Small grants made a big difference in rural Michigan. Then the money stopped

A state program that focused on rural community assistance lost its funding.
Rural Readiness grants are credited with sparking millions of dollars in investments across the state
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer hopes to restore funding in the 2026-27 budget.

For years, Ausable Township officials in rural Iosco County dreamed of building a pavilion at the trailhead near Lake Huron. And for years, the plan never got off the ground.

Today, the 4,000-square-foot building hosts a farmers market on Wednesdays in summer, provides a community gathering place and a stopping-off point for hikers. It’s a $1 million project that might not have happened without the first $50,000 that came from the state in 2024.

“This would still be on our to-do list without the grant,” said Ausable Township Superintendent Eric Strayer. “It’s been huge for our community.”

Community leaders in Iosco and across Michigan point to Rural Readiness grants as the catalyst for projects addressing issues from housing to health care.

A man standing next to a white pavilion in Ausable Township in Iosco County, Michigan. — A million-dollar project to build a pavilion in Ausable Township in Iosco County started with a $50,000 state grant teaching local officials how to write grants. (Courtesy of Eric Strayer)

A state analysis found the program brought in about $13 in investment and grants for every tax dollar spent. In contrast, the state’s corporate incentives cost taxpayers $29,000 for every job they created as of 2024, according to a Bridge Michigan analysis.

Despite the success, the program, which doled out $1.8 million over three years, was left out of the current state budget.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer included $2.3 million in her proposed 2026-27 budget proposal for the Office of Rural Prosperity and the Rural Readiness grant program it manages. The final budget, which is negotiated between the Republican-led House, the Democrat-led Senate and the Democratic governor, must be resolved by Sept. 30.

Speaker of the House Matt Hall, R- Richland Township, told Bridge Michigan he’s not certain what will happen with the grant in the budget. “I would guess that everyone will look at it again, … and just evaluate, would this (be a) good use in the future?”

In a state-sponsored meeting of rural community leaders in Lansing Monday, Sarah Lucas, director of the state’s Office of Rural Prosperity, said small towns and townships “don’t always have the infrastructure in place to have the proactive community engagement and collaboration work that needs to happen” to get projects off the ground

“And so sometimes it just doesn’t.”

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Rural Readiness grants were meant to fix that problem. The grants were awarded to communities in 70 counties, ending in 2025. Topping out at $50,000, the grants supported planning as well as building capacity to get things done in rural areas where governments and nonprofits often operate on a shoestring.

Krista Zimmerman, economic development director of the Mason Area Chamber Alliance, calls the two Rural Readiness grants it received over two years a “game-changer.”

A quarter of the homes in the county, which sits on the shores of Lake Michigan, are seasonal, creating a shortage of about 2,400 homes for year-round residents, Zimmerman said.

People standing in front of a mural in Oscoda, Michigan. — A community mural in Oscoda was sparked by a Rural Readiness grant from the state. (Courtesy of Manuela Kress)

Leaders there knew there was a crisis, but “many people are doing multiple roles,” she said. “Everybody was working hard, but sometimes you need a little support.”

The grants were used to educate community leaders on the issues surrounding housing costs and shortages, and what local communities can do to lessen the crisis.

This summer, a private developer is breaking ground on a 144-unit apartment complex, which Zimmerman hopes will provide housing for “nurses, teachers, people in the middle (income) who can’t find housing.

The path to the development was eased by zoning changes and quick approvals.

“Developers want to go where it’s easy,” Zimmerman said. “All the oars are rowing in the same direction.”

Next door in Manistee County, officials used a Rural Readiness grant to address a child care shortage that was preventing local businesses from expanding.

“We’re hearing from families in the community who are traveling 45 minutes or an hour just to find child care,” said Laura Heintzelman, president of the Manistee County Community Foundation. “As a rural county, we need outside support to help us build the capacity to make this happen.”

Through meetings organized by a consultant hired with grant funds, community leaders examined ways to tweak zoning to help childcare providers and to create childcare apprenticeships.

In Gogebic County in the Upper Peninsula, a Rural Readiness grant was used to hire a consultant to organize meetings to plan a community center.

“We have a lot of challenges in a rural community and a lot flows back to capacity,” said Kassi Huoari, who is a one-woman operation at the Gogebic Range Health Foundation. “There’s not a lot of funding available to get projects off the ground and people out of their individual silos.”

In Emmett and Charlevoix counties, the nonprofit Investmitt used a $46,000 grant to kickstart a $5 million effort to increase affordable housing for year-round residents.

“That’s a good investment,” said Derek Shiels, board chair.

And back in Iosco County, Ausable Township and other communities have won about $6.4 million in government and philanthropic grants thanks to a consultant hired to teach grant-writing skills, paid for with a Rural Readiness grant.

“Our communities, being so rural, there are a lot of people who don’t know where to start with writing grants,” said Jennifer Riggs, executive director of Develop Iosco. “It’s been so valuable. It makes rural areas competitive, not just with the state but with the rest of the country.”

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