Bridge Builders

Building Bridges Means Building Relationships Across Communities   It’s not unusual to feel alone and apart from others. In fact, according to a recent article on psb.org, a recent U.S. Census Bureau survey found that “People with robust social connections are more likely to live longer, healthier, and happier lives. Americans have been spending less time with friends and more … Read More

Swing By Our Virtual Office Hours   Looking to learn more about Bridge Builders? Need some help with an application? Want feedback on a project idea before the deadline? Come to our Zoom office hours and chat with our Program Officer!   Thursday April 13 from 12:00 – 1:00pm ET   The Bridge Builders Microgrants program offers small, one-time grants … Read More

    Applications Are Open Through April 23     Bring your community together with a Bridge Builders Microgrant! The Bridge Builders Microgrants program is pleased to offer a fourth round of microgrant project funding for those looking to unite people in creative ways. Project funding could support everything from downtown murals and storefront decorations to neighborhood porch fests and … Read More

  The Bridge Builders Microgrants program is fortunate to have generous support from its funders. Our funders share our values about the power of community, the importance of bringing people together, and the confidence that communities know best. It is our pleasure to highlight one of those funders here! Read on for a Q&A with DTE Foundation President and Chair … Read More

  The Bridge Builders Microgrants program is fortunate to have generous support from its funders. Our funders share our values about the power of community, the importance of bringing people together, and the confidence that communities know best. It is our pleasure to highlight one of those funders here! Read on for a Q&A with Horizon Bank Market President Janet … Read More

  Changing the world often starts by changing your community for the better. The Bridge Builders Microgrants program offers small, one-time microgrants to people or organizations within MML member communities. These microgrants fund collaborative, creative projects. The goal of any Bridge Builders project is to bring people out of their homes and into their community. The program was really born … Read More

  Here at the MML Foundation we believe that the next big thing is a million little things – in Trenton, MI that next big thing is composed of a million little stories. The downtown business district is a stage for the rich history of a town built on trade and the vibrant stories of the folks who call Trenton home. The … Read More

The Michigan Municipal League Foundation announced today recipients of its Bridge Builders microgrant program. The projects supported include 17 grant recipients that reimagined the future of their communities in a way that value and celebrate individual well-being, diversity, and culture as local community assets. The Bridge Builders Project began as a pilot program in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 … Read More

This blog comes from Scott Aldrich, an English teacher from Thornapple Kellogg High School in Middleville, MI. His project, One Book One Community, Middleville, was awarded a 2020 Bridge Builders microgrant. This blog post was originally posted on Mr. Aldrich’s blog on October 28, 2020. A brisk fall evening, the last teasing tidbits of sunshine disappearing behind the golden leaves … Read More

At the MML Foundation, we believe that a civically engaged community is key to sparking and sustaining positive change and growth in Michigan’s cities. As 2020 continues to bring hardship and uncertainty, we see deepening divisions highlighted in the news, and a sense of hopelessness, as individuals, over the state of our world. Despite that, we have seen neighbors coming … Read More