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Communities First
Flint
Hero Story
Founded in 2010, the mission of Communities First, Inc. (CFI) is to build healthy, vibrant communities through economic development, affordable housing, and innovative programming. Over the past 10 years, CFI has provided wrap-around services to underserved populations including low-to-moderate income youth and their families, individuals experiencing homelessness, seniors, and people with disabilities. As a Black-founded and led non-profit, CFI has built all programming with strong racial equity and social justice framework. Throughout the organization’s work, CFI strives to support individuals and make system-level changes. With the support of over 250 volunteers, CFI has been able to assist 35,000 individuals across Michigan and Indiana in the last year. As an organization, CFI strives to meet individuals where they are and provides a holistic approach to community economic development.
Since the pandemic began, CFI has continued to reach thousands through its safe and creative programming. CFI’s Culture Shock provides free arts and culture opportunities to thousands of community members in Flint, Detroit, and Saginaw, Michigan. In 2020, CFI pivoted its African American Film Series (AAFS) from an in-person to an entirely virtual format. All film showings, which highlight the work of African-American creators, as well as their respective panel discussions, were streamed. True to the spirit of offering fun and engaging opportunities, innovative programmatic adaptations like the creation of party packs brought the experience of attending a film series showing home with tasty treats and educational materials. For its 2021 program, CFI has adopted a hybrid format with films shown at the Flint Institute of Arts and streamed panel discussions with local leaders. The organization’s Movies Under the Stars (MUTS) program, which offers free film opportunities to families, was offered as three drive-in movie events in 2020 and returned to six in-person opportunities in Flint, Detroit, and Saginaw in 2021.
CFI flexible program responses to the pandemic extend to the organization’s civic engagement efforts and Step-Up Pick-Up community clean-ups. During the pandemic, CFI’s civic engagement efforts have connected hundreds to voter education opportunities, Census registration, and Michigan’s new redistricting process. CFI paired informational, socially-distanced initiates with attention grabbers like free food trucks. The organization continued to keep residents informed and engaged at home with Stay Home, Stay Safe Kits, which included information on virtual arts and culture tours around the world. CFI also hosted multiple interactions of its neighborhood beautification initiative – Step Up, Pick Up – by encouraging socially-distanced community groups to participate in a friendly virtual competition.
CFI’s Make a Difference (MAD) youth cohorts similarly focus on engaging young people in their communities. Groups in Flint and Detroit completed a variety of service projects in conduction with immersive, educational experiences over the summer. During the pandemic, over 20 students have participated and completed projects including digital campaigns highlighting local, minority entrepreneurs and small business owners, built free little tiny pantries to respond to food insecurity in targeted neighborhoods, completed city visioning project to design community layouts and amenities, created sustainable food truck business pitches,
Furthermore, CFI transitioned its financial empowerment and literacy program, Community Candor, into a virtual format. By partnering with industry experts, CFI educated participants on a variety of financial topics including banking and establishing credit to managing debt and planning for retirement. Community Candor offers free, public presentation through streaming platforms like Facebook Live, classroom-style courses that narrow in on a particular topic via Zoom, as well as one-on-one financial coaching sessions (made possible by strong, collaboration with partners like financial planning institutions).
In the midst of global uncertainty, CFI responded to evolving community needs with imagination and commitment to mission. While prioritizing community health and following safety guidelines, CFI preserved the quality and quantity of its annual programming while offering them an alternative format. Communities First, Inc. is a hero organization because of its unwavering dedication to the communities, its commitment to innovation in the face of adversity, and the organization’s capacity to successfully respond to evolving community needs.
Communities First
Flint
Hero Story
Founded in 2010, the mission of Communities First, Inc. (CFI) is to build healthy, vibrant communities through economic development, affordable housing, and innovative programming. Over the past 10 years, CFI has provided wrap-around services to underserved populations including low-to-moderate income youth and their families, individuals experiencing homelessness, seniors, and people with disabilities. As a Black-founded and led non-profit, CFI has built all programming with strong racial equity and social justice framework. Throughout the organization’s work, CFI strives to support individuals and make system-level changes. With the support of over 250 volunteers, CFI has been able to assist 35,000 individuals across Michigan and Indiana in the last year. As an organization, CFI strives to meet individuals where they are and provides a holistic approach to community economic development.
Since the pandemic began, CFI has continued to reach thousands through its safe and creative programming. CFI’s Culture Shock provides free arts and culture opportunities to thousands of community members in Flint, Detroit, and Saginaw, Michigan. In 2020, CFI pivoted its African American Film Series (AAFS) from an in-person to an entirely virtual format. All film showings, which highlight the work of African-American creators, as well as their respective panel discussions, were streamed. True to the spirit of offering fun and engaging opportunities, innovative programmatic adaptations like the creation of party packs brought the experience of attending a film series showing home with tasty treats and educational materials. For its 2021 program, CFI has adopted a hybrid format with films shown at the Flint Institute of Arts and streamed panel discussions with local leaders. The organization’s Movies Under the Stars (MUTS) program, which offers free film opportunities to families, was offered as three drive-in movie events in 2020 and returned to six in-person opportunities in Flint, Detroit, and Saginaw in 2021.
CFI flexible program responses to the pandemic extend to the organization’s civic engagement efforts and Step-Up Pick-Up community clean-ups. During the pandemic, CFI’s civic engagement efforts have connected hundreds to voter education opportunities, Census registration, and Michigan’s new redistricting process. CFI paired informational, socially-distanced initiates with attention grabbers like free food trucks. The organization continued to keep residents informed and engaged at home with Stay Home, Stay Safe Kits, which included information on virtual arts and culture tours around the world. CFI also hosted multiple interactions of its neighborhood beautification initiative – Step Up, Pick Up – by encouraging socially-distanced community groups to participate in a friendly virtual competition.
CFI’s Make a Difference (MAD) youth cohorts similarly focus on engaging young people in their communities. Groups in Flint and Detroit completed a variety of service projects in conduction with immersive, educational experiences over the summer. During the pandemic, over 20 students have participated and completed projects including digital campaigns highlighting local, minority entrepreneurs and small business owners, built free little tiny pantries to respond to food insecurity in targeted neighborhoods, completed city visioning project to design community layouts and amenities, created sustainable food truck business pitches,
Furthermore, CFI transitioned its financial empowerment and literacy program, Community Candor, into a virtual format. By partnering with industry experts, CFI educated participants on a variety of financial topics including banking and establishing credit to managing debt and planning for retirement. Community Candor offers free, public presentation through streaming platforms like Facebook Live, classroom-style courses that narrow in on a particular topic via Zoom, as well as one-on-one financial coaching sessions (made possible by strong, collaboration with partners like financial planning institutions).
In the midst of global uncertainty, CFI responded to evolving community needs with imagination and commitment to mission. While prioritizing community health and following safety guidelines, CFI preserved the quality and quantity of its annual programming while offering them an alternative format. Communities First, Inc. is a hero organization because of its unwavering dedication to the communities, its commitment to innovation in the face of adversity, and the organization’s capacity to successfully respond to evolving community needs.