Engage Michigan (also known as Progress Michigan Education) is a left-of-center advocacy group that offers web development; spokesperson training; and media, public relations, and communications services for left-of center non-profits. ¹ It is an arm of the left-of-center non-profit Progress Michigan. Engage Michigan’s funding increased from $896,000 in 2018 to $11.0 million in 2020. ²

Engage Michigan started the “Detroit Media Project” in which it works with organizations that focus on racial issues and offers consulting services with these organizations about “what it takes to get and keep their narrative in the media.” ³

Engage Michigan also supports racial and identity-based organizations such as Mothering Justice. ⁴ Engage Michigan gave $75,000 to Mothering Justice in 2020. Mothering Justice is a political advocacy group that supports government mandates on private companies for paid leave. ⁵

As of January 24, 2022, the group’s last blog post was March 31, 2021 and it was urging people to “say thank you” to the Democratic governor, attorney general and secretary of state for having “been the strong, steady leaders our state needs.” ⁶

History

Engage Michigan is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that was founded in 2007. ⁷ It started in 2007 with $117,738 in total revenue. ⁸ Engage Michigan’s funding increased from $896,000 in 2018 to $11.0 million in 2020. ² The Ford Foundation, a major left-of-center funder, has been a consistent donor and gave Engage Michigan $900,000 in 2019 ⁹ and $200,000 in 2018. ¹⁰

Dan Farough was the first executive director of Progress Michigan Education. ⁸ Farough is a Democratic political consultant who was the chief of staff and campaign manager for U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). ¹¹

We The People of Michigan

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund gave Progress Michigan Education a $400,000 grant in 2020 to fund We The People – Michigan. ¹² The Ford Foundation gave Progress Michigan Education $300,000 in 2019 for the We The People – Michigan project. ¹³ In 2017, the Proteus Fund gave Engage Michigan $15,000 to support the We The People – Michigan. ¹⁴

We The People – Michigan supports increasing funding for public schools while opposing charter schools run by independent management companies. It also supports government-funded tuition for colleges, increasing minimum wage, government-run healthcare and is in favor of raced-based reparations. ¹⁵

People

Amanda Stitt is the chair of the board of Engage Michigan. Stitt was the political director of the Granholm Leadership Fund from 2007 to 2009 where she trained Democratic activists and leaders on political campaigning. ¹⁶ Stitt became the chief strategist for Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s 2022 campaign in October 2021. ¹⁷

Rana Elmir is vice chair of the board of Engage Michigan. Elmir is the deputy director of ACLU of Michigan ¹⁸ and wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post in 2015 in which she wrote she would “emphatically refuse” to condemn terrorism “to prove my patriotism.” ¹⁹

Patrick Schuh is on the board of directors of Engage Michigan and also is the chair of the board of directors of Progress Michigan ²⁰ and is the state director of the Michigan chapter of America Votes, ²¹ a left-of-center lobbying and advocacy coalition.

Julie Rowe is a board member of Engage Michigan, an executive board officer at large for the Michigan Democratic State Central Committee and is a senior political associate for the American Federation of Teachers union. ²²

John Keserich is a board member of Engage Michigan who worked for 13 years for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan where he was the director of political field operations. ²³ Keserich described himself as a “progressive organizational and political leader” on his LinkedIn account. ²³

Lonnie Scott works as the executive director of Engage Michigan and holds the same position with Progress Michigan. ²⁴

1. Engage Michigan. Accessed Jan. 28, 2022. https://www.engagemichigan.org/about/what-we-offer/
2. Progress Michigan Education. Form 990. 2020. Part I. Summary. Accessed Jan. 30, 2022. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/26-0900874
3. Engage Michigan. Detroit Media Project. Accessed Jan. 28, 2022. https://www.engagemichigan.org/project/detroit-media-project/
4. Progress Michigan Education. Form 990. 2020. Part II. Accessed Feb. 4. 2022. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/26-0900874
5. Mothering Justice. Paid Leave/EPST. Accessed Feb. 4, 2022. https://www.motheringjustice.org/paidleaveepst
6. Engage Michigan blog. “Say Thank You To Gov. Whitmer, AG Nessel, And SOS Benson”; March 31, 2021. Accessed Jan. 24, 2022. https://www.engagemichigan.org/2021/03/say-thank-you-to-gov-whitmer-ag-nessel-and-sos-benson/
7. ^[1] Progress Michigan Education. Form 990. 2020. Part I. Summary. Accessed Jan. 30, 2022. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/26-0900874
8. Progress Michigan Education. Form 990. 2007. Part I. Revenue, Expenses, and Changes in Net Assets and Fund Balances. Accessed Feb. 7, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/260900874/2009_01_EO%2F26-0900874_990_200712
9. Ford Foundation. Form 990. 2019. Part XV Supplementary Information. Accessed Jan. 25, 2022. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/13-1684331
10. Ford Foundation. Form 990. 2018. Part XV Line 3. Accessed Jan. 28, 2022. https://pdf.guidestar.org/PDF_Images/2018/131/684/2018-131684331-17163348-F.pdf?_gl=1*s7uqnf*_ga*MTU1MDkxMTY3LjE2NDIyMDg5Nzg.*_ga_5W8PXYYGBX*MTY0MzM1NDU1NS43LjEuMTY0MzM1NTk2OC42MA..&_ga=2.83537878.1925957423.1643354557-155091167.1642208978
11. Farough & Associates. Dan Farough. Accessed Feb. 7, 2022. http://faroughassociates.com/dan-farough
12. Rockefeller Brothers Fund. 2020 Grants. Accessed Feb. 2, 2022. https://www.rbf.org/grantees/progress-michigan-education
13. Ford Foundation. Form 990. 2019. Part XV, Line 3a. Accessed Feb. 2, 2022. https://www.fordfoundation.org/media/5848/2019-990-pf-for-the-ff-website.pdf
14. Proteus Fund. Grants. Progress Michigan Education. Accessed Feb. 4, 2022. https://www.proteusfund.org/grant/progressmichiganeducation/
15. We The People – Michigan. People’s Agenda. Accessed Feb. 2, 2022. https://www.wethepeoplemi.org/peoplesagenda
16. Amanda Stitt LinkedIn. Accessed Jan. 25, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandastitt/
17. Craig Mauger. “Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Reelection Campaign Announces Key Staff”; Oct. 8, 2021. Accessed Jan. 25, 2022. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2021/10/08/gov-gretchen-whitmers-reelection-campaign-announces-key-staff/6049082001/
18. ALCU of Michigan. Accessed Jan. 25, 2022. https://www.aclumich.org/en/biographies/rana-elmir
19. Rana Elmir. “Stop Asking Me To Condemn Terrorists Just Because I’m Muslim”; Dec. 28, 2015. Accessed Jan. 25, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/12/28/stop-asking-me-to-condemn-terrorists-just-because-im-muslim/
20. Progress Michigan. Accessed Jan. 25, 2022. https://progressmichigan.org/about/
21. Patrick Schuh LinkedIn. Accessed Jan. 25, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickschuh/
22. Julie Rowe LinkedIn. Accessed Jan. 25, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-rowe-583366b/
23. John Keserich LinkedIn. Accessed Jan. 28, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-keserich-b7173a8/
24. Lonnie Scott LinkedIn. Accessed Feb. 8, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/lonnie-scott/