Challenge Detroit has secured half of its funding for the next two years thanks to a $500,000 donation from Credit Acceptance Corporation's Chairman and Founder, Donald A. Foss. The nonprofit is also finalizing details with a local partner that should pave the way to launch its talent attraction grant program this summer.
"We knew a big donor would be key to launching the program," says Deirdre Greene Groves, director of
The Collaborative Group, which is organizing the the Challenge Detroit program. "This is showing its a regional effort."
Challenge Detroit will offer 30 grants to young people that will cover living expenses (a $500 per month stipend), employment (a job with a local company), social experience (coordinated activities within the group and the communities the grant recipients live in) and giving back through monthly team challenges. The idea is to bring in dynamic young people that will live, work, play and give something back in the city's greater downtown area.
The three-phase application process starts with a March 16 deadline for applications that include a written and video component. The videos of the top 100 semi-finalists will be posted on Challenge Detroit's website so the public can vote for the best one. The top 50 finalists will interview for the 30 grants, which will be awarded this summer. Applicants need a bachelor's degree but don't necessarily have to be fresh college graduates. Any young people with innovative, entrepreneurial ambitions for Detroit that want to sink roots in the city should apply.
For information, click
here.
Source: Deirdre Greene Groves, director of The Collaborative Group
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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