ENTREPRENEURIAL AMERICAN COMMUNITY AWARD

City of Kalamazoo, Michigan

Date: January 2007

ISSUE AREA: Highlighted Inidividuals & Communities

Like many cities facing the decline of industry in the Midwest, Kalamazoo, Michigan recognized the need to build a strong economic development agenda in order to revitalize the community. While many cities in the region have found their programs foundering, Kalamazoo has created an innovative and successful program, the Kalamazoo Promise (KP), to invest its development efforts in human capital. Recognizing the potential of education for the future of their city, the City and school administration have implemented a universal scholarship program for graduates of the Kalamazoo District schools. Announced in November of 2005 and with the unlimited support of anonymous donors, the KP is an economic development initiative designed not only to increase college attendance and therefore better educate its citizens, but also to attract new business and residential investment into the area.

The District Superintendent, who is the only individual to have direct contact with the anonymous donors, has formed strong partnerships with other city officials, the chamber of commerce, state colleges and universities, and local businesses to ensure the success of this program. The KP offers free tuition to any graduate who has completed grades K-12 in the city school system for any state school or community college located within Michigan. Additionally, the KP allocates up to 65 percent of scholarship monies to individuals who have spent only part of their education in the city school system.

While the KP is still in its infancy, it has already had a profound impact on the city of Kalamazoo, proving the value of education in an economic development agenda. From 2005 to 2006, the city school system gained over 900 additional students. These higher enrollment rates have increased the district revenue by an estimated 5 million dollars and have created 90 new teaching positions in the area. Additionally, 70 percent of the families with KP-funded students have remained in the area and at the same time home sales have increased by 6.7 percent and median property values have increased by 3.6 percent.

With the dramatic results the program has received after just one year, Kalamazoo has not only succeeded in investing in human capital as a means of community and economic development, but has also garnered the City of Kalamazoo and the State of Michigan widespread attention as locales for innovative revitalization and economic development strategies.