Amy Kaherl is the Director/Facilitator of Detroit Soup

As a Michigander I’m always looking for some good vibes on the economy. I found it last night on NBC Nightly News, an inspirational story about Detroit Soup. 

It’s not a restaurant, but it does serve soup — and something a lot more precious for down-on-its-luck-Motown — hope.

Here’s the concept: Detroit Soup is a monthly dinner to fund creative and entrepreneurial projects. Micro grants are awarded at the dinner. Five dollars ($5.00) is the entry fee and it gets you a simple meal — soup, salad, bread — and a vote. They hold the dinner in an old warehouse. Click over to their site and read their backstory, it’s interesting.

Apparently this concept has been happening for over three years.

Why I like Detroit Soup:

1. It’s simple, there are no arcane hoops to jump through for those seeking grants, you share a proposal and get feedback, and maybe a grant
2. It develops the entrepreneurial/creative community and encourages young people to stay in Detroit
3. It educates the community about possibilities, and about what might be done. It’s an inspiration for others,  and a springboard for further ideation re: creative projects
4. It rewards creative and innovative ideas immediately and gets projects off the drawing board and into real world action
5. It fosters innovation. Small projects is where big things start
6. Most of all it’s a Hope Generator. Detroit (and all of Michigan) needs more hope and being able to Do Something, even if it’s a small project, is how the hope rubber meets the change-the-city road.

This is not a charity, it’s a crowd-funding kind of incubator, thing. Contribute to them if you can. You can find them on Twitter, or on Facebook.