*August 22, 2024*



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Dear Friend,

We are unleashing Michigan’s entrepreneurial spirit and supporting innovators to grow our economy.

This summer, I signed my sixth, balanced, bipartisan budget that continues our comprehensive approach to economic development by growing our economy, bringing supply chains home, and creating jobs.

We are going further to support innovators with initiatives like the new *PitchMI *competition and our work to unlock Michigan’s *Infrastructure for Innovation. *

Our work to grow Michigan’s workforce and invest in our communities is attracting new businesses, fostering entrepreneurship, and setting Michigan up to dominate the future of advanced manufacturing.

Check out exciting updates and learn how you can be a part of growing Michigan’s economy!

Sincerely,

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Gretchen Whitmer

Governor






*New Balanced, Bipartisan Budget – Making it in Michigan*





The new balanced, bipartisan budget continues [ [link removed]. ] our strategy to foster innovation, grow our economy, and make Michigan the best place to live, work, and invest.

That means building new factories, creating good-paying jobs, and bringing supply chains home.




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To get it done, the new budget:

* Makes another deposit into our* bipartisan economic development fund.*
* Allocates funds to establish the *Innovation Fund* to invest in scalable start-ups and launch hundreds of new Michigan-based companies.
* *Supports entrepreneurs and small business owners of color*.
* Sets up a new *Farm to Family* program to bring Michigan crops to Michigan tables.

*As we win more projects and create more good-paying jobs, we are creating a workforce that can compete. This budget supports workers by:*


* Continuing the successful, bipartisan *Going PRO* program that helps employers upskill their employees.
* Funding the new *Economic and Worker Transition Office* to prepare Michiganders for new clean energy and electric vehicle manufacturing jobs.
* Delivering two years of in-district *community college tuition-free* for Michigan high school graduates, helping nearly 20,000 young people save up to $4,800. See more below!





*PitchMI – **Compete to Win $100,000 to Innovate the Future of Mobility!*


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Do you have an innovative solution that transforms the way Michiganders get from point A to point B safely, affordably, and efficiently?

You can now submit your application to the PitchMI competition, a statewide Shark-Tank-style pitch competition that will invest $100,000 in an innovative mobility solution.

PitchMI will help unleash Michigan’s innovative spirit, solve problems, create good-paying jobs, and spur new solutions for the future of mobility. PitchMI is open to pre-seed, seed, Series A, and Series B companies with 51% of their employees residing in the state of Michigan. 

PitchMI applications are open from now until September 16th at 11:59 pm, so don’t wait – visit growingmichigan.org/opportunities [ [link removed] ] to apply for a chance to make your pitch at the competition in October.

I can’t wait to hear what innovative idea you’ll bring to our state!

*Creating Jobs and Investing in our Workforce*

Our economy is growing, unemployment is low, and small business growth is high. There are projects underway everywhere to build new housing, revitalize communities, and help more people ‘make it’ in Michigan.

Michigan has a strong workforce that can help businesses succeed. We have the highest concentration of engineers in the nation and a large skilled trades workforce that ranks in the top ten nationally. Michigan is also becoming a leader in clean energy manufacturing. When I took office in 2019, there were 2 operational battery factories in America. Now, there are 30 under construction or up and running nationwide, including 6 in Michigan alone.

We are continuing our momentum of growth by investing in Michigan’s workforce, securing good-paying jobs, and investing in our communities.

Lowering the Cost of Higher Education

The Michigan Achievement Scholarship and our new community college guarantee are leveling up Michigan's workforce by putting higher education within reach for more Michiganders.

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* We are delivering two years of in-district community college tuition-free for Michigan high school graduates, helping nearly 20,000 young people save up to $4,800. 
* Programs like Michigan Reconnect [ [link removed] ] and the Michigan Achievement Scholarship [ [link removed] ] are helping provide tuition-free pathways to in-demand, good-paying jobs in our state.
* Our Talent Action Team Programs [ [link removed] ] are providing exposure, training, and job placement for Michiganders in high-demand industries. Since their launch in 2023, our Talent Action Teams have placed 2,400 workers in good-paying jobs and collaborated with 12 community colleges and universities to teach students the skills they need to succeed in internships and jobs researching and building the future.
* Initiatives like GoingPro [ [link removed] ] and our partnership with the Battery Workforce Initiative [ [link removed] ] will help us continue to develop the future of advanced manufacturing right here in Michigan.

*Infrastructure for Innovation*

Earlier this summer, I signed an executive directive to open up the “Infrastructure for Innovation [ [link removed] ]” here in Michigan.  

We will catalog equipment, facilities, and other resources throughout the state and work with owners like our military institutions to make them available to innovators and entrepreneurs to accelerate innovation in Michigan. 

Michigan will lead the nation to get this done, taking a proactive, strategic approach to opening up physical infrastructure to innovators. 








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