Challenge Detroit receives $230K grant from MEDC

Challenge Detroit has received a $230,000 grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corp to help the nonprofit to continue to help innovative young people stake a claim in the Motor City.

"This will close a huge gap for us this year," says Deirdre Greene Grove, executive director of Challenge Detroit.

Challenge Detroit brings in a couple dozen recent college graduates to Detroit each year, giving them jobs and coordinating opportunities for them to live, work and play in the city. The nonprofit pairs the fellows from each class with local employers and provides them with a living stipend.

This year, Challenge Detroit's first, welcomed 29 fellows who are working for the likes of Compuware, Quicken Loans and DTE Energy. The $230,000 from the MEDC will fill the funding gap for this year's class and help begin the recruitment of next year's class, which is expected to be the same size.

"We feel that this is a perfect size for a level of intimacy for a group this size," Greene Grove says.

Recruitment for next year's class is expected to kick off in 2013. For information, click here www.challengedetroit.org.

Source: Deirdre Greene Grove, executive director of Challenge Detroit
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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