After working for more than a decade to launch its first social enterprise, RecoveryPark is poised to break ground in November on a commercial-scale hydroponics greenhouse that will create jobs and eventually, equity ownership for Detroiters facing employment barriers. The $10 million project on East Palmer Street near Chene will bring farming — albeit a different type — back to a part of the…

Rebel Nell was created in 2013 by Amy Peterson with the mission to employ women who face barriers to employment, such as being homeless, a refugee, or formerly incarcerated. “I was living right next door to COTS (Coalition On Temporary Shelter), a women’s shelter in Detroit, and I just had this vision of what it would look like if I could create a company that…

The Sphinx Organization has been on a mission to increase the number of musicians of color in the classical music sector for the past 23 years. And it’s had some impact, helping to increase the number of seats those musicians hold in major U.S. orchestras to 5 percent of the total from 1.5 percent in 1996, Sphinx President and Artistic Director Afa Dworkin said. But there’s…

Central to the model is buy-in from the community. Brilliant Detroit builds relationships in the neighborhood, then seeks an invitation to bring its programs there. It hires local residents to help renovate its houses, seeks their input on unique needs in the area and hosts monthly dinners to build community. Read Article

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra The orchestra ran up a $3.8 million deficit in the 2008-09 fiscal year and faced a $6.5 million deficit the following year. City government was in no position to provide a bailout; within a few years, Detroit became the largest municipality in the U.S. to file for bankruptcy. During contract negotiations with the musicians, the symphony sought to impose a…

While a dozen cultural institutions move forward with a plan to activate the outdoor space in Detroit’s 83-acre anchor cultural district a mile up Woodward Avenue, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra is doing the same for a courtyard in its backyard. The orchestra has secured over $1 million in grants for summer programs and planning efforts aimed at creating a more permanent stage in the…

(Aired June 30, NBC Nightly News) Rebel Nell is a non-profit support system for homeless and formerly homeless women in the Detroit area. As a “social enterprise,” it has created a jewelry line from graffiti and crumbling walls. Watch Video

On a trip to Detroit, Poland’s Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich visited Berkley’s Yad Ezra, which serves about 3,000 people each year. After seeing the change Yad Ezra has made in the community, Schudrich was inspired to start a kosher food pantry in Warsaw. The Polish pantry now is fully operational, thanks in major part to assistance from Yad Ezra staff. The kosher food pantry comes…

The new Fitzgerald house, which celebrated its grand opening on June 8, is the latest in a series of innovative neighborhood child learning centers set up by Brilliant Detroit in the city over the last several years. “Brilliant Detroit is an organization that helps to create kid success neighborhoods, where kids and families have what they need to be school-ready, reading at grade level…

Cindy Lester calmly sat down on the child-sized couch with the 4-year-old who had been careening around her classroom all morning. He’d just flipped an empty soup bowl onto his head. “You have a lot going on inside you today,” she said. “What’s going on? Are you tired?” To a lot of teachers, a high-spirited boy like this one might seem like a problem…