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Issue #218
March 17, 2008

Attention Detroit Nonprofits:
Contact the Detroit City Council Today re: CDBG funding!

What You Can Do!

1. Contact the Detroit City Council today to urge them to reconsider the board member residency requirement placed on applications for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding. Under this requirement nonprofits are ineligible to receive CDBG funding unless 51 percent of their board members reside in the city. More than 100 organizations have been deemed ineligible for the funding.We urge you to call or email city council members today to voice your concern about this dangerous precedent. Contact information and talking points are below.

2. Attend the public hearing and appeals hearing to show your opposition. Details from the city on the hearings are below.

Public Hearing

We also encourage you to attend the public hearing scheduled tomorrow from 1:30 - 4:00 P.M. in Detroit.

The Detroit City Council will host a public hearing on the Consolidated Plan, including the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Neighborhood Opportunity Fund (NOF) Programs, on Tuesday, March 18, 2008, from 1:30 - 4:00 PM in the Auditorium on the 13th Floor of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center. Organizations that were not recommended for funding should attend the Appeals Hearing NOT the Public Hearing.

Appeals Hearing

For those organizations that have been deemed ineligible for the funding, there is an Appeals Hearing scheduled for Wednesday, March 19, 2008 from 1:00 PM - 4:00 in the Auditorium on the 13th Floor of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center.

The Appeals Hearing is the formal opportunity to appeal the funding recommendations to City Council. Appeals may only be made by those organizations that were not recommended for funding. Appeals are to be made in writing using the attached form. The form is to be submitted on the day of the public hearing at the registration table. Please retain a copy of the form for your records. Final decisions will not be made on every appeal at this time, but will be addressed during the Council's deliberations. Any applicant making an appeal after this date or desiring to appeal the decisions of the City Council may make such an appeal through the office of the City Clerk utilizing the normal petition process. For more information on the Hearing contact the city at 313-224-6225.

Contact Information

Talking Points

I urge you to reconsider the board member residency requirement placed on applicants for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding.
I understand your desire to have representation from the city on nonprofit boards. However, requiring 51 percent of an organization's board members to reside in the city is a dangerous precedent that would interfere with a nonprofit's ability to perform its mission and serve the people of Detroit.
Many board members who reside outside the city of Detroit work inside the city. The residency of board members is not a clear indicator of their commitment to the city of Detroit and its residents.
Nonprofits in Detroit are struggling to make ends meet with increasing demand for services and decreasing financial support. Diversity in board composition is more important now than ever before.
Nonprofits should not be ineligible for government funding because they have a certain percentage of board members located outside of a specific geographic region. Instead they should be judged by their effectiveness in meeting the needs of the people of Detroit.
Please reconsider this residency requirement and I hope the City Council will engage in a meaningful dialogue with nonprofits in the city to find the best solution for the people of Detroit.
Thank you for your time.

MNA Action Network
The place where you can speak directly to elected officials about the issues affecting the nonprofit sector.