Michigan's first growth officer now runs Detroit's, and the $1,000 offer to come home is still open

Detroit's newest population push has a standing offer this fall. A former Detroiter, the child of one, or a Michigan college graduate who now lives outside the state can get $1,000 for moving back. A remote worker earning at least $50,000 a year who makes Detroit home within six months can get the same. Both tracks are listed as recruiting now on MakeMyMove, the site MoveDetroit uses to take applications, and both come with a free parks pass good for Belle Isle and Michigan's more than 100 state parks.

MoveDetroit is the coalition Mayor Mary Sheffield unveiled on April 2, with more than 50 organizations signed on. It is not publicly funded. Dan Gilbert was introduced at the launch as the coalition's chair. He said he would match all the dollars it raises in its first year. The fundraising goal for the year is about $10 million.

Running it is Hilary Doe, who was Michigan's first chief growth officer before she left the state job, and who lives in Detroit. Her title is president and chief executive of the coalition. "Growth is a group project; you can't do it by yourself," she said at the launch. Her old office's Make MI Home grants sent $250,000 to TechTown at Wayne State in 2024. Another $210,000 went to the City of Detroit's tech fellowship program in 2025.

Make Detroit Home is the coalition's first program. It promised more than $500,000 in benefits to 313 Detroiters, current and future. A limited number of Detroit creatives, entrepreneurs and small business owners were offered a $15,000 stipend for a business, a down payment, a home renovation or a rental subsidy. Applications for that track closed on Friday, May 22, and MakeMyMove now lists it as no longer accepting applications. The $1,000 tracks are the ones still open, and that money can cover moving costs, security deposits, gym memberships, kayaking lessons or meal delivery. The non-cash benefits are discounts, state park access, programming and VIP experiences.

"What it starts with is the folks that are in Detroit choosing to stay and build their futures there," Doe said in May, when she called Make Detroit Home the first program of many. The second is a Neighborhood Ambassador Program, about 100 Detroiters nominated by their neighbors.

The population figures behind all this are modest and specific. Detroit counted about 639,000 residents in 2020 and about 645,000 in the latest estimate. The coalition's pitch is to keep that number moving by keeping the people who are already here, then inviting the ones who left to come back.

Strait will report the ambassador class and the first $15,000 recipients when the coalition names them. Anyone ready to take the open offers can start at the program page, which routes to MakeMyMove.