Latest news with #MotorCityMatch
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
New Detroit businesses awarded $450K by Motor City Match
The Brief New small businesses in Detroit were given a boost by the Motor City Match. Many of these entrepreneurs admit that without the Motor City Match grant, it would be difficult to move forward. DETROIT (FOX 2) - The small business landscape in Detroit is set to receive a major boost. Earlier Wednesday, Motor City Match's Round 28 cash grant recipients were celebrated at an awards ceremony. Thousands of dollars in grant money were awarded, helping these entrepreneurs keep their dreams alive. Local perspective Eduardo Salas calls himself an entrepreneur with his vision of a coffeehouse in SW Detroit, and a Motor City Match grant is making it possible. "I will be using the $30K that'll be going toward that build-out design services, getting permitting from the city," he said. Salas joined other Motor City Match winners on Wednesday at an awards ceremony, where over $450,000 was awarded to 12 businesses. The backstory From restaurants and fitness centers to a business that can change the way one sees themselves. For one Motor City Match winner, the path to starting a doll business grew from an experience with her own daughters. "It was actually a trip to a popular doll store that we saw that the images that were projected on us as black and brown women and girls were really harmful, and we decided to create our own doll line called the Pretty Brown Girl Doll and the doll sparked an entire movement," said Motor City Match recipient Sheri Crawley. That movement went global, but as Sheri Crawley looked to purchase a building in Detroit, she needed help. Motor City Match heard the call and awarded Crawley $50,000. "It was already a stretch to purchase the building, so this will be able to allow us to close the gap for the renovations," she said. What's next Many of these entrepreneurs admit that without the Motor City Match grant, it would be difficult to move forward. "That $30K just helps us continue moving forward now, as opposed to thinking one day, maybe next year, really makes that dream a possibility today," said Salas. "There's not many cities in urban America that this opportunity is afforded, so we are so lucky to have this opportunity here in Detroit," said Motor City Match recipient Angela Wright.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Detroit homeownership wealth grows to $4.6 billion since 2014
The Brief Detroit homeowners are feeling the payoff as home values have increased. Mayor Mike Duggan says the city's homeownership wealth grew to $700 million last year. Duggan hopes that trend continues under the next mayor. DETROIT (FOX 2) - A neighborhood on Detroit's east side on 8-Mile is where Sonya Davenport lived for more than 30 years, and now, it's paying off. "I stayed first because that was my mother's home and I was getting older and I knew I was going to retire," Davenport said. "I feel great. I feel great about that. It's really about time. We've really been waiting on our property values to go up." By the numbers During a news conference, Mayor Mike Duggan revealed a University of Michigan study found the city's homeownership wealth grew to $700 million last year. It's jumped to $4.6 billion since Duggan took office in 2014. "When an 83% African American community elected me, I felt like there was a real responsibility to deliver," Duggan said. "I'm very pleased to say that of the $4.6 billion in wealth gained — $3.2 billion — almost three-quarters has been gained by African American homeowners." City Councilman Fred Durhal III says initiatives like Motor City Match, the demolition of abandoned homes, and a push to revitalize parks have contributed to increasing Detroit's property wealth, which helps build generational wealth. "We are coming back here in the city of Detroit," said Durhal. "I am confident that if we stay at this pace and if we continues to push forward, we will reach greater heights in the city of Detroit." U-M Professor Jeremy Morenoff worked on the study. "This was not just about the wealthy neighborhoods getting wealthier. This is about raising all boats; but especially those that started out with the lowest property values," Morenoff said. What's next Duggan said he is proud of the increase in homeowner wealth. He hopes that trend continues under the next mayor. The Source FOX 2 used information provided by Detroit city leaders and talked to homeowners.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Detroit City Council OKs $100K settlement in whistleblower case against ex-Duggan employees
The Detroit City Council on Tuesday voted to approve a six-figure settlement with a former city employee who claimed in a whistleblower lawsuit that she was fired for reporting violations of federal rules in Detroit's Motor City Match program, as well as claims of city officials deleting emails related to work done on behalf of the Make Your Date nonprofit. The City Council approved a $100,000 settlement without discussion for Kennedy Shannon, a former assistant director in the Office of Development and Grants. Neither Shannon nor her attorney, David Robinson, could be immediately reached for comment Tuesday. Shannon filed the lawsuit in 2019 against the city, former chief development officer Ryan Friedrichs and former director of grants Katerli Bounds in an effort to show the public the consequences she faced for speaking up, she previously told the Free Press. An attorney for the city, however, said at a hearing in August 2022 that Shannon was fired because she "was not doing her job well" and was repeatedly put on notice for poor performance. The attorney had asked a Wayne County court judge to dismiss the lawsuit, but the judge allowed it to proceed. "The City still maintains that the actions taken by these employees with respect to Ms. Kennedy were fully appropriate and justified. However, the law department made a decision in the interest of taxpayers to enter into this settlement rather than incur more significant costs in the form of ongoing litigation," Detroit Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett said in an email statement Tuesday. Shannon claimed the city began retaliating against her and searching for ways to terminate her, after she reported some of the Motor City Match expenses were improperly filed and refused to sign off on the packets. Bounds told Shannon she could be terminated for insubordination if she did not sign off on them, The Detroit News previously reported. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also issued a report identifying several components of the grant applications that were out of compliance with federal regulations. As a result, city officials said they updated the program's procedures to address the shortcomings identified in HUD's findings. Shannon, who was suspended without pay for 30 days in May 2019, allegedly for getting paid while she wasn't working — she said she was getting paid while not at work because she was absent under the Family and Medical Leave Act — said she had contacted the city's inspector general to discuss the issues with the Motor City Match program. And, at a later meeting with an investigator in the inspector general's office, also described how city staffers were improperly ordered to delete emails related to the Make Your Date prenatal health program. Mayor Mike Duggan came under fire after a Free Press investigation revealed that emails showed the mayor ordered Friedrichs, the city's former chief development officer, to raise money for the program. The same investigation also showed Duggan's former chief of staff, Alexis Wiley, ordered city employees to delete emails to conceal the extent of the city's support for the nonprofit tied to Duggan's now-wife Dr. Sonia Hassan. Friedrichs, who is married to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, quit his job in 2020 to pursue another role. Detroit's inspector general determined Friedrichs was among one of the city officials who abused his authority by being complicit in a plot to delete city emails. Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: dafana@ Follow her: @DanaAfana. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit City Council approves $100K settlement in whistleblower case
