The Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation is proud to announce its investment in capacity-building support to social impact organizations and individuals within the Brightmoor neighborhood of Detroit.
Grants totaling $113,235 were distributed in September and October by the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation. Individual grant award amounts ranged from $2,500 to $5,000 and will be used to provide organizations and individuals with support as varied as attending professional development conferences, to trademarking fees (see below for a full list of grant awards).
Supporting Brightmoor Leaders (SBL) initially launched in 2017 with a 5-year, $500,000 commitment. In December 2021, the Foundation renewed its philanthropic pledge for a minimum of five additional years. “This particular funding was a result of our shared belief in each other and what we learned together about the need to provide access to funds to advance the ideas of neighborhood leaders outside our traditional impact areas,” said Douglas Bitonti Stewart, Executive Director of the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation.
The initiative has evolved to be more responsive to leaders’ needs and include additional program components. During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, grant partners were permitted to shift their grants to general operating support to meet organization needs or extend the grant award to utilize funds once restrictions were lifted. New this year is the inclusion of a community leadership component. Leaders in Brightmoor are also involved in grantmaking and planning collective professional development opportunities for the SBL cohort. Additionally, up to $250 of each grant award can be allocated towards self-care activities. “We hope this program will usher in a new trend in philanthropy—one that supports and encourages community members in achieving their own leadership goals,” said Meredith Freeman, the Foundation’s Director of Alignment and Impact Investing, and one of the architects of SBL.
This work would not be possible without strong relationships with two organizations willing to provide fiscal sponsorship support to individuals or smaller nonprofit organizations. To implement this work on the ground, the Foundation turned to longtime partners Development Centers, Inc. and the Brightmoor Alliance. “The Brightmoor Alliance is proud to be alongside the Foundation to implement this important program. Our core beliefs dedicate us to growing the power Brightmoor residents inherently possess as they hone the skills to achieve their objectives. These grants do exactly that, increasing leaders’ resources, power, and skills to determine their own priorities and accomplish goals they set for themselves,” said Reverend Larry Simmons, president of the Brightmoor Alliance and longtime community leader.
Brightmoor Capacity Building Grants
Brightmoor Alliance: $5,000
Children of the Rising Sun Day Care: $ 5,000
Leland Community Affairs: $5,000
Wellspring Detroit: 5,000
YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit: $5,000
Class Act Detroit: $5,000
City Year: $5,000
Good Grief: Where Do Black Women Go to Grieve?: $4,870
Urban Link Village: $4,950
Mission:City: $5,000
Grandparents Parenting Again: $5,000
A Girl Like Me, Inc.: $3,378
Superheros Training Academy: $4,800
Brightmoor-Jonathon D. Clarke Health & Healing Center: $5,000.00
Executive Management Solutions, LLC.: $4,740
Village of Shiny Stars: $4,999.50
Little Scholars: $2,894.00
Alice in Wonderland: $5,000
Squiggles & Giggles: $5,000
Rainbow Haven: $5,000
Jill’s Creative Learning Center: $5,000
Gwen’s Heavens Angels: $4,053
Kiddie Corner: $5,000
Infants & Tots Daycare: $3,550
The Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation’s core philosophy is grounded in the beliefs of our founders and the family’s shared Jewish values that life’s purpose is found in service to others. The mission of the Foundation is to enrich humanity by strengthening and empowering children and families in need. In the Jewish tradition of tzedakah, the Foundation works to repair the world (tikkun olam) alongside those who share our mission.
