Black Tech Saturdays Receives $2M Grant From Knight Foundation
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has awarded $19.8 million to 12 projects across Detroit. One of the recipients of the grant is Black Tech Saturdays, as reported by the Detroit Free Press. Black Tech Saturdays allows creatives and tech enthusiasts to learn, innovate, and collaborate.
The group will receive $2 million of the grant, which will be used to expand digital infrastructure, host events, enhance storytelling, and help unlock $10 million in income opportunities.
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation grant
Other recipients of the awards include the Unified Greenway Project, an initiative that is expanding nearly 30 miles of trails and public spaces, linking the Joe Louis Greenway, the Detroit Riverfront, and 23 neighborhoods. The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, which is upgrading its infrastructure to expand programming, and Vanguard Community Development Corporation, a community organization completing the North End Community Campus, a cultural hub featuring studios.
“These are all things that we believe are really important to creating a vibrant and thriving city,” Maribel Pérez Wadsworth, the foundation’s president and CEO, said.
“By focusing on these areas, we create opportunities for connection, we help preserve vital history for the community, we provide ways for the community to really access one another and the downtown core.”
About Black Tech Saturdays
Black Tech Saturdays was founded in April 2023 by the husband-and-wife team of Johnnie and Alexa Turnage. It quickly became a hub for budding entrepreneurs, drawing hundreds of people each week to its Saturday events.Â
In May, a $1 million grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. The funding will be used to grow its workshop across the state. It will also run a pilot program in Detroit and Lansing, featuring 25-30 micro workshops that provide focused programming for founders over the summer. In a bid to expand the program further, founders Johnnie and Alexa Turnage will also seek to equip founders and entrepreneurs through micro workshops.
Image: Black Tech Saturdays
