Flint, Michigan – The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation will ask Flint residents to vote this spring on grants to strengthen their neighborhoods, but first residents are being asked to help design the voting process.

Flint residents are invited to apply to be part of the Mott Foundation’s Community Panel. Applications will be accepted between Feb. 12 and Feb. 19. Nine residents will be selected the week of Feb. 24.

Last fall, Foundation staff hosted 29 community conversations. They met with and listened to more than 400 Flint residents and business owners, who made it clear that strengthening neighborhoods is their top priority. As a result, the Foundation announced in November that it would grant $1 million in neighborhood improvements in 2020 and that residents would have a say in how every dollar was spent.

Throughout November 2019, more than 440 people submitted a total of 625 ideas in four categories — beautification/neighborhood cleanup, home improvements, demolition, and streetlight and sidewalk repair.

After reading through the ideas and understanding what is most important to residents, the Foundation is now asking a group of residents to help organize the ideas, then recommend the number and size of grants to be voted on. Residents also will be asked to help design a voting process that will be accessible to anyone in the community who would like to participate.

“We’ve had amazing feedback from Flint residents so far, and we hope they’ll continue to be involved and apply to be a part of the Community Panel,” said Ridgway White, Mott Foundation president and CEO. “We want to hear from residents every step of the way, and we hope to have a diverse group of residents for the panel — people living throughout the city who offer different life experiences and perspectives.”

Applications to serve on the Community Panel must be received by 4 p.m. on February 19.  Residents can submit their applications in the following ways:

  • Complete the online application posted at focusonflint.org/panel.
  • Download and print the application from focusonflint.org/panel and submit it in one of the following ways:
    • Drop off a completed application between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.at:
      The Mott Foundation building
      503 S. Saginaw St., Suite 1200, Flint, MI 48502
    • Email a completed application to focusonflint@mott.org.
  • Residents also can pick up an application at one of the following Flint locations:
    • Flint Development Center, 4121 Martin Luther King Ave.
    • Latinx Technology and Community Center, 2101 Lewis St.
    • Ferris Wheel, 615 Saginaw St.
    • Brennan Senior Center, 1301 Pingree Ave.
    • Neighborhood Engagement Hub, 3216 Martin Luther King Ave.
    • Sylvester Broome Empowerment Village, 4119 Saginaw St.
    • Flint Public Library, 1026 E. Kearsley St.
    • Flint City Hall, 1101 Saginaw St.
    • St. Luke N.E.W. Life Center, 3115 Lawndale Ave.
    • Berston Field House, 3300 Saginaw St.
    • Hasselbring Senior Center, 1002 W. Home Ave.
  • Residents can then drop off a completed application between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. at:
    The Mott Foundation building
    503 S. Saginaw St., Suite 1200, Flint, MI 48502