About

Originally funded by the New Economy Initiative of Southeast Michigan, the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the Skillman Foundation, a comprehensive Global Detroit study was released in May 2010 that documented the impacts that immigrants have on the regional economy and identified eleven strategic initiatives for its revitalization. To date, the Global Detroit Initiative has helped launch over a half dozen distinct initiatives in southeast Michigan to make the region more welcoming and to capitalize on the economic opportunity that our international population and connections bring.

As of 2014, over $7 million in philanthropic, corporate, government, and individual funding has been raised for innovative initiatives identified in the Global Detroit study, including international student retention, the Welcoming Michigan campaign, an urban neighborhood microenterprise training and lending program, the Global Detroit Welcome Mat network of immigration and social services, Cultural Ambassadors, a nearshoring initiative, and operation funding for Global Detroit.

Pursuing a broad array of innovative initiatives is critical to strengthening our regional economy, producing jobs, and restoring prosperity to southeast Michigan families.

Global Detroit has four strategic goals:

• Make the region welcoming to the international community and immigrants.
• Attract and retain international talent in the region.
• Attract international investment and businesses that create jobs.
• Strengthen, grow, and revitalize neighborhoods in the city of Detroit and in the region’s core communities.