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Community Center Grants

Gov. Whitmer Announces $64M in Grants Awarded to Michigan Community Centers  

The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity awarded $64 million in Community Center Grant funds for 100 Michigan municipalities and organizations to expand programming or work on capital projects to serve 1.6 million Michiganders. The grant program builds on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s ‘Make it in Michigan’ strategy to win projects, invest in people and revitalize places. 

 “Community centers anchor thriving communities across Michigan, offering Michiganders places to gather, connect, learn, and access resources,” said Gov. Whitmer. “This funding for community centers will help us deliver on our ‘Make it in Michigan’ vision to revitalize cities and towns across Michigan by making them more attractive places to live, work, and invest.”  

The grantees provide a diverse set of services including after-school programming, workforce development, recreational activities, supporting older adults and more. Grants will be awarded to 69 nonprofit agencies, 22 local government agencies and nine schools/universities all across the state. 

The grants support the governor’s goal of lifting 100,000 families out of working poverty during the next five years and follows the recommendations of the Michigan Poverty Task Force to address the disparities that affect Michiganders’ abilities to afford necessities such as housing, childcare, food, health care and transportation.  

The American Rescue Plan Act provided $60 million in grant funds which was appropriated by the State Legislature. In response to the resounding interest from applicants, the legislature also added $4 million though the FY24 Supplemental Budget Bill, recognizing the need to provide funding to connect communities and provide resources to serve residents. 

“Reinvesting in both rural and urban communities that have been historically underfunded remains a core priority of the House Majority,” said House Appropriations Chair state Rep. Angela Witmer (Delta Township). “This grant program is one of many examples in this year’s budget reflecting that commitment by dedicating much-needed resources for local governments and nonprofits that provide essential services to support healthy communities.” 

There were nearly 1,000 applications requesting over $1 billion in funding. Organizations in 43 Michigan counties received funding that will serve a total of 80 counties across the state.  

The Michigan Community Service Commission, the state’s lead agency on volunteerism, administered the grant process. 

“It was a very competitive process, and we received many great applications that went through a thorough review procedure,” said Michigan Community Service Commission Executive Director Ginna Holmes. “The investment in Michigan neighborhoods will continue to improve the lives of residents across the state, ensuring more Michiganders have an equal opportunity to prosperity.” 

Grantees include: 

Agency

Award

City

Active Faith Community Services

$840,000

South Lyon

Aid in Milan

$166,662

Milan

American Indian Health and Family Services of Southeastern MI, Inc.

$250,000

Detroit

Amplify GR

$1,000,000

Grand Rapids

Athletes Learning Educational Resources Training

$750,000

Southfield

AuSable Township

$750,000

Oscoda

B.A.S.S., Inc.

$250,000

Highland Park

Bad Axe District Library

$250,000

Bad Axe

Baldwin Community Schools

$150,000

Baldwin

Bay Mills Indian Community

$300,000

Brimley

Bedford Township Veterans Committee

$250,000

Temperance

Bethesda Baptist Church

$150,000

Muskegon

Black Impact Collaborative

$485,000

Grand Rapids

Botanical Garden Society of Northwest Michigan, Inc.

$700,000

Traverse City

Boys & Girls Club of the Muskegon Lakeshore

$1,300,000

Muskegon

Boys and Girls Club of Alpena

$150,000

Alpena

Burma Center

$1,000,000

Springfield

Cass County Council on Aging

$1,000,000

Cassopolis

Centro Multicultural La Familia, Inc.

$250,000

Pontiac

Child and Family Services of Northwestern Michigan

$250,000

Traverse City

Cinnaire Solutions Corporation

$1,000,000

Lansing

City of Alma

$323,000

Alma

City of Benton Harbor

$1,000,000

Benton Harbor

City of Caseville

$1,000,000

Caseville

City of Eastpointe

$1,500,000

Eastpointe

City of Fennville

$1,000,000

Fennville

City of Grant

$250,000

Grant

City of Harper Woods

$1,500,000

Harper Woods

City of Harrison

$550,000

Harrison

City of Ishpeming

$300,000

Ishpeming

Communities In Schools of Northwest Michigan

$300,000

Mancelona

Community Family Life Center

$400,000

Ypsilanti

Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology

$1,200,000

Bellaire

Detroit Friendship House

$150,000

Hamtramck

Detroit Magic Child Development

$150,000

Detroit

Detroit Sound Conservancy

$500,000

Detroit

Dickinson Iron Community Services Agency

$200,000

Iron Mountain

East Side Community Network Warren Connor Development Corps

$1,000,000

Detroit

Essexville-Hampton Public Schools

$1,000,000

Essexville

Flint Institute of Science and History/Sloan Museum of Discovery

$350,000

Flint

Freedom House Detroit

$1,000,000

Detroit

Frenchtown Center for Active Adults (DBA)

$500,000

Monroe

Gladwin County District Library

$400,000

Gladwin

Grand Rapids Nehemiah Project

$1,000,000

Grand Rapids

Hazel Park School District

$1,000,000

Hazel Park

Heritage Works

$400,000

Detroit

HighScope Educational Research Foundation

$1,000,000

Ypsilanti

Hispanic Center of Western Michigan

$1,000,000

Grand Rapids

Imagination Factory Children's Museum

$1,300,000

Iron Mountain

Ironwood Carnegie Library

$750,000

Ironwood

Ironwood Theatre, Inc.

$250,000

Ironwood

Jackson Interfaith Shelter

$2,000,000

Jackson

Joe Louis Greenway Partnership

$750,000

Detroit

LAHC- Leaders Advancing and Helping Communities

$1,500,000

Dearborn

Lake Gogebic Senior Citizens Club Inc

$300,000

Bergland

Lake Superior Village Youth and Family Center

$400,000

Marquette

Lansing School District

$2,000,000

Lansing

Macomb Foster Closet

$500,000

Mount Clemens

Michigan Health Improvement Alliance

$1,100,000

Freeland

Michigan Interfaith Power & Light

$998,638

Detroit

Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion

$153,500

Detroit

Michigan State University

$150,000

East Lansing

Osceola County Commission on Aging

$180,000

Hersey

Peace Neighborhood Center

$700,000

Ann Arbor

Perfecting Community Development Corporation

$500,000

Detroit

Pine River Area Schools

$191,576

Leroy

Plainwell Community Schools

$300,000

Plainwell

Popps Packing

$150,000

Hamtramck

R.I.S.E. CORP

$200,000

Battle Creek

READ Association of Saginaw County

$300,000

Saginaw

Read-Osborn Post 531

$150,000

Copemish

Refugee Development Center

$1,000,000

Lansing

Residents in Action, Inc

$500,000

Jackson

RTTM Community Center

$150,000

Detroit

Ruth Ellis Center, Inc.

$1,000,000

Highland Park

Saint Mark Community Outreach Center

$194,095

Flint

SECOM Resource Center

$200,000

Grand Rapids

SEEDS Ecology and Education Centers

$250,000

Traverse City

SER Metro-Detroit, Jobs for Progress, Inc.

$2,000,000

Detroit

Shelby Township

$250,000

Shelby

Sherman Township Library

$450,000

Weidman

Soo Locks Children's Museum

$500,000

Sault Sainte Marie

Sound Mind Sound Body

$725,000

Detroit

The American Legion Chief Pontiac Post 377

$300,000

Clarkston

The Detroit Association of Black Organizations, Inc.

$1,000,000

Detroit

The Edge Urban Fellowship

$400,000

Grand Rapids

The International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit, Inc

$383,800

Detroit

The Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit

$1,500,000

West Bloomfield

Township of Burns

$500,000

Byron

Tuscarora Township

$200,000

Indian River

VBM Community Outreach, Inc.

$1,300,000

Saginaw

Village Of Montgomery

$350,000

Montgomery

Waldron District Library

$243,000

Waldron

West Shore Community College

$1,000,000

Scottville

Western Michigan University

$500,000

Kalamazoo

Wexford County Airport Authority

$1,000,000

Cadillac

Whaley Children's Center

$350,000

Flint

Youth Arts Alliance

$750,000

Ypsilanti

 

 

Resources

MI Community Center Grant Handbook
MI Community Center Grant Guidelines and sample application
MI Community Center Grants FAQ

Contact the Community Center Grants Management Team at leo-miccentergrants@michigan.gov.