Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan Awards More Than $600,000 in Grants to Area Nonprofit Organizations

Detroit, MI, April 10, 2009 --(PR.com)-- The Board of Trustees of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan (www.cfsem.org) approved $651,750 in grants to nonprofit organizations working to improve the quality of life in the region. The Board approved the grants at its March meeting. The following organizations are among those receiving grants from the Community Foundation:

• Arts League of Michigan, Detroit, $75,000 to support the expansion of the community arts and education program to a wider audience, including young children and seniors. Programming will include a variety of visual arts disciplines, theater and dance, and private music instruction, with classes offered four days per week.

• Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Detroit, $250,000 to support artistic initiatives. These new initiatives include an emphasis on presenting the works of a diverse array of living composers, educating young audiences, developing a sonic profile that is uniquely Detroit, and deepening relations with the community.

• American Red Cross – Southeastern Michigan Chapter, Detroit, $100,000 to support the expansion of the Service to the Armed Forces program.

• Eight Mile Boulevard Association, Detroit, $65,000 (over two years) to support the Eight Mile Corridor Keeper program to address public safety, urban blight and code violations along Eight Mile Road. The underlying principle of the program is that a property’s appearance impacts the success of a business and a well-maintained business is more likely to be successful.

• The Greening of Detroit, Detroit, $75,000 to support the restructuring of Tree Keepers Kids (TKK), a school-based environmental education program. TKK will provide educators in Detroit’s elementary and middle schools with resources, training and materials to increase their ability to provide improved environmental education and science learning opportunities for their students.

• First Step – Western Wayne County Project on Domestic Assault, Plymouth, $80,000 (over two years) to support a sexual assault nurse examiner program. The sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) concept is a national standard for operating sexual assault programs characterized by exceptional response to survivor needs, clinical care, forensic capability, and collaboration with law enforcement and health care institutions. The SANE program will be implemented in collaboration with 10 area hospitals, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, and the 35 police departments that serve Wayne County.

The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan is a permanent community endowment built by gifts from thousands of individuals and organizations committed to the future of southeast Michigan. The Foundation works to improve the region’s quality of life by connecting those who care with causes that matter. The Foundation supports a wide variety of activities benefiting education, arts and culture, health, human services, community development and civic affairs. Since its inception, the Foundation has distributed more than $324 million through more than 30,000 grants to nonprofit organizations throughout Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Monroe, Washtenaw, St. Clair and Livingston counties. For more information, please visit www.cfsem.org.

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