Detroit Soup rewards good ideas for city

By Michael Martinez The Detroit News DETROIT (AP) -- Thanks to a bowl of soup, Detroit's neighborhoods are finding their voice. From Grandmont-Rosedale to downtown, Livernois Avenue to Brightmoor, Detroit residents are gathering over a meal to finance new businesses, nonprofits and artistic ventures that will benefit their slice of the city. It's the latest evolution of Detroit Soup, a monthly micro-funding dinner that, now in its third year, has branched out to include smaller, quarterly events in about 10 neighborhoods, according to The Detroit News. "Soup has become the new town hall," said 32-year-old Soup director Amy Kaherl. "The neighborhoods want a space to share and collaborate." To attend the quarterly neighborhood events, participants must pay $5 and listen to four business proposals. After the pitches, they vote for their favorite and gather for a buffet-style dinner of soup, salad and any other food donations. The winner is announced after dinner and receives the money collected at the door, which Detroit Soup matches by up to $350. Past winners of the larger, monthly Detroit Soup include the Empowerment Plan, which makes coats for the homeless that double as sleeping bags, and Rebel Nell, a jewelry-making business whose owners employ disadvantaged women. They say Soup helped keep their fledgling business on its feet. To date, Soup has awarded more than $54,000. Neighborhood winners range from startup retail businesses to residents seeking money to clean up trash on the street. "We give people an opportunity," said Sarah Craft, Soup's director of community partnerships. "We invite them to come to a space. It works and it's beautiful and it's fun and it brings people together." Last year, Kaherl and Craft received about $125,000 in grant money from various foundations, and decided to use that money to hyper-localize the dinners. Before that, Detroit Soup operated on donations and volunteer help. "You can do a lot more when you're targeting a specific area," Kaherl said. "We want people in the neighborhood to find solutions together. The government can't provide small-scale funding -- but we can." Gabriela Santiago-Romero, a 21-year-old business major at the University of Detroit Mercy, followed Detroit Soup for months and became more involved when she heard the dinners were expanding. She asked to help start a quarterly Soup on Livernois Avenue, Detroit's former Avenue of Fashion, because of its historical relevance and proximity to UDM and Marygrove College. "It's an amazing, historic community that's very, very proud," she said. "They take pride in the work they can do." That work was on display on an early November Thursday night at the most recent Livernois dinner, the third Santiago-Romero's helped organize this year. More than 100 residents from the neighborhood gathered in a vacant storefront that was donated for the night. Business proposals came from neighbors who wanted to fund a T-shirt company, an after-school exercise program, an art fair and an outdoor mural. Hubert Massey, a local artist who plans to create a mural at Woodward and Warren, won the $878.67 purse. The other proposals benefited, too. Arielle Edwards, a 22-year-old entrepreneur who wants to launch a line of clothing that says "Why Not Heart Detroit?" linked up with a nearby shop owner who wanted to start selling her products. If Livernois Soup's past winners are any indication, Massey should be successful. Obsidian Blues, a spoken-word performance organization, won money at August's neighborhood dinner. What started out as a part-time experiment turned into a full-time performance group, thanks to Soup's support, said founder Sherina Rodriguez Sharpe. Since August, the group has played at venues across the city and the Metro area, and has 50 gigs booked for 2014. "Soup was amazing; it's the reason we went from a two-week program to a permanent program," she said. "It solidified who we are and what we can accomplish." Detroit Soup will celebrate its four-year anniversary in February. Kaherl and Craft want to expand the neighborhood dinners, as well as the monthly signature Soup that's held at the Jam Handy industrial building. Each Soup costs about $1,000 to put on, and funding remains an issue. The duo said they hope to tap more grant money in 2014, and are looking at other sources as well. Kaherl wants to reach out to Detroit-based companies, as well as the mayor's office and other government entities. She said she's received interest from a few notable downtown businesses, and hopes to formalize partnerships. Until then, Soup will continue to spark dialogue and create change in the city's neighborhoods. "Detroit's a monster of a city," Kaherl said. "There's people from all parts who are asking questions about making it better." Published: Tue, Dec 3, 2013