The Black Bottom Challenge

Idea: Celebrate the history of Black Bottom by investing in the next generation of Detroit leaders.

Vision: Inspire Detroit middle and high school students to join debate, civics, entrepreneurship, and fashion programs and become stars like Black Bottom natives Ralph Bunche, Berry Gordy, and Donyale Luna.

Problem: Current middle and high schoolers don’t see startups, politics, etc. as real career paths.

Example: U-M Debate Institute is largely comprised of out-of-state students.
- Detroiters would greatly benefit from increased knowledge of and access to these programs.

Solution: Create $10K-100K scholarship programs for rising star students in Metro Detroit.

Ralph Bunche Scholars (Debate/Civics): Expand the Detroit Urban Debate League to recruit 100+ students from Metro Detroit into debate clubs, including 30 Bunche Scholars each year to receive $10K U-M Debate Institute scholarships and 1 grand prize winner to receive $100K academic or grant scholarship.
Berry Gordy Scholars (Entrepreneurship): Create a startup accelerator program for middle and high school student in Detroit, including a micro venture capital program providing 30 $10K investments and 1 $100K investment per year in student startups.
Donyale Luna Scholars (Fashion Tech): Launch a fashion-focused program for middle and high school students to see how art and design can lead to careers, fame, and success in their futures.

Partners: Leverage top centers to give students access to the best faculty and students.

University of Michigan Center for Innovation (UMCI): We are partnering with UMCI to house our future scholars programs at their state-of-the-art, six-story, 200,000-square-foot building located at the top of Black Bottom when it opens in the fall of 2027.
U-M Ford School of Public Policy: We intend to partner with the Ford School to house shorter camps and accelerator programs for our Bunche Scholars program and to recruit faculty and students to become mentors and advisors for our fellows.
U-M Ross School of Business: We intend to work with faculty and students at the Ross School to design the curriculum, create selection criteria, grade startup pitches, and vote on scholarship winners for our Gordy Scholars program.
College for Creative Studies (CCS): We intend to partner with CCS to develop a framework for our Luna Scholars program and help to recruit promising Detroit students to apply and become fellows.

Year 1 Budget: $450,000 to fund nonprofit startup formation and launch.

Personnel: $212K to hire Executive Director, Operations Director, Outreach Manager, and Bookkeeper/Finance (Contract).
Programs: $110K to take over the Detroit Urban Debate League, design Bunche, Gordy, and Luna Scholars programs, and do history research and archival work about Black Bottom.
Marketing: $25K for social media and video creation, website design and development, brand identity and logos, and print collateral and pitch materials.
Legal: $27K for 501(c)3 filing fees, attorney fees to create bylaws, policies, and governance documents, and accounting and insurance setup. OR: Administrative fee for financial management.
Events: $21K to host our inaugural launch event/gala, run community listening sessions around Detroit, and lead partnership & donor cultivation meetings.
Operations: $20K for office/co-working space, computers and other equipment, and software subscriptions.
Contingency: $45K for unexpected costs, investments in additional marketing, or added legal or administrative fees. Any reserve will be saved for future years or distributed as additional scholarships.

5-Year Plan: $6M Budget, 279 Total Scholarships, $3.6M Scholar Investments.

Funding: Raising $3M+ to fund first 3+ years of scholarships + operations.

Mission: Accelerate the next generation of Detroit leaders to follow and celebrate the legacy of Black Bottom’s heroes!

Published by Neil Thanedar