This article was originally published in March/April 2022 issue of The Review, the Michigan Municipal League's official magazine. To read the full publication, click here.
Leaders in municipalities of all sizes, from very small rural townships and villages to larger, urban areas see the arts as an important element of place. Often, this understanding of the arts is focused on the more traditional roles that arts and culture play: for example, a cultural venue in a downtown district, a concert in the park, a sculpture in a public place, or as simply entertainment for people to enjoy. It’s clear that these are assets that contribute richly to the quality of our places across Michigan. But let’s be sure that we also tap the power of the arts as a socially engaging process that truly transforms place with, and for, the people that own and occupy it. The success of 21st century communities is deeply rooted in quality of place. The League has long promoted the importance of placemaking and the idea that the quality of our places is essential to the successful communities where people want to live, work and play.
Community Wealth Building is placemaking with an equity lens. We approach Community Wealth Building through eight pillars that we believe are necessary for thriving communities: arts and culture; infrastructure; financial security; lifelong learning; environment and sustainability; public health and wellbeing; trust; and belonging.
The Bridge Builders program lies at the intersection of several of these pillars—arts and culture, trust, belonging, and financial security. By encouraging community members, local elected officials, small business leaders, and artists to work together on creative projects, Bridge Builders grants foster connections that help communities to thrive.
It’s hard not to see that we are at a critical juncture in history. As systems fail us, it will take the creativity to adapt and be resilient. Creativity is expected and fostered in the arts—but we must provide opportunity for creativity to emerge from the safety of institutions, to actively engage with the challenges of our time in a way that is rooted in place and responsive to the entire community. This will require bold work that encourages communities to move forward on all fronts—to develop economic resilience, social connectivity, and cultural capital; in turn, reenergizing our municipalities.
In his book, The Icarus Deception, Seth Godin says that “Art is not a gene, or a specific talent. Art is an attitude, culturally driven and available to anyone who chooses to adopt it.” He goes on to say that “an artist is someone who uses bravery, insight, creativity, and boldness to challenge the status quo.”
Our cities, villages, and townships need brave, thoughtful, creative, and active residents. The Michigan Municipal League Foundation launched the Bridge Builders microgrant program in 2020 to fund Michiganders in League member municipalities who are engaging in positive actions and creative projects that elevate the spirits of Michiganders and support healthy, engaged, and caring communities.
There are two microgrant categories:
Main Street Grants
These Bridge Builders grants award $5,000 for creative projects that strive to support real economic gain for businesses, artists, and residents while strengthening social connections and physically transforming community spaces.
Neighborhood Grants
These Bridge Builders grants offer $500 for Michigan residents to design and launch imaginative projects and events in their neighborhoods.
Bridge Builders’ projects lift community voice and bring people together in neighborhoods, downtowns, and business districts. In these times, when we can feel so disconnected from each other, bridge builders are bringing people together. Bridge builders are our neighbors, friends, and family. They are innovators, makers, and doers. Above all, bridge builders strive to make their communities wonderful places to live and be proud of.
Our Bridge Builders microgrant program supports proud, hardworking Michiganders to accomplish small and important projects in their own communities.
How can small community projects help build thriving communities? Simple.
These projects and initiatives intentionally and creatively bring people together. When we come together, we are stronger. Strong social bonds create strong communities. Strong social bonds also build a strong foundation for community wealth.
Here are just a few of the amazing examples how this program is making a difference around the state:
• A group in Morenci used a Main Street grant to give new life to a downtown alleyway through the creation of a patio, murals painted by local artists, the installation of lighting, and outdoor seating. The project utilized partnerships with dozens of local contractors and highlighted the contracting sphere as a keystone in the Morenci economy. The space now regularly draws businesses and crowds for art exhibits and downtown events.
• The Jefferson Chalmers Farmers Market in Detroit is a thriving community market that seeks to unify the community, boost the local economy, stimulate local food production, and aggrandize art and culture. A Neighborhood grant helped to waive vendor fees to support local business after severe flooding in July and to support community events like cooking demos and food drives that directly benefited the Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood.
• The Resilient Ludington Street project in Escanaba used a Main Street Grant to collaborate with the Escanaba planning commission to host a community engagement day to involve residents and businesses as stakeholders in redesigning the Ludington Street space. The event produced a permanent events area with seating and a pergola that is continuing to be used for events as well as gaining feedback from over 100 stakeholders about what would make a more economically successful space.
• A Neighborhood grant helped Casa de Rosado Galeria and Cultural Center in Lansing create a mercado (market) for the first time as part of their annual Día de Los Muertos celebration. The event featured dozens of local vendors and allowed Casa de Rosado to establish new relationships with surrounding community organizations opening new possibilities for their community in the future.
• The Charles Drew Horticulture Program’s mission is for all students to have access to materials and programs to learn, develop, and participate in obtaining the skills of horticulture through planting, management, consumption and sale of vegetables and flowers. With their Neighborhood grant, they were able to purchase necessary supplies to ensure the strictest growing procedures are maintained. Currently, they are on track to donate 15,000 food servings to the people of Detroit this year.
This type of collaborative work is not only contagious, but imperative. Operating in siloes just doesn’t work. From arts and culture to community development, and environment to health and human services, individuals, institutions, organizations, and municipalities from a spectrum of fields are feeling the pull of cross-sector collaboration. This important collaboration happens when information, resources, activities, and capabilities are linked or shared by organizations in different sectors to achieve an outcome together that could not be achieved separately.
Creativity may well be the driving force of community revitalization in the 21st century. With this revitalization there is potential for increased opportunity. Efforts to support and develop a more dynamic, thoughtful, and creative community will play out in place, in the municipalities where we live, work, and play.
The MML Foundation strives to support the places that League members call home. We do this work through strategic partnerships, investments in leadership and place-based initiatives that work to ensure that everyone in our communities gets a fair shot at wellbeing.
In partnership with the Michigan Municipal League, we ask you to consider becoming a donor in support of the Bridge Builders microgrant program. Please contact us at mmlfoundation@mml.org. We look forward to continuing our work with you to support strong, creative, and resilient local communities!
Helen D. Johnson is the president of the Michigan Municipal Foundation. You may contact her at (734) 669-6336 or hjohnson@mml.org.