Detroit Rescinds Nonprofit-Board Residency Requirement
March 19, 2008 | Read Time: 1 minute
The Detroit City Council decided unanimously on Tuesday to rescind a requirement that 51 percent of a nonprofit group’s board members reside in the city in order for the group to qualify for certain federal block-grant money, reports The Detroit News. Under the requirement, more than 100 area nonprofit groups were ineligible for the funds.
Nonprofit groups throughout the city celebrated the decision, although The Detroit Free Press noted that the change is only for one year, with the council expected to revisit the matter after that.
Greg Bowens, a spokesman for Mariners Inn, a homeless shelter and substance-abuse treatment center for men, told the Free Press that the board-residency requirement would have cost his organization $158,000 in Community Development Block Grant and Neighborhood Opportunity Fund grants.
