More than 600 applications received
More than 600 applications were received for grants, and 32 businesses were selected; 30 were each given $10,000 grants, and two businesses -- The Detroit Training Center and Louisiana Creole Gumbo -- each won $100,000 prizes. The annual grant program is growing in popularity and is recognized as an important part of Detroit's effort to support small business.
What's next?
Although 2016 was supposed to be the last year of the competition, it will be offered again in 2017. The New Economy Initiative is a special project of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. Their goal is to help build a regional network of support for entrepreneurs and small businesses who are the backbone of the economy in Detroit and SE Michigan.
The annual grant contest has resulted in a total of $1.5 million that has been awarded to 96 businesses since NEIdeas began in 2014. About 75 percent of NEIdeas winners are minority-owned businesses, and 60 percent are woman-owned businesses.
To find out more about how to qualify and apply for the 2017 NEI grant program, go to neweconomyinitiative.org/
Read more at www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2016/11/new_economy_initiative_awards.html
