FLINT, Mich. – Twenty-five grants totaling more than $1.9 million were recently awarded by the Ruth Mott Foundation to projects and programs serving north Flint residents.
More than half of the grants were to organizations that serve young people in accordance with the No. 1 funding priority identified by north Flint residents: Youth. The Foundation’s other priorities include Public Safety, Economic Opportunity and Neighborhoods.
In all, the Board of Trustees approved $1,958,195 in grants at its June meeting:
YOUTH
Active Boys in Christ – ABC Youth Project. $22,000 to provide age-appropriate introductory vocational job skill classes to north Flint boys and girls ages 7 to 17.
Catholic Charities of Shiawassee & Genesee County – Mr. Gaines Gardening Program PLUS 2018. $106,000 to employ north Flint teens and teach them to grow, harvest and sell produce from food garden sites while also providing them with culinary and nutrition programming.
Eastside Compassionate Mission Center – Empowering through Employment 2018. $27,348 for a job training and summer employment program for north Flint youth ages 13-18, as well as weekly, hands-on literacy programming for children ages 5-9.
Flint Cultural Center Corp. – Educational and Cultural Youth Activities. $39,722 for the Whiting’s Youth Usher Corps teen employment program as well as Sloan/Longway’s Head Start STEM and literacy programs.
Flint Institute of Music – Community Programs 2018-2019. $60,700 for a variety of out-of-school-time music and dance programs facilitated by the Flint School of Performing Arts for approximately 400 north Flint children and their families.
Flint Institute of Music – Tapology General Project Support 2018. $135,000 to provide youth development and employment through tap dance to more than 200 north Flint youth.
GST Michigan Works – Jobs for Michigan’s Graduates-Out of School 2018. $54,000 to provide north Flint young people facing multiple barriers to education and employment with learning supports, job training and job shadowing experiences.
Institute of Rhymes – Building Men of Excellence 2018. $30,000 for an afterschool program that provides academic support, cultural activities, enrichment programs and mentoring to middle- and high-school boys at five north Flint sites.
Metro Community Development – Mothers of Joy University Project 2018. $24,000 to provide parenting education programs to north Flint families.
New Evolution Education and Youth Development Program – NEEC After School and Summer Program. $25,000 for a summer day camp as well as afterschool academic and enrichment programming for 100 north Flint youth in grades K-8.
Project SYNcERE – STEMNETICS 2018. $39,400 to provide elementary and middle school students the resources and experiences necessary to engage in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) learning opportunities and increase academic proficiency in math and science.
Sylvester Broome Empowerment Village – Flint Beat-News Movement. $75,000 for afterschool and summer programs that train north Flint youth in grades 6-12 in solutions-focused journalism.
United Way of Genesee County – STEMletics. $35,475 for hands-on afterschool and summer programming that uses sports to teach north Flint youth STEM concepts (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).
Sphinx Organization – Sphinx Overture: Music Education and Youth Development 2018. $108,500 for music education programming for youth at four north Flint schools, as well as increased engagement through community recitals and scholarships for north Flint students to attend and participate in private lessons, summer camps, and programming.
PUBLIC SAFETY
Crime Stoppers of Flint and Genesee County – North Flint Project 2018. $150,660 (for two years) to educate, engage and empower north Flint residents to anonymously share with law enforcement information that could help solve and prevent crimes.
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
Center for Higher Educational Achievement – Adult Skill Center Academic Training Program. $34,770 for intensive reading and math skills development for adults from north Flint who face academic challenges, do not have a GED or diploma, and are interested in pursuing postsecondary education or job training.
MADE Institute – General Operating Support 2018. $77,500 to provide job training, mentorship and transitional housing services to men returning to the community after incarceration.
Re-Connections – General Operating Support 2018. $27,500 to provide job training, certification and coaching to community members with a felony record.
United Way of Genesee County – Flint SOUP 2018. $50,000 for a community-based micro-grant program that supports creative concepts for north Flint startup companies through crowdfunding and collaboration.
University of Michigan – North Flint Unemployment Insurance Project 2018. $40,000 for a program in which first-year law students receive training as they advocate for unemployed north Flint workers who are participating in job training programs and have been denied unemployment benefits.
NEIGHBORHOODS
Asbury Community Development Corp. – General Operating Support 2018. $112,500 for general operating support as Asbury continues to provide water resource services; programming in literacy, nutrition and job training; and community meeting space for north Flint youth and adults.
City of Flint – Imagine Flint-Neighborhood Planning Initiative 2018. $404,000 (for two years) to engage at least four north Flint neighborhood groups and more than 100 community members in developing neighborhood plans.
Crim Fitness Foundation – Advocacy & Engagement for Safe Neighborhoods in Flint. $49,120 for the Safe and Active Genesee for Everyone (SAGE) Coalition to work with north Flint neighborhood associations in implementing neighborhood strategies; strengthen its Safe Routes to School work; and expand its collaborative advocacy training in north Flint.
Evergreen Community Development Initiative – Flint Development Center 2018. $150,000 for operation of the Flint Development Center, a neighborhood hub that houses youth, literacy and recreation programs at the former Bunche elementary school in north Flint.
FOUNDATION INITIATED
Michigan League for Public Policy – Empowering North Flint Residents 2018. $80,000 (for two years) to advocate for statewide policies that promote economic security and well-being for vulnerable Flint residents; produce an annual Kids Count Flint profile and other data resources for Flint; assist in local efforts to ensure a fair and accurate U.S. Census count in 2020; and train and engage Flint residents in using data and analysis to advance community and policy changes.