Crowdfunding campaign launched for the Detroit Kite Festival

$7,500 goal to earn matching grant through the MEDC’s Public Spaces Community Places initiative

LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Economic Development Corporation and Detroit Kite Festival today announced a new crowdfunding campaign to support the Detroit Kite Festival, scheduled to take place July 16 at Cricket Field on Belle Isle. The campaign is being offered through Michigan-based platform Patronicity.

“The Detroit Kite Festival is an effort to discover and share a unique and rich cultural history,” said MEDC Vice President of Community Development Katharine Czarnecki. “We are pleased to partner in and provide resources for the creation of this festival and the events it will support.”

If the campaign reaches its crowdfunding goal of $7,500 by Sunday, April 9, the project will receive a matching grant with funds made possible by MEDC’s Public Spaces Community Places program. For project details and to donate, please visit: http://www.patronicity.com/detroitkitefestival.

The funds raised through the crowdfunding campaign will not only support events during the day but several events supporting and leading up to the celebration. Through partnerships with local organizations there will be free transportation for 150 kids in Detroit to the festivities, and there will be many sessions in different neighborhoods to have kite making and culture shares around kites. 

The intention of the festival is to connect with those who know about their own kite culture locally, and teach about the history of kites from around the world, according to Festival Director Margo Dalal.

“Detroit Kite Festival will elevate community by uplifting kite flying and creation as a platform for radical inclusion, communal play, shared healing, and the celebration of culture and history,” Dalal said. “We are glad to be a part of the Public Spaces, Community Places program as its structure supports our outreach and will allow us to host community workshops for youth across Detroit, provide transportation to the festival for community groups, and provide free kites to youth at the festival. We hope to focus our market toward inviting Detroit-based community groups, artists, doers, makers and thinkers to come engage with kites at the festival.”

Public Spaces Community Places is a collaborative effort of the MEDC, the Michigan Municipal League, and Patronicity, in which local residents can use crowdfunding to be part of the development of strategic projects in their communities and be backed with a matching grant from MEDC. Communities, non-profits and other business entities can apply at https://patronicity.com/puremichigan.

The Public Spaces Community Places initiative started in 2014 with MEDC providing matched funding of up to $50,000 for community improvement projects throughout Michigan. As of February 1, 2017, the MEDC has provided $3,228,500 in matching grants. Since the launch of the program, 100 projects have been completed with more than $3.5 million raised from 16,441 individual donors.

About Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is the state’s marketing arm and lead advocate for business development, job awareness and community development with the focus on growing Michigan’s economy. For more information on the MEDC and our initiatives, visit www.MichiganBusiness.org. For Pure Michigan® tourism information, your trip begins at www.michigan.org. Join the conversation on: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn, and Twitter.