As the new Executive Director of Advancing Macomb, I am grateful for the opportunity to lead this organization. I am inspired as I look to the future. We have tremendous opportunities to expand Advancing Macomb’s reach throughout Macomb County, and we are already getting started.

I want to thank our board members, community leaders, sponsors and donors, who are vital in moving the work of Advancing Macomb forward. Your involvement has been critical for our past success, and we are thankful for your ongoing support.

Looking ahead, our mission continues to focus on convening the resources needed to solve community challenges in Macomb County. We have an ambitious agenda planned for the remainder of the year. As a preview, I’d like to share some of the innovative programs in development.

1-on-1 Consultations with Nonprofits & Businesses

Through our partnership with Macomb County, Advancing Macomb has begun offering consultations with businesses and nonprofit organizations based in Macomb County. The goal is to guide businesses and nonprofits to appropriate resources or make introductions that can be helpful in their work. These consultations typically take place as one-hour assessment meetings with scheduled follow-ups as needed.

Nonprofit Roundtable Series

The Advancing Macomb Nonprofit Roundtable Series is a monthly forum that enables nonprofit leaders to seek and provide feedback, brainstorm solutions, learn new strategies and identify collaboration areas. A recent survey of participants found that the sessions broadened their networks and provided new information to help them run their organizations and further their missions. We will continue offering timely presentations and topics this year and also will incorporate more opportunities for in-depth conversations and interactions. To join our mailing list to stay updated on future sessions, please reach out to us here.

Skills Workshops

As an extension of the Nonprofit Roundtable series, Advancing Macomb is developing a series of hands-on interactive workshops, led by industry experts, that will provide a deeper dive into essential nonprofit functions such as finance, accounting, fundraising, grant writing, board operations and governance. We are in the process of identifying topics and the quarterly workshop schedule, with a goal to host our first workshop later in 2024.

Community Development Roundtables

As a follow-up to our successful 2023 Community Engagement Summit, we are working to schedule roundtable meetings for residents and community leaders in municipalities across Macomb County to have conversations about community development and quality-of-life projects in each of these communities. The goal will be to identify existing and proposed community projects and, in collaboration with stakeholders, to develop coalitions to complete those projects collaboratively.

Summer Soirée

Advancing Macomb will host its eighth annual Summer Soirée on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Youngblood Vineyard in Ray Township. The Summer Soirée is a yearly tradition for Advancing Macomb that celebrates our past successes and helps support our future work. We invite you to join us for a fun evening of networking, hors d’oeuvres and wine tasting. The Summer Soirée is presented by CollabPEO, and entertainment will be provided by Dylan Sherman & The Low End. Tickets for the event are on sale now and may be purchased here.

Community Engagement Summit

We are pleased to announce that the next Community Engagement Summit will take place on September 27, 2024, at Lake St. Clair Metropark in the Welsh Activity Center. The 2024 Summit will highlight best practices in community engagement with the intent to equip participants to work more effectively in their own communities. We are confirming speakers and will begin sharing details soon.

These are only a few plans underway for the upcoming year. We will continue to share updates on our journey together. Meanwhile, if you’d like to get more involved or learn more about our services, please get in touch with us at our website here. We’d love to hear from you and discuss ways to work together.

Best regards,

Phil Gilchrist
Executive Director, Advancing Macomb