Ingham County granted dozens of nonprofits the ability to create a lot of meaningful change. The Lansing Economic Area Partnership is a private-public partnership that works to bring business to Lansing and boost the local economy. $1.25 million out of the $11 million in the Ingham County Sunrise Small Business Grant Program, was awarded to 83 nonprofits across the county at the beginning of October. For many of these organizations, this means they have the ability to re-open for the first time since the pandemic began. This program operates through the LEAP to use American Rescue Plan Act Funds to fill in gaps in the community, according to Ingham County Board of Commissioners Chairman Bryan Crenshaw.
Team G.L.A.S.S., $10,000
Willie Glass, coach of Greater Lansing Area Specialized Sports, said “The money we were awarded was much needed and it’s for a great cause and a great purpose. It’ll help a lot of inner-city kids and people within the community and it’ll go a long way, we appreciate it a lot.”
Team G.L.A.S.S. mentors young people in the area in nearly all aspects of life and specializes in boxing. However, because of the nature of nonprofits, they had to close for a long time due to COVID-19. With the grant money, it is able to give out more scholarships, buy equipment, entry fees and registration, and even travel for tournaments.
The Sunrise Grant Program was designed to combat inequities within underrepresented communities like Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, people who are LGBTQ+, women, veterans and people with disabilities, who have suffered even more through the economic impacts of COVID-19.
The Village Lansing, $10,000
Erica Lynn, Executive Director of The Village Lansing, said “I think things like this are amazing for our community. It felt like a more equitable process. I think if we can make access to funding like this available more often, like annually, I think it can really help and make a difference with the smaller organizations.”
The Village Lansing covers a wide range of support systems and services. It works directly with people in the area. That includes facilitating donations, organizing outreach, offering trauma counseling and support, free CPL certification, fun activities and will soon include career counseling.
LEAP’s $11 million came from the first portion of the federal Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. Ingham County designated LEAP to grant the money, which entailed a lengthy application process where 57% of the applicants were awarded varying amounts. Fifteen people with a background in the field eliminated the ineligible, and an additional three people reviewed the remaining applicants. All information regarding the applications including the review process is available on the grants website.
Williamston Theatre, $20,000
Emily Sutton-Smith, professional actress and co-founder of the Williamston Theatre, said “We’re the ones that closed first and we are the ones that are going to open last, so I was so pleased that they made that portion of the economy be included in this grant funding. That we qualified, that they feel that we are a valuable investment for the economic recovery from this pandemic. We really care about our audience, and gosh we’ve missed them. These are people that we’ve known since we opened 15 years ago and we’ve built relationships with them.”
With the help of the Ingham County Sunrise Grant Program, the Williamston Theater among other organizations can finally afford the equipment they need to serve the county’s residents once more.
Erica Lynn said, “The grant is going to help keep our building going. . .also to continue funding the programs that we do because everything that we offer is free. We really strive to keep everything free. . . Thank you for making it a little bit easier for some of the smaller nonprofits to access these funds. That felt really good. Sometimes it can be a little overwhelming to find access to any type of funding, especially if you’re doing the work and the advertising and trying to gather the funding.”