Clare is Finalist for Consumers Energy Foundation ‘Put Your Town on the Map’ Competition

Last month, the Consumers Energy Foundation announced our popular “Put Your Town on the Map!” competition was back after a one-year hiatus due to the pandemic. This competition is an effort to strengthen rural communities with $50,000 in grants to energize Michigan’s small towns. The original news release is attached.

A record total of 95 communities from around the state applied for a grant, and Consumers has announced that a project in Clare is one of the 10 finalists.

Clare proposes to create a Destination Sculpture Walk to enhance the culture of the city by bringing vitality to outdoor spaces as a means of embracing art in the challenging COVID environment, while serving as a tool to help define downtown as an Arts and Entertainment district. The goal of the Destination Clare Sculpture Walk is to commission 10 art sculptures to display in the downtown area for one year as part of an ongoing art sculpture installation. The idea will be pitched to a panel of judges April 13 at the 2021 Small Town & Rural Development Virtual Conference.

The Consumers Energy Foundation will provide $25,000 to the winning project, with runners-up receiving $15,000 and $10,000. We hope this funding – and attention being paid to the finalists – will provide important momentum to make these projects a reality.

To learn more about the “Put Your Town on the Map!” competition, contact Debra Dodd from Consumers Energy at 586-918-0597 or debra.mcintyre-dodd@cmsenergy.com. For more on the project, contact Carol J. Santini at 989-359-2433 or cjsantini72@gmail.com