University of Detroit Mercy receives $300,000 grant from Michigan Health Endowment Fund to work toward a healthier community

DETROIT, June 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Two major grants from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund totaling more than $300,000 are helping University of Detroit Mercy (UDM) work with the community to improve wellness.

One grant involves how nonprofit community organizations use AI today and will in the future, and the other establishes a neighborhood wellness council for residents of Northwest Detroit to guide health priorities in their communities.

The AI-focused grant began with a realization from UDM's Phillip Olla, who directs the University's Center for Augmenting Intelligence (CAI): In the very near future, users will be charged to access the AI systems they use daily.

This will create a digital divide, he said, where the free AI models will be limited, slow and outdated and the models that power scientific discovery, clinical support, financial analysis, legal review, product design and strategic decision-making will be locked behind subscriptions.

Among those who will feel the pain will be nonprofits, especially those that address healthcare issues for the most vulnerable populations.

To address that issue in advance, Olla created the Detroit AI Health Equity Collaborative, which received a $150,000 Capacity Building Grant from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund. This collaborative will work to move ahead of the issue of rising costs by joining forces with community organizations to create a community-owned AI utility model.

The Titan Equity Nourish Network (TENN) and UDM's McAuley School of Nursing have been working with their Michigan Health Endowment Fund since December. The group received a $180,000 grant to fund The People's Path to Wellness, which will establish a neighborhood wellness council to guide health priorities, design culturally relevant wellness programs and build long-term community health leadership.

TENN is a student-led community-rooted food and wellness initiative whose initiatives include creating community gardens and delivering produce to residents with the overall goal to create a more food-sovereign Detroit.

Residents in the neighborhoods surrounding the University's McNichols Campus, especially older adults, caregivers and women, expressed an urgent need for preventive and proactive wellness support, higher confidence regarding community and personal health and health solutions designed by and for the community.

A nine-person community council has been operating for a few months and other work in the first year of the grant is focused on developing and training leaders to be confident in addressing health issues.

SOURCE University of Detroit Mercy