Image courtesy of Bank of America
Bank of America is fueling the future of innovation in Michigan with a $100,000 grant to the Michigan Central Center for Mobility and Society. Born out of Ford Motor Co.’s vision for a more sustainable and equitable future, Michigan Central is a global hub for groundbreaking technology and transformative programs. This generous grant will accelerate the nonprofit’s mission to drive progress at the mobility, community, and innovation crossroads.
The grant will support Michigan Central’s talent development program, which strives to build an equitable, skilled talent pool to drive Detroit’s mobility ecosystem. The program offers world-class training, post-secondary education, and career readiness resources. Specifically, this partnership will provide learners with the software and hardware needed to enhance their educational experience.
A key initiative supported by the bank’s grant, the software developer training program, will enhance economic mobility for dozens of Detroit residents over the next two years. The education programming component of this initiative will be launched in 2025 based on the demand for diverse skills sets in technology-based talent. With a high placement rate for software developers, graduates are expected to secure competitive jobs, with projected annual salaries ranging from $70,000 to $85,000.
This program follows the completion of Michigan Central’s Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Technician training, which provided educational programming for 33 learners earlier this year. One of the participants, Frederica Shields, leveraged her experience and knowledge gained in the program to create her own fast mobile EV charging truck company, Ms. BB’s EV Charge Express. She is now serving consumers across metro-Detroit and has credited the training through Michigan Central as instrumental to growing her business and creating jobs in Detroit.
The grant was announced during the unveiling of Michigan Central’s newly branded Bank of America Technology Suite, attended by Bank of America executives, Michigan Central leadership, and program participants. Located on a 30-acre campus in Detroit, Michigan Central is a global hub for mobility innovation, combining Detroit’s history with cutting-edge technology to advance sustainable transportation and economic growth.
Star Crawford, Market Executive – Detroit, Bank of America emphasized this investment in Michigan Central’s Workforce Development Program, which demonstrates Bank of America’s commitment to helping build Detroit’s future workforce.
“By equipping program participants with essential tools and resources, we are helping to empower Detroiters with the skills needed for rewarding high-tech careers in mobility and other emerging fields,” Crawford said.
Michigan Central’s founder community has emphasized the importance of soft- and hard-tech skills to ensure employee readiness. As a result, the collaboration with Bank of America will enable talent, who will be receiving on-the-job training through a counterpart education initiative, to begin receiving technology-based skills development in January. Additionally, the junior software developers initiative will be launched in early 2025.
In 2024, Bank of America awarded $4 million in grants to numerous metro Detroit-area nonprofits, with bank employee volunteers dedicating more than 18,000 hours to supporting and strengthening the work of these local organizations. Statewide, the bank contributed more than $9.1 million to nonprofits through grants, investments, sponsorships and engagements.
Clarinda Barnett-Harrison, Director of Talent Development and Programming at Michigan Central, highlighted Bank of America is a great partner to Michigan Central and the talent development efforts because both organizations are aligned to ensure skills preparedness for the future workforce.
“I am pleased that with BofA’s investment, we’ll be able to provide resources to our learners who will become future technologists for in-demand jobs,” Barrnett-Harrison said.