Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan Awards $500,000 to Support Inclusive Arts Programming Across the Region 

The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan today announced the latest round of grantmaking from its Inclusive Arts Fund, awarding nearly $500,000 to 21 arts organizations across the region. Established in 2022 with a founding investment from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, the Inclusive Arts Fund supports small to midsize arts organizations offering innovative and accessible programming to residents of southeast Michigan. 

Since its inception, the Inclusive Arts Fund has awarded more than $1.5 million to nearly 90 arts organizations, empowering them to expand programming, increase operational capacity, and drive economic development in their communities. 

This latest round of funding benefits a diverse group of organizations representing a wide range of artistic disciplines—dance, theater, music, and more—serving communities throughout Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Monroe, Washtenaw, Livingston, and St. Clair counties. The grants prioritize organizations that focus on inclusivity and serve underrepresented groups, including BIPOC communities, youth, women, and individuals facing barriers related to disabilities. 

Leah Counts, Senior Program Officer at the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan and lead for the Inclusive Arts Fund, highlighted the growing demand for arts funding in the region. “Arts organizations fill a critical need for self-expression, skills attainment, and enrichment, funding for communities to have these experiences is critical to a flourishing and inclusive region,” she said. 

The Community Foundation recognizes the essential role of arts and culture in creating thriving, vibrant communities. By investing in organizations like Livingston County Chorale, which provides musical excellence through inspiring concert performances, education, community engagement and support. 

“The Livingston County Choirs organization is thrilled to receive the support from the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan for our upcoming season. The Inclusive Arts Grant is especially meaningful to us in Livingston County in order to further our goal to reach out to all in friendship and harmony.” said Robyn Bergman, Vice President of Business Development at Livingston County Choirs. 

The full list of grantees include: 

• Accent Pontiac, Inc. – $25,000 for staffing capacity to increase the number of students participating in its music after-school program. 
• Art Creates US Inc. – $25,000 for providing equitable access to transformative arts education for low-income and BIPOC Detroit youth. 
• Bulgarian Cultural Center – $25,000 for performances and cultural events to enhance cultural engagement and celebrate Bulgarian heritage. 
• Detroit Dance Collective – $15,000 for its community programs to increase access for youth, women, and senior citizens to dance programming and performances. 
• Embracing Our Differences SE Michigan, Inc. – $15,000 for public arts programs meant to connect Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor youth and the communities they live in to promote diversity. 
• Enter Stage Right, Inc. – $25,000 for its theater year-round production calendar and core programming. 
• Griot Initiative – $15,000 for workshops for 10th, 11th, & 12th grade students to explore & hone the craft of storytelling.  
• La Salonniere, LLC (Techtown) – $25,000 for La Salonniere’s organizational development and programs that connect the art ecosystem to new audiences, institutions and art leaders. 
• Live Coal – $25,000 for expanded capacity for staffing, marketing, and general operations to enhance its neighborhoods through art, community development, and education. 
• Livingston County Choirs – $25,000 for expanded capacity for the organization to continue its concert performances, scholarship competition and community programs. 
• Metropolitan Youth Symphony, Inc. – $25,000 to provide an advanced youth ensemble experience that stimulates musical development and supplements school programs. 
• Michigan Philharmonic – $25,000 to sustain key programs across the region that engage youth in classical and orchestral music performance and education. 
• Partnership for the Arts & Humanities, Inc. – $25,000 for a youth summer program focused on education and vocation to engage youth in arts sampling activities. 
• Play House Laboratories – $25,000 for their Banglatown embedded performing arts space to offer culturally relevant and artist focused programming. 
• Port Huron Civic Theatre, Inc. – $25,000 to expand its theater program to meet the needs of individuals with intellectual, physical, and other barriers. 
• Port Huron Museum of Arts and History – $25,000 for expanded capacity for museums staff to produce an immersive nature-themed exhibit opening in 2025. 
• Rttm Community Center – $25,000 for its backstage theater programs for youth providing hands-on experience in set design, lighting, and sound. 
• Signal Return, Inc. – $25,000 for community engagement through free drop-in workshops for community residents to build relationships, learn about the neighborhood, and evaluate programs and initiatives interest. 
• The Detroit Creativity Project – $25,000 to increase capacity of the staff and youth advisory team to expand the school improvisation performing arts program. 
• City of Asylum Detroit – $25,000 for five two-year artist-in-exile fellowships for artists and writers from Gaza. 
• Voce Velata (Creative Washtenaw) – $25,000 for Voce Velata and its youth-driven programming and professional development resources and opportunities for music educators.