Posted on October 11, 2010

Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan Awards $7.6 Million in Grants

The Detroit-based Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan has announced over 330 grants totaling more than $7.6 million to nonprofits working to improve the quality of life in the region.

The grants include $100,000 over two years to the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, to support an exhibition and accompanying educational and cultural programming about Arab-American contributions to civilian and military service from the Revolutionary War to the present; and $50,000 over two years to the Detroit-based Fair Food Network to expand a program in the region that allows recipients of supplemental food assistance to double the value of their benefits when purchasing locally grown fruits and vegetables.

In addition, the foundation awarded a two-year, $50,000 grant to the Heidelberg Project in Detroit for its Arts, Community & Environmental Education program, which is designed to help students think about their community and their environment in a way that fosters ownership and responsibility.

"It's very exciting," said Heidelberg Project executive director Jenenne Whitfield, "that thanks to the community foundation grant we can launch our art education program the same year that the Michigan Art Education Association is focusing its annual conference around it."