushing Road/5th Avenue/Robert T. Longway Boulevard corridor to the south.
The Foundation awards grants primarily in four priority areas that were identified by north Flint residents: youth, public safety (including blight elimination), economic opportunity and neighborhoods.
In all, the Foundation’s latest grant awards are:
Bethel United Methodist Church — Flint Freedom School Collaborative — $35,000
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Flint & Genesee County — Out of School Time Mentoring — $65,000
Boys and Girls Club of Greater Flint — General Operating Support — $80,000
Child Care Network Washtenaw Regional 4C — Family Support Program — $50,000
Community Foundation of Greater Flint — Civic Participation Fund — $30,000
Crim Fitness Foundation — Safe & Active North Flint — $44,000
Flint and Genesee Chamber Foundation — Minority-Owned Small Business Directory — $95,000
Genesee County Land Bank Authority — Clean & Green — $267,400
Greater Flint Mental Health Facilities — Development and Construction of the GHS Center for Children’s Integrated Services — $50,000
InvolvedDad — IMPACT – Father Engagement — $75,000
Legal Services of Eastern Michigan — North Flint Legal Outreach Program — $59,500
Metro Community Development — North Flint Voter Education Project — $10,000
Project SYNCERE — STEMNETICS — $35,000
SIPI, Inc. — 2021-22 North Flint Capacity Building — $133,250
The Flint Institute of Music — Community Programs 2021-2022 — $54,100
More information on these awards can be found at https://www.ruthmottfoundation.org/grants/.