On Friday, July 15, Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation staff and Brightmoor community residents gathered together to reflect on five years of the Supporting Brightmoor Leaders (SBL) program, and celebrate the re-launch of the $500,000 initiative for another five. 

Initially co-founded with the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, SBL provides support for professional development and capacity building opportunities through grants of $5,000 or less. Participants range from organization leaders and block club volunteers, to small business owners and childcare providers. All are united by a common goal: to serve Brightmoor and its residents. 

The evening was a mix of conversation and mingling (dinner was provided by Brightmoor staple Sweet Potato Sensations) and a robust Q&A session with Foundation leaders. That evening, applications officially launched for the next round of funding. 

“We were so pleased to see so many Brightmoor neighbors and community residents at our kick-off event,” said Kourtney Neloms, Supporting Brightmoor Leaders Network Partner with the Fisher Foundation. “This grant program allows the Foundation to deepen its connection through learning more about residents’ desires for the future of the neighborhood while supporting the work of local leaders. We were thrilled to gather to celebrate their accomplishments while launching another five-year grant term.”

What made the evening even more special was the fact that the group also commemorated what would have been Mr. Fisher’s 114th birthday. Douglas Bitonti Stewart, Executive Director of the Fisher Foundation, acknowledged the occasion in his opening remarks. “Mr. Fisher’s core principles of wisdom, generosity, service, and leadership are present in the fabric of the Supporting Brightmoor Leaders program,” he said during the event. Addressing the crowd, he added, “I’m so glad we are here to re-launch Supporting Brightmoor Leaders alongside Mr. Fisher’s birthday. The two are inextricably linked through this celebration of your wisdom, generosity, service, and leadership of you as Brightmoor leaders. In recognition of your work as leaders, parents, caregivers, block club captains, grandparents, and all those whose generous shoulders we are standing on today, as Mr. Fisher once said: ‘Let’s build together knowing that future generations will build even higher!’”  

With another five years in store for the SBL initiative, it’s clear that more hard work and celebration are on the horizon. 

More information about the Supporting Brightmoor Leaders program can be found on the Fisher Foundation website.