Our Impact
Grand CITY is a leader in transformational change and community collaboration. We value youth and stakeholder input as a key component of organizational success.
We are widely regarded by practitioners and funders as one of the most innovative, ambitious, and outcomes-focused youth development agencies. Through our expertise, coupled with organizing efforts, Grand CITY informs local policies that support proven-risk young people. Organizations across the state seek to learn from us how to infuse sports and policy to engage hard-to-reach youth and to produce positive outcomes through transformative services.
We are a learning and teaching agency. Ultimately, the young people we serve return to Grand CITY as the agency’s next generation of youth workers!
Sustainability is a driving theme in all of Grand CITY’s work. At the individual level, we see it on a daily basis as young people, otherwise overlooked and labeled as the most “at-risk” in our community, achieve their own personal goals in partnership with Grand CITY coaches. At an agency level and community level, it is evident in how we operate our workforce programming.
Triple Bottom Line
Our social enterprises offer young adults paid work experience to develop industry-specific skills as well as the job and life skills required to excel in any workplace. Our social enterprises achieve a triple bottom line:
2. generate earned revenue to support our mission; and
3. support our communities’ economic development by purchasing materials locally and working with local partners.
As an agency, Grand CITY represents a positive return on investment for our communities. Grand CITY’s cost per enrolled young adult is approximately $20,000 annually – far less than the nearly $40,000 annual cost to house a young adult in a Michigan correctional facility (MDOC, FY2015 data). When our Achieve members have positive outcomes, our community sees the greatest impact and return on investment from safety, health, and economic development perspectives.
Grand CITY’s comprehensive and long-term program model is intentionally designed for young adults with proven risk factors, primarily incarceration and other serious criminal histories. Our communities are characterized by high poverty rates, low educational attainment levels, and a strong manufacturing pedigree. Our young adults’ experience and opportunities are shaped by these community challenges.