Our argument: let's cut the doom and gloom and start pushing ideas that will get young people to stay in Michigan.
Well, the Rapid Growth enewsletter had an interesting little tidbit in this week's update:
The Grand Rapids Community Foundation last week awarded area students 522 educational scholarships totaling nearly $516,000. The top three academic majors cited by successful candidates were healthcare, business, and law/social science...
Jaynna De Leeuw, 20, received two grants totaling $800. De Leeuw, a second year nursing student at Grand Valley State University, plans to work in West Michigan after graduation in 2008. While $800 doesn’t offset the staggering costs of nursing school, De Leeuw says every penny counts.
“With nursing school, each semester you have a huge amount of books,” De Leeuw says, “so the scholarship will help with that. It will help pay for parking downtown [for classes].”
De Leeuw works a part-time job. But because classes run year-round, she doesn’t have the summer off to work more hours and save up. The little she makes pays for car insurance and gas to get her to work and school.
“I’m number five out of ten kids, and seven of us are still at home,” De Leeuw says. “My parents can’t afford to send us to college. So I rely fully on loans and scholarships.”
With the rising costs associated with healthcare, tuition, and housing, students need all the financial help they can get. While the Community Foundation only gave out 522 scholarships, it sends the right message that Michigan community organizations are willing to do what is necessary to keep kids in Michigan: invest in the next generation of knowledgeable workers.
Of course, 522 scholarships alone aren't going to turn our state's economy around overnight. But imagine what we could accomplish with a major investment from the state. Say, something along the lines of what the Living in Michigan campaign is asking for?
If you live in the Lansing area, you may have noticed the big yellow billboards scattered along the highways that read: "Education = Jobs." Well, that's certainly true, but let's not forget the key theme from this year's housing conference: "Housing = Jobs."
Both issues (housing and education) are clearly part of the same puzzle. However, with the recent budget cuts to higher education and the lack of funding for affordable housing programs by the state, it looks like we can expect more gloomy newspaper editorials as long as our elected officials refuse to invest in job creating initiatives like Living in Michigan.
In the meantime, organizations like the Trust Fund and the GRCF will continue to chip away at the larger economic problems facing our state one small success story at a time.
Okay, so technically we're celebrating it a day early, but June 30 is our one year blogoversary. So, yay for us!
You know what we want for a present? More blogs! If you're involved in Michigan's affordable housing or economic development industries, take a look at the blogging toolbox we wrote about on Wednesday, and join the conversation.
We're closing in on our one year blogoversary, but aside from the MNA, we're still feeling a little lonely out here on the interwebs.
Ideally, it would be nice to get a few more partners in the affordable housing and/or economic development industries to start blogging, so we thought we would point out this huge blogging toolbox from Mashable.com.
The toolbox includes over 120 resources for would-be bloggers. It has everything from blog hosting solutions, general tips and advice on how to get started, tools to help you spread the word, and resources to optimize your RSS feed.
If you don't have any idea what some of these things are... that's okay. The learning curve for this sort of thing may seem steep, but as long as you know how to send and receive email, you can probably figure out the whole blogging thing. Even better... 90% of these resources are totally free.
If you have any questions about how you should get started with a blog for your non-profit, drop 'em in the comments section below...
All this complaining about young workers leaving the state just reinforces our own negative perceptions of Michigan, and what good does that do us?
According to a new report (PDF) from the University of Michigan... not much good at all.
"We're holding ourselves back on progress by only focusing on negative manufacturing losses when we should also focus on what's positive within the state," said Thomas Ivacko, a program manager at the University of Michigan's Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy.
The CLOSUP report, "Michigan's Economic Transition: Toward a Knowledge Economy," presents evidence that Michigan's economy is in a period of historic transformation.
"The state is replacing its 20th century industrial economy with a 21st century knowledge economy, which requires a motivated and educated workforce infused with entrepreneurial spirit, a sense of personal responsibility for one's own economic future and an openness to other cultures, " Ivacko said. "While long-term struggles are still to come, the picture isn't all bleak."
So attitudes do influence success? What a wacky idea!
Yes, things are tough in Michigan right now. You don't need an economics degree to know that. But at the same time, all these gloomy editorials from the people who are supposed to be opinion leaders in our state aren't doing much to help.
Our state is in the middle of the most profound economic transformation in a hundred years. Yes, there will be more short and long-term struggles, but things will only get better if we maintain a positive attitude, set achievable goals, and invest in our state's economic future.
If we want to replace our 20th century industrial economy with a 21st century knowledge economy, which "requires a motivated and educated workforce infused with entrepreneurial spirit, a sense of personal responsibility for one's own economic future and an openness to other cultures," then we have to build the kind of vibrant communities that these workers will want to live in.
The Michigan Housing and Community Development Fund can help make this a reality... but first we need to get our elected officials to support it.
You can read the full UM report here (PDF). Hat tip to Michigan Future for the link.
Michigan has heard enough doom and gloom. Instead of lamenting all the reasons these graduates are leaving our state, we need to start giving students a reason to stay in Michigan, live in Michigan, and work in Michigan. It's time to start promoting workable solutions like the Michigan Housing and Community Development Fund, which can help reverse this trend.
There's not going to be a magic bullet that will fix our state's economy, but the Living in Michigan campaign can be part of the solution.
It was true six weeks ago, and even though the MHCDF didn't get included in the state's fiscal year 2006-2007 budget, it could still be part of the solution for the 2007-2008 budget.
That's a separate road we won't go down just yet, but for now, how about we get started by convincing the opinion leaders at our newspapers to quit shoveling the same doom and gloom editorials on us? Like this one from yesterday's Flint Journal:
"Recent college graduates are going to go where the money is. We are all in debt and anxious to get into the job market," Crawford said. "We aren't going to stick around and wait for something to open up around here if there are plenty of opportunities somewhere else."
A Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released June 12 describes Michigan's job scene as sluggish. And Genesee County ranks as the second-worst area in Michigan.
"We are seeing a lot of college grads leaving Michigan," said Tom Bovee, a Manpower regional director. "Part of the challenge, obviously, is the lack of employment Michigan currently has to offer."
The exodus of Michigan's freshly educated is a boon for states such as Arizona, California, Texas and the Carolinas, said Bovee. Students relocating out of state for high-paying jobs means a loss to Michigan's state and local tax revenues.
Students are moving to other states because that's where the action is: jobs, money, affordable housing, and vibrant communities.
All this complaining about young workers leaving the state just reinforces our own negative perceptions of Michigan, and what good does that do us?
Let's start talking about what we can do to get people to stay in Michigan. Let's get to work and start building the type of communities that young people want to live in so we can reverse this trend.
Our legislators have balanced the 2007 budget and replaced the SBT... now it's time to start investing in our state!
Anyway, you click here to see the entire photo slideshow from our recent Borrowers' & Burners' Luncheon, or just hop over to the photo page to check out some pics from past events.
We think folks had a pretty good time at this year's event. If anything, we thought the Survivor game was one of our biggest hits yet, so thanks to everyone who made it so much fun!
Again, special thanks to Jim Wildermuth of ArTech Photography for donating his time and talents to come shoot these beautiful photos. Remember, if you're looking for a photographer to shoot your wedding, senior pictures, or family portrait, Jim's the man you want to talk to.
This news from Detroit LISC just popped up on our radar. From Model D:
Detroit's Local Initiative Support Organization unveiled plans totaling $100 million for seven targeted areas. The plans were developed over the last two years by community groups and residents, says Deborah Younger, Detroit LISC program director. "No one knows best what a community needs than the folks that live there, "Younger says.
The seven areas fall under one of two targets: Strategic Investment Area or Regional Investment Initiative. The former groups community development corporations with service providers, residents, businesses, government agencies and other stakeholders to craft plans for their areas. The latter pairs CDCs from Detroit with partners from inner ring suburbs to attempt to bridge a gap between the cities and to address shared needs.
Now that general plans have been crafted for each of the areas, LISC will target fundraising efforts towards foundations and others that support each particular initiative a community has identified. Already $38 million has been secured; an estimated $100 million is needed to complete the initiatives. LISC will also continue to play a public policy role as well as connecting neighborhood groups with larger economic development initiatives.
Sounds like an exciting program.
We'll definitely be keeping an eye on this one.
Warren would not exist without the city of Detroit, nor would Sterling Heights or Wixom. Auburn Hills is a combination of bedroom community and industrial park for both Pontiac and Detroit.
These communities could certainly benefit from experts who can tell them just where to put a small park or a bit of green space.
Yet what is really needed is some kind of master urban development plan for the entire metropolitan area. This would be written and developed by somebody who sees the area as a whole.
Someone, that is, who knows that we are a region, not merely a bunch of places trying to selfishly ignore the fact that everyone in any metropolitan area is in this together.
Running any kind of a regional master plan would take metropolitan government at some level, or at least close coordination and cooperation by the commissioners of at least three counties.
Yet we need this desperately.
Jack's onto something here.
This goes back to what the Living in Michigan campaign has been talking about for months now.
Here we are in Michigan with all these wonderful community development organizations doing great work throughout the state. We have so many, in fact, that we're able to fill the Lansing Center for three days every year, giving our state the largest affordable housing conference in the country. Yet, Michigan is ranked 48th in the country on a per capita basis for its state revenue support of affordable housing.
While the community development and affordable housing industries in our state have accomplished a lot over the years, we can't jump-start Michigan's economy without cooperation and coordination from our elected officials.
Jack sums it up nicely:
Birmingham will never live up to its full potential as long as slums that look like something out of central America exist within ten miles of its elegant townhouses and bistros.
No man is an island entire of itself, John Donne famously said. No community in Michigan is either, even Mackinac Island. We’re in this together, and ignoring that fact increasingly puts all of us in peril.
We are in this together, but we need leadership from state government to support innovative efforts like the Living in Michigan campaign to help put us on the right track.
The next two weeks - this is our window of opportunity, one we may not get again!
Specifically, we need you to contact your legislator TODAY and set up a meeting to tell him or her how a $100-million-dollar fund will help your community. Your legislators need to know how this fund will make YOUR community a vibrant place where families want to live, work, play and retire. In addition, we need to generate as many e-mails or letters as possible over the next two weeks.
If you need any materials or assistance for your meeting, please contact Mark Pischea at 517-487-9320 or mpischea@rossmangroup.com. You can also visit www.LivingInMichigan.org for important information and materials. Click here for a useful form you can use to update the coalition on the outcome of your meeting.
Joe and Luella Bassett -- two longtime Trust Fund supporters -- have issued a $100,000.00 challenge for individual investments. They will match dollar-for-dollar new individual investments with the Trust Fund, which means your investment will go twice as far towards supporting our mission.
Why are investments with the Trust Fund so important? Well, the support we get from our dedicated investors helps fund our affordable housing and economic development loan programs. Here's what we've achieved as an organization, thanks to our investors:
Needless to say, we're very excited about this ambitious challenge from the Bassetts. We'll have much more about all this -- and an interview with the Bassetts -- in the July edition of our newsletter.
In the meantime, if you'd like to learn how you can become a Trust Fund investor, and have your money matched by Joe & Luella Bassett, please contact our Director of Investor Relations, Jane Carpenter, at 313-964-7300.
The agreement will replace all the roughly $1.9 billion a year now brought in by the Single Business Tax, which expires at the end of this year. The revenue neutrality of the plan is considered important to help Michigan tread water during its ongoing state government budget crisis.
"This new Michigan Business Tax will make Michigan competitive," Granholm said during a late afternoon press conference at the Capitol. "It will represent a tax cut for seven out of 10 businesses in Michigan."
The agreement incorporates elements of competing Democratic and Republican tax plans, giving all sides some of what they want in the new structure.
Democrats who control the House got incentives that reward businesses for investing in Michigan and creating jobs, with out-of-state companies that have sales in Michigan likely to pay more taxes. The plan also helps domestic automakers and large manufacturers by lowering the taxes they pay on machinery and equipment by two-thirds.
"We provide an environment where people can get back to work in Michigan," Dillon said.
Majority Republicans in the Senate succeeded in basing the tax on companies' income and modified gross receipts — a "margins" tax — and in including provisions aimed at helping small firms grow. Startup companies could pay few, if any, business taxes in their first five years if they add 20 jobs a year.
"We're protecting, supporting and fostering our own domestic businesses," said Sen. Nancy Cassis, a Republican from Novi who helped craft the compromise.
Todd Anderson of the Small Business Association of Michigan called the plan a "tremendous improvement" over the SBT, adding that it should result in an overall tax cut for most small businesses.
For obvious reasons, we'll steer clear of the political debate here, but it's clear that the big winner today is the State of Michigan as a whole.
Over the past year or so, the three major Wall Street agencies -- Fitch, Moody's, and Standard and Poor's -- have all lowered the state's credit rating as a result of the uncertainty over Michigan's structural deficit and business tax. This effectively makes it more expensive for the state to borrow money, which in turn makes it that much more difficult to balance the budget each year.
Hopefully, now that at least half of the budget puzzle is taken care of, our elected officials will reach another bipartisan agreement on the 2008 budget so we can start getting our economy back on the right track.
Of course, as we've been advocating all along, one of the best ways to jump-start our economy is through investments in affordable housing and economic development, which is where organizations like ours -- and all the others affiliated with the Living in Michigan campaign -- come in.
Remember, our work wasn't finished on Advocacy Day back in May. We're just getting warmed up.
For those who want to learn more about RSS (which stands for Really Simple Syndication), you can read up on the technology here, but you really don't have to worry about how it works.
Just know this: by simply entering your email address in the form below (or the permanent one in the sidebar), our blog updates will be sent to you via email, saving you the hassle of having to check out our website to see when we've made changes.
Remember, the Trust Fund will never send you spam – you'll just be receiving the same content you would normally read here in your inbox, in one, tidy email.
If you find yourself really enjoying RSS feeds, you may want to start using a free aggregator, such as My Yahoo, Newsgator, Bloglines, or Google Reader. An aggregator will basically help you manage all your RSS feeds, and organize them into separate categories. Most modern websites offer an RSS feed, so this is a great way to manage a steady flow of fresh web content – just look for a square symbol, like the one in this post.
Don't you hate it when you're watching a show like American Idol, and the host teases the audience with "exciting news... right after the break"? Of course you do, everyone hates that.
With this in mind, we apologize in advance for what we're about to do.
Two of our most loyal investors have some exciting news to share with the entire Trust Fund community. We can't wait to let everyone know all about Joe and Luella Bassett's big news ...
...later in the week.
Stay tuned!
Jim has been graciously photographing our major events for the past several years, including last week's Borrowers' & Burners' Luncheon. (FYI: we will be posting these pictures later in the week.)
The entire Trust Fund team is exceedingly grateful for Jim's generous services. If you live in the Greater Lansing area and ever need a photographer for weddings, senior photos, or family portraits, we highly recommend ArTech Photography, which you can reach at 517-625-5177. To see samples of Jim's photos, and learn more about ArTech's services, be sure to visit artechphoto.com.
UPDATE 6/11/07: It has been brought to our attention that the Cities of Promise website is down, so if the link doesn't work, just try again in a few days.
MSHDA just released the May edition of its Building Blocks Newsletter, which you can read here (PDF). This edition includes stories on the Affordable Housing Conference, Lunch on the Lawn, HomeAid Michigan, the creation of MSHDA's Urban Revitalization Division, tools for building successful families, and the Cities of Promise program. There's lots of good stuff here, so if you get a chance, check it out.
The article about the Cities of Promise program is of particular interest to all of us here at the Trust Fund. We've been working with MSHDA on the Cities of Promise initiative for some time now. Starting this year, our economic development loan program will be actively targeting its lending efforts in each of the eight Cities of Promise.
Just recently, MSHDA unveiled a new website for the Cities of Promise initiative, which you can find at citiesofpromise.org. The site features histories for each of the eight cities, photo essays, local resources for each community, news, and other helpful information about the program. Be sure to bookmark the site, and check back often. We'll be keeping tabs on it too, so keep an eye out here on the blog for more info about this exciting new program.
Whoops... we almost forgot to post something about this!
A few weeks ago, our President Christine Coady and Executive Assistant Melodie Balzer Sanford participated in the Fifth Annual Osman Hope Golf Outing.
Osman Hope is a Brighton-based non-profit that helps poor children throughout Honduras. By establishing shelters, the organization hopes "to provide children with protection from the elements, nourishment for the body, enrichment for the spirit and educational opportunities for the mind. All children are eligible and will be admitted on the basis of need as determined by the host church or agency."
The Golf Outing was held at the Whispering Pines Golf Course in Pinckney, Michigan. This shotgun-start, scramble-format event helps raise funds to support the programs and services of Osman Hope.
Anna Beningo, Executive Director of Michigan Habitat, has gone on numerous trips to Honduras, and has been affiliated with Osman Hope for some time. In 2005, Christi Coady went with Anna and a group of volunteers on a trip to Honduras through the Habitat Global Village program to build three houses for local families. Christi wrote about her experiences from the trip in an article for our newsletter, which you can read here.
To learn more about Osman Hope, and what you can do to support their work, be sure to visit their website.
We should have pictures from yesterday's luncheon up by
Once again, our blogging counterparts over on the MNA's Blog had a great post up yesterday. Here's what they had to say:
I don’t meet too many Americans who can’t find something to get them excited. We might be talking about the NBA playoffs or the latest Xbox, but they care — man, do they ever care! But the idea of citizenship…this incredible opportunity we all have to play an integral part in the community where we live…remains largely elusive. Instead, the word “citizenship” seems to inspire a list of all the “rights” we hold as citizens…devoid of the role we must play in return for those “rights.”
Truth be told, I’m not entirely sure how to change that pervasive attitude. But I can tell you this much: I’m so thankful for the work of nonprofits, the passion they inspire, and the willingness of nonprofit employees to take a smaller-than-corporate paycheck in exchange for making a difference in the field or cause or community they care about.
You’re the nonprofit sector. And you get it. You get that citizenship is a two-way street. You get the idea of responsibility. You get that one person, one group, one organization, one coalition, really can make a difference.
You are an example of what citizenship in action is all about.
This is so true. Just look at any of the wonderful organizations we've featured in our Borrower Profiles here on the blog or in our newsletters. These groups are out there, every day, making our state a better place to live. They understand what responsible citizenship is all about, and we're proud to make their work possible through our various lending programs.
This is really what today's Borrowers' & Burners' Luncheon is all about –– celebrating the amazing work and accomplishments of our borrowers. Ultimately, it's their tireless work that makes us get out of bed in the morning, and do what we do.
We're expecting another fun event this afternoon...
see you at the Kellogg Center!
Remember, if you need a quick refresher on any of the details for the luncheon, you can find it all here.
While state and federal agencies offer ample information on economic development programs in Michigan, the absence of a central repository of major programs prompted the Citizens Research Council to attempt such a compendium in 2001. CRC's Survey of Economic Development Programs in Michigan, (CRC Report No. 334, May 2001), categorized and described over 40 federal and state economic development initiatives, and offered the reader an index of programs and program concepts for ease of use. The updated 2007 publication builds upon this effort by updating the descriptions of the 35 federal and state economic development initiatives still in effect, analyzing 8 new initiatives, and expounding program concepts to further aid the reader.
Major program categories include Federal Zone Programs, Grants or Direct Subsidies, Loans, Tax Abatements or Credits, Financing Programs and Tax Authorities, and Job and Employment Training programs. Programs not befitting these are listed as Other Local Unit Economic Development Options and Miscellaneous Authorities, Miscellaneous Grants and Loan Programs, and Miscellaneous Statewide Programs. These program categories include sundry economic development programs, and non-program, statutory adjuncts that facilitate development activities. It is important to note, however, that several programs could be categorized by more than 1 heading.
Unfortunately, the Trust Fund's Economic Development Loan Program didn't make it into the CRC's guide, but it's still an amazing resource that anyone in our line of work should be aware of.
Several MSHDA programs are featured, including the Cool Cities Initiative, Community Development Block Grants, Historic Preservation Grants, and a few others.
If you have a chance, be sure to download the entire 160-page PDF of the survey here.
We've been working long and hard on our 2006 Annual Report, and should be ready to introduce it at this Wednesday's Borrowers' & Burners' Luncheon.
Okay, so annual reports aren't usually the most thrilling reading material, but this is kind of a big deal for us. These reports are a chance for the Trust Fund to reflect on our accomplishments over the past year, and celebrate our successes with our borrowers and investors.
As soon as we have the printed reports in our hands, we'll go ahead and post a PDF version on the downloads page. Keep an eye on the blog for more info.
Reminder: If you haven't registered for the B&B Luncheon yet, there's still time. Head over to the online registration page and sign up now!
Great Lakes Capital Fund CEO Mark McDaniel was quoted in last night's MIRS report, talking about the state's ongoing budget crisis.
Since MIRS is a subscription-only news service, we'll be referencing the article through Dan Scripps' blog (he's a former candidate for State Representative, whom the Trust Fund has no affiliation with, other than for the purposes of referencing this story):
According to Mark McDaniel, president and CEO of the Great Lakes Capital Fund, the continuing foot dragging on a real solution to the state's budget problems is costing the state hundreds of millions of dollars - and that's just in the funds GLCF controls!
McDaniel states that in previous years he has been able to garner up to $180 per year in equity investment; this year, it's only $40 million. The reason? According to McDaniel, it's the combination of a struggling economy, a still-missing SBT replacement, negative headlines and the lack of a reasonably balanced budget - all of which taken together give investors the jitters.
McDaniel explains that investors keep asking "'What in the world is going on in Michigan?' ... How do I explain that to these groups, these companies that are looking to invest $10, $15 or $20 million each with us? To have them call and say 'Why would we invest, you just got downgraded, what's going on in your state? Why can't your legislature and your government get this figured out?'"
McDaniel states that "the type of housing projects his firm traditionally invests in are what will make communities the kind of places where so-called "new economy" jobs will be created and located. It's the kind of investment that will make his 12-year-old son want to stay in the state after graduation and to which lawmakers and public policy officials pay so much lip service."
We're not going to put ourselves in the middle of all this back-and-forth about the budget, but as a fellow member of the Living in Michigan campaign, we certainly support the notion that the state needs to take affordable housing and community development issues seriously. If we invest in our communities, we can establish the kind of places where young people want to live, and businesses will create jobs.