Women-focused business groups get $3 million in 2025 budget

Michigan taxpayers will fund four gender-specific grants totaling $3 million in the state’s 2025 budget. The money will go to nonprofits ostensibly dedicated to innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship.

Michigan Women Forward, a Detroit-based entrepreneurship organization, is receiving $1.5 million. The organization earned $2.5 million in revenue in 2021 and $4 million in 2023, according to its 990 forms on GuideStar.

The organization’s website says its mission is “to expand economic opportunity for women and entrepreneurs of color, empower the next generation, and celebrate and honor the accomplishments of Michigan women.” Michigan Women Forward offers loans ranging from $2,500 to $50,000 to small businesses.

The organization did not respond to a request for comment.

Women’s Innovative Social Enterprise Partnership in Detroit gets $1.5 million. Its mission is “to build and develop innovative, interactive, sustainable, and environmentally healthy communities throughout Detroit that prioritize Black, Brown, and marginalized residents using the resources and talents provided by purposeful partnerships,” according to its website.

The organization received its tax-exempt status in 2021. There are no 990 forms for the Women’s Innovative Social Enterprise Partnership on ProPublica or GuideStar. A notice on ProPublica states that an organization with less than $50,000 in revenue may file a shorter 990 form.

The group did not respond to a request for comment.

The Michigan Council of Women in Technology received two separate grants for $250,000. It aims to inspire and grow women in technology, according to its website. One of the grants is for the organization’s Reignite program.

The program costs $200 for nonmembers and $100 for members. It “provides a supportive community that helps women build confidence, network, and acquire new skills to help them succeed in the tech industry.” It is unclear why the council received two separate grants.

The organization had $1.46 million in revenue in 2021 and $1.53 million in revenue in 2022.

It did not respond to a request for comment.

Earmarks are quietly added to spending bills late in the budgeting process and are not debated in committee. Total pork spending in the 2025 budget totaled more than $1 billion.