May 9, 2018
MotorCities National Heritage Area awards more than $40,000 in grant funding to 6 Michigan projects
The MotorCities National Heritage Area, a non-profit organization dedicated to the historic preservation of the automotive industry, has launched Phase 2 of its 2018 Challenge Grant cycle by awarding more than $40,000 to groups telling the story of how “We put the world on wheels.” Total grants funded for the year now total over $100,000.
Grant recipients for 2018 include a diverse assortment of projects from physical restoration of historically significant buildings or automobiles to educational programs that chronicle important stories from the region’s automotive and labor history.
“MotorCities, now in its 20th year, is proud to continue to support such a varied selection of projects which support our rich automotive and labor heritage and its influence on our communities,” said Shawn Pomaville-Size, MotorCities Executive Director.
There were a total of 6 projects awarded grant funding as part of Phase 2, joining 10 projects funded earlier this year. The Phase 2 grants include the following:
- Automotive Hall of Fame (Dearborn): Supporting the production of new content for the attraction’s website, blog and subscriber emails -- $13,000;
- Flint Cultural Center: Supporting the "Autos of Sloan" exhibit planned for the Courtland Center in Burton beginning on June 16, 2018 – $8,600;
- Friends of Historic Hamtramck: Supporting the renovation of the main exhibit hall of the Hamtramck Historical Museum to present the exhibits in a way that will appropriately highlight the importance and educational value of the museum's collection including automotive and union artifacts -- $4,127;
- Horace and Mabel Hackett Foundation (Jackson): Supporting a community awareness program for the revitalization and preservation of the Hackett Auto Museum, a building in Jackson steeped in automotive history -- $3,730;
- Jewish Historical Society of Michigan (West Bloomfield): Supporting the 2018 J-Cycle bicycle tour of Detroit sharing stories of Jewish heroes and heroines and funds to develop an interactive route map to be distributed to riders and shared widely after the event -- $7,850;
- Six Rivers Land Conservancy (Rochester): Supporting the production of an event called the Six Rivers Country Drive Car Tour to engage the automotive manufacturing and enthusiast community in land and natural resource conservation in the region -- $3,000.
The MotorCities Challenge Grant program has been funding historical and cultural preservation projects in Michigan since 1998 when Congress passed the Automobile National Heritage Area Act. Since that time, MotorCities, an affiliate of the National Park Service and the state’s only National Heritage Area, has awarded $1.4 million in grant monies to hundreds of projects.
***
About MotorCities NHA:
Headquartered in Detroit, the MotorCities National Heritage Area Partnership is a nonprofit corporation affiliated with the National Park Service that serves 16 counties representing a population of over 6.5 million. Its mission is to preserve, interpret and promote the region’s rich automotive and labor heritage. Regional programs inspire residents and visitors with an appreciation for how the automobile changed Michigan, the nation, and the world. Find MotorCities on the web at www.motorcities.org; also visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/motorcities and follow them on Twitter/Instagram: @MotorCities.
Contact: Bob Sadler
Communications Manager
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Phone: (313) 259-3425 ext. 302
Fax: (313) 259-5254
MOTORCITIES NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA
200 Renaissance Center
Detroit, MI 48243
www.MotorCities.org