01
Neighbor Action Circles
Monthly block gatherings where residents set priorities, meet city partners, and turn shared concerns into action plans.
38 active circles
Next up: Community Clean & Cookout · August 8Join us
Neighbors leading neighbors
Strong blocks.Shared power.
MANAV brings Detroit neighbors together to shape safer streets, joyful public spaces, and a city where every voice moves us forward.
1,200+ neighbors showed up this year
Small actions add up.
Made true on Prairie Street.
15
years organizing
27
neighborhoods connected
$480k
in neighbor-led grants
92%
stays in community
Why MANAV
Metropolitan Alliance for Neighborhood Advocacy and Volunteering
People closest to a challenge are closest to its solution.
We started around a folding table in 2011, when eight neighbors decided their blocks deserved more than promises. Today, that same belief guides everything we do.
MANAV provides the tools, relationships, and resources. Residents bring the vision. Together, we turn local ideas into visible change—and individual voices into shared power.
What we do
Change, block by block.
Practical programs built with residents—not dropped into neighborhoods from the outside.
02
Lots of Possibility
Tools, mini-grants, and volunteer crews that help neighbors transform vacant lots into gardens, play spaces, and gathering places.
67 lots reimagined
03
Young Detroit Fellows
Paid summer fellowships where teens learn organizing, storytelling, and civic leadership while improving their own blocks.
84 fellows since 2018
Prairie Street Circle
“We stopped waiting for someone to fix our block—and realized we were the someone.”
Denise Carter
Resident organizer · Grandmont Rosedale
Come through
Meet us on the block.
No experience needed. Bring a friend, bring the family, or just bring yourself.
August
8
Saturday
10 AM–2 PM• Soto Playfield
Community Clean & Cookout
Help freshen the playfield, paint new picnic tables, and stay for lunch from neighborhood cooks. Tools and kid-friendly jobs provided.
There’s room for you
Put your love for Detroit to work.
One afternoon, one good idea, one monthly gift—it all helps build the neighborhoods we deserve.