Questions Surround MEDC Grants to Ann Arbor Non-Profits

by P.D. Lesko

A FOIA request by Michigan Capitol Confidential revealed that the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, whose mission is to foster economic development in the state which creates jobs, doled out $248 million in grants to 180 non-profits. Among those non-profits were the Ann Arbor Civic Theater, the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, the Ann Arbor Hands on Museum, Washtenaw Promise, Inc., Ypsilanti Youth Orchestra, Ann Arbor SPARK, Ann Arbor Housing Development Corporation, as well as the Washtenaw County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.

According to reporting, “The economic organization sent money to nonprofits and government bodies statewide, plus one in Illinois. The MEDC gave $7 million to Grand Valley State University, a taxpayer-supported institution. It also gave $1.2 million to the Michigan Economic Development Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization not subject to the state’s open records law but which funds some of the governor’s foreign travels. The development corporation funded a music festival in the Upper Peninsula, a school in Lansing, and many other entities. For example, the MEDC paid $350k to UChicago Argonne and millions to universities that already receive taxpayer funding.”

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation defended its allocations to nonprofits. “The MEDC interacts with nonprofits in a variety of ways, and those ways often change based on what the Legislature writes into the statute and the annual state budget,” Danielle Emerson, MEDC public relations manager, said in an email.

Ann Arbor SPARK received multiple MEDC grants totaling millions. SPARK is funded in large part by a tax increment finance (TIF) district centered in downtown Ann Arbor. According to its most recent 990 federal income tax return, in 2023, SPARK lost $1.03 million on $8.4 million in total revenue. SPARK currently has $13.4 million in net assets. IRS tax returns show between 2015 and 2024, SPARK lost money in all but two years, loses exceeding $11.1 million.

SPARK’s 990 shows that the entity, whose stated mission on its IRS income tax return is to “advance the economy of the Ann Arbor region,” distributed a $130,000 grant to Grand Valley State University, $42,000 to Washtenaw Community College, whose president Rose Bellanca sits on the SPARK Board of Directors, and $10,000 to the University of Michigan. The Chair of SPARK, Kelly Sexton, is a University of Michigan employee. SPARK gave a $172,000 grant to the Livingston County Howell Area Chamber of Commerce and a $96,000 grant to the Monroe County Business Alliance.