DETROIT – The GreenLight Fund of Detroit wants to invest $5 million into the city’s community leaders and organizations. The non-profit has a presence all over the country in cities like Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, San Francisco and many others.
The organization was first introduced to Detroit in 2016. That’s when the city received $3 million to fund various projects.
On Wednesday, a rare occurrence happened - smiling faces at Ford Field, but this wasn’t because of something football-related. Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist was on site to announce the significant investment coming to Detroit.
“GreenLight fund broadly, we’re focused on what our children and families in the city need and want that they don’t already have,” said GreenLight Fund Detroit Executive Director Rishi Moudgil.
The money that the organization funded in 2016 supported three major initiatives. “One was working on jobs for those who have barriers to them. The second was supporting new teachers who want to work in the city, and the third was helping K through third graders. Read, get reading proficiency,” said Moudgil. All three initiatives were chosen by the people who live in Detroit.
“One of the benefits of GreenLight fund is we raised the money upfront, and then we asked the community how should we spend it,” said Moudgil.
This second round of funding is even more money, which will provide at least another five years of impact.
“What’s important is this is a declaration of a commitment to continuing to invest in community leaders and organizations, so they have a really robust process of identifying the types of investments they should make that are going to have the most impact,” said Gilchrist.
There haven’t been any decisions on what will be funded with the $5 million, but the GreenLight Fund is encouraging Detroiters to get involved and help decide where the funding should go. For more information on how you can get involved, click here.