Past optiMize Fellows go on to Receive U-M Arts Initiative Grant

For the past 14  years, optiMize has had the fortune of uplifting many individuals who engage in the Social Innovation Challenge (SIC). For many, the SIC has been a life-changing catalyst that has uplifted them to realize their full potential,  providing them with the tools they need to move forward in their innovative endeavors. Recently, we had the pleasure of reaching out to two former fellows of the SIC who have won the U-M arts initiative grant. 

Jacob, an SIC fellow from 2024 and peer mentor from 2025, received funding for his project “Runway Rumble,” with a mission dedicated to strengthening LGBTQIA+ connections in the Ann Arbor area by uplifting queer spaces through an event guide and an entertainment-based project to highlight these spaces. With the arts initiative grant, he is able to extend his project for another season. “The arts initiative has always been supportive of queer-focused art and drag performance events,” Jacob said. “With this money, I can guarantee we can pay people and that there’s a foundation there for a second season.” Jacob has not forgotten about the help he has received from optiMize, however, supporting his project to get off the ground.

“[optiMize] was a really informative experience for me. It was the first time I got to lead a project that big. Honestly, if I did not have that structure, I would not have been able to do the same things I was able to do.”

When asked to elaborate on the support he found from optiMize, Jacob mentioned “[the] arts is huge with grant funding [and] optiMize has definitely helped me succeed with that. I was using optiMize templates back from the fellowship, [like]‘ “what is your mission statement?’ ‘What is your goal?’ ‘What is your budget?’ [Those] were all things that were a reference point because I’ve already done it, so optiMize has definitely helped with that.”

Alana, an SIC fellow from 2025, received funding for her project last year called West African Dance Therapy, a program offering a series of dance classes intended to address specific issues faced by members of the Black community identified by Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome. She is now able to explore and express similar themes connected to her passions with a video project using the arts initiative grant. “When I applied for the art grant, I initially was going to shoot some film for my thesis under the umbrella of what my previous work was, which was theatre, and insert some clips. But, I was telling Felix (the one who is in charge of the grant) [that] the project is taking on a life of its own,” she said. “I get to tell authentic experiences, and I work with real people every day, so it's a blessing to let real stories be told. Every time I think about it, optiMize was that first seed for the project. So, it's amazing to see how it's grown [...] If you asked me if optiMize changed my life-oh my God, yes! I got to go to Ghana, to go back to the Motherland. With the projects, it’s been helping me strengthen my community here.” When asked to elaborate about the community she has found within optiMize, she recalled

"There's a lot of people I've met in optiMize who support me. We support each other and show up for each other. It's a great network,” she exclaimed. 

Dallas, a full-time staff member of optiMize and current graduate student in the School of Information, was also funded for his project that is currently exploring urban afrofuturism in the United States as an aesthetic and a vehicle to explore change by highlighting the black diaspora and blackness in new ways. “My art, while potentially being heard to inspire possible futures, isn’t meant to be prescriptive, rather to inspire others to think about blackness in new ways where black people and cultures thrive and not only survive.” Dallas attributes some of his personal growth and inspiration to his time with optiMize, and being around the fellows.

We couldn’t be more excited for these three individuals and look forward to seeing what they continue to do in the future. We are proud to have them as part of the optiMize community.