Consumers Energy to Help Rural Communities Choose Their Own Destinies
Grants for Rural Community Assessments Allow for Future Planning
LANSING, MI—Rural Community Assessments, facilitated by the Michigan Rural Council (MRC), help rural communities evaluate their community assets and empower them with the tools needed to plan for the future. We are pleased to announce that Consumers Energy will provide three $1,400 grants for communities in their service area to use toward the $2,500 cost of a Rural Community Assessment.
The Michigan Rural Council, a program of the Community Economic Development Association of Michigan (CEDAM), looks forward to the impact the grants will have.
“The generous grants offered by Consumers Energy will help the MRC reach communities that we may not have had the opportunity to work with in the past,” said Jessica AcMoody, senior policy specialist at CEDAM and MRC coordinator. “We’re grateful that Consumers Energy is an ongoing supporter of initiatives that help the advancement of small, rural communities.”
While the MRC facilitates the assessments, the process is locally led from the start. Multiple meetings take place to include input from municipal departments, community development corporations, community groups, business owners, property owners and other community stakeholders and leaders.
“Consumers Energy is committed to the Michigan communities we serve,” said Carolyn Bloodworth, director of corporate giving for Consumers Energy. “The key to success for any community is engagement from those who live and work there. Ultimately it is the residents and local leaders who create a new shared vision for economic development success in their community.”
Consumers Energy will also consider these assessments as an important starting point for a community’s revitalization plan, which may help with future grant considerations by its charitable foundation.
Communities interested in Rural Community Assessments grants can learn more and apply at rural.cedamichigan.org/community-assessments. Please contact Jessica AcMoody at 517.485.3588 ext. 1944 or by email at acmoody@cedamichigan.org with any additional questions.
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