For our first challenge of the 2024-2025 program year, we collaborated with Black Leaders Detroit (BLD), a nonprofit that provides no-interest loans and grants for Black-led businesses and organizations located in Detroit. Five teams of Fellows created recommendations and tangible work products to support the volunteer recruitment, volunteer engagement, in-person rider recruitment, “ride-your-own-way” recruitment and membership recruitment for the 2025 Ride for Equity, a five-week fundraising ride taking place late May to early July. The teams worked with the amazing BLD team – Dwan Dandridge, Sharea Ayers, Tiana London-Harris, Carrie Smith, Jarod Pratt and Larenz Studavent. Learn more about the project from the Fellow perspective! 

In-Person Rider Recruitment

In-Person Rider Recruitment Team (L to R: Maya Morse, Zahra Basha, Nick Wingfield, Reu’el Richardson) — Best Team Ever! 

At first, we thought we had all the answers. When the initial design question was presented to us, – “How might we recruit riders from Detroit and across the country to participate in the 2025 Ride For Equity?” – ideas began to generate between our team. However, we learned quickly that we needed to take a step back and hear from people from the community and previous riders to really empathize and understand what we were working with. When talking with the stakeholders and previous riders, we realized that a lot of them didn’t decide to join the Ride 4 Equity (R4E) just to get a challenging bike ride in, but instead they joined because they aligned with BLD’s mission and wanted to contribute towards Black Leaders Detroit’s (BLD) success. BLD’s network of support fuels everything they do, and the success of the ride hinges on community partners and allies showing up in big ways. Many riders described how they learned about BLD and the R4E through one of these partners. The motivations were different than what we initially imagined, leading us to really listen and take in what tools we could provide to BLD to increase rider recruitment.

We discovered through actively listening to stakeholders, that there were three key components that would lead our production and strategic planning: 1) marketing and outreach, 2) education and history, and 3) rewards and incentives. Our journey towards final deliverables became more clear over time, engaging in feedback with Sharea and Tiana, our partner liaisons. We learned to be flexible, pivot, and trust the process. We also all learned how to play to our strengths, letting each person delve fully into the aspects of the project that they were passionate about. Maya, a History major, led the team in uncovering the rich history of the Tulsa Race Massacre and Black Wall Street. Nick, who had a distinct interest in focusing on the route, meticulously created a guide for each leg of the ride and visual aids to accompany them. Reu’el, whose strength was strategic planning, articulation, and clear verbiage, took charge of creating detailed tangible steps using his creative ideas. Zahra leaned into her design background to elegantly format and create recruitment materials, making all the content look cohesive and aesthetically pleasing. We were all motivated deeply by the story of Black Leaders Detroit and their purpose. We loved getting the chance to help BLD give a little more.

Get a glimpse of the project presentation where Fellows presented to our partners, their stakeholders, and host companies here.

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