Erb Family Foundation Awards $1M Transformational Grant to Michigan Opera Theatre
Today we announced $4.9 million in new and ongoing grants during the December grant cycle. See the complete grants list here.
The Foundation awarded two new transformational arts grants. One to Michigan Opera Theatre, the premier producer and presenter for opera, musical theatre, and dance in the Great Lakes Region, for $1 million to broaden audiences through inventive and reimagined productions. The second to Midtown Detroit, Inc., an economic development organization, for $500,0000 to activate Detroit’s Cultural Center with public events and programs and facilitate collaboration among the district’s arts and culture institutions.
The remaining $3.4 million in grants was dispersed across the Foundation’s other focus areas: Great Lakes, environmental health and justice, sustainable business, and Alzheimer’s research.
Grants awarded to Great Lakes organizations will increase stewardship, reduce agricultural runoff, and improve water quality in the Great Lakes basin.
- The Nature Conservancy received $500,000 to demonstrate permanent conservation practices on farm fields in Michigan’s western Lake Erie basin
- National Wildlife Federation received $450,000 to strengthen the Healing Our Waters Great Lakes Coalition of 170 organizations that ensure Great Lakes restoration remains a policy priority
- Alliance for the Great Lakes received $128,000 to develop an investment strategy that estimates the gap between current and necessary funding to achieve the State of Michigan’s goal to reduce phosphorus in Lake Erie
Grants in the environmental health and justice focus areas will help reduce elevated blood lead levels in Detroit and Wayne County children and incidents of asthma.
- Global Detroit received $170,000 for bilingual lead abatement training for Detroit-based contractors
- Ecology Center received $125,000 to foster collaboration among stakeholders working on air quality issues in Detroit and Wayne County