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City staff says Community Growth Academy could fund a fellow to support new Big Rapids Regional Chamber
Summary
City grant coordinator briefed commissioners on the Michigan Community Growth Academy program: if selected, the city could be the lead applicant and host a 15‑month fellow for a $10,000 host-site fee while the new Big Rapids Regional Chamber establishes staffing and governance.
Megan Apley, the city’s grant coordinator, told the City Commission that the Community Growth Academy — a competitive cohort program administered through Michigan’s Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity and coordinated with the Community Economic Development Association of Michigan (CDM) — could provide a full-time fellow to support the forming Big Rapids Regional Chamber.
"The host site fee is $10,000," Apley said. "But that brings you basically a full time staff person for a year or 15 months for $10,000." She called the program more a cohort and capacity-building opportunity than a typical grant and said eligibility requires a coalition of organizations and a lead applicant.
Apley told commissioners the fellowship is a 15-month placement inside an 18-month cohort timeline; the fellow is a competitive hire, and a local candidate could apply but would be chosen through the program's hiring process. The fellow would be supervised by the coalition and required to work on community-priority projects. If the new Big Rapids Regional Chamber has not hired an executive director when a fellow arrives, Apley said the city could temporarily host and supervise the fellow until the chamber's director is in place.
City staff and commissioners discussed the responsibilities of a "dedicated lead" applicant for the cohort and confirmed that designation would be specific to the Community Growth Academy application and would not automatically assign long-term leadership of a future chamber to the city. Apley said the coalition has selected an initial board for the Big Rapids Regional Chamber and expected to post an executive-director job in coming weeks.
Commissioners asked for no immediate vote; they received the briefing as information and asked staff to continue supporting the coalition’s organizing work and, if needed, to prepare to serve as lead applicant for the cohort application.
