Stories of Philanthropic Leadership in Advancing Regional and ...

and businesses are quantified in a spring 2005report titled, Living for the City—Smart Growth inDetroit. The report’s recommendations are intendedto serve as a guide to further advance urban landuse reforms in the state’s largest city andmetropolitan region.Funder InterestIn early 2003, the bipartisan appointments byMichigan’s newly-elected governor and top legislativeleaders led to the appointment of an esteemed andindependent group of 26 advisors known as theMichigan Land Use Leadership Council. Theircharge was to offer a report to state government onhow best to protect and preserve Michigan’s land,communities, and economic vitality. Staff support forthe Leadership Council was provided by participantsin the Michigan Land Use Funders Group (which isin turn coordinated by the Council of MichiganFoundations). As a result, over six months in 2003,the intense and exhaustive deliberations of theCouncil drew upon both expert presentations andpublic comments. Still, in spite of the devotion of anentire chapter of the Council’s report to urbanrevitalization, the absence of urban and minorityvoices was all too obvious.The Council’s lack of urban and minority participationmirrors Michigan’s segregation patterns. As documentedby the U.S. Census Bureau, five of the country’s mostracially segregated metropolitan regions are Michigancities: Detroit, Saginaw, Flint, Benton Harbor, andMuskegon. One of every seven residents in Michigan isAfrican American; yet in Detroit, eight of every tenresidents are African American. Furthermore, 96 percentof Michigan’s black residents live in just 11 metropolitanregions. Hence, 70 of the state’s 83 counties areoverwhelmingly white, with minority populations of lessthan 3 percent.It is against the backdrop of this disparity inrepresentation and exclusion from decisionmakingthat Bill Rustem, president and CEO of the LansingbasedPublic Sector Consultants and PAL’s programadministrator declares, “We have to find ways tobridge the gaps. The same issues exist for farms andcities. Ultimately, the goals must also be the same.”Linda W. Helstowski, consultant to the Council ofMichigan Foundations, agrees, adding that theproject’s goals were “at the heart of addressing theneed to bring different interests together. We have toget information about problems and solutions topolicy reformers. So when we get a diverse set ofpeople and leaders around the table—particularlyurban voices—we can work to increase the skills andcapacities of groups to be engaged.”Regional/Neighborhood Equity Impacts“People of color and urban dwellers are becomingmore engaged in these issues and are gainingmomentum throughprojects like theMLUI/DetroitNAACP initiative,”observes KarenAldridge-Eason, aCharles Stewart MottFoundation programdirector on loan tothe state of Michiganas FoundationLiaison to the Officeof the Governor.The Ford Foundation— Linda Helstowskigot involved insupporting thepartnership for precisely this reason. The Foundationwas interested in supporting a non-traditionalcollaboration between an African American organizationlike the NAACP and a traditionally whiteenvironmental organization like MLUI, in order bridgedialogues about social justice and smarter growth.Results“We have to get informationabout problems andsolutions to policy reformers.So when we get a diverseset of people and leadersaround the table—particularlyurban voices—we can work toincrease the skills andcapacities of groups to beengaged.”According to Helstowski, this effort has “seeded thegroundwork” for additional untraditional alliances. “Iwas enthused to learn of the project. This learningeffort can lay the groundwork for working together indifferent ways,” she adds. Helstowski continues, “Thisproject is just one example of the array of effortssupported by foundations involved in the MichiganLand Use Funders Group aimed at promoting urbanreinvestment and land preservation and engaging amore diverse set of informed voices in state policyreform. The funders meet regularly to share reflectionsand updates on projects underway across the state,lessons learned, and strategies and opportunities formoving this important work forward.”EQUITABLE PUBLIC INVESTMENTPart III: Section 1: Promoting Equitable Public Investment 42