Community Development Fellow

CEDAM is seeking fellows for the 2025-26 program year to join one of 10 host communities in Michigan to effect positive change for residents, gain community development and public policy experience, and lead impactful community economic development projects.

Fellows will be full-time CEDAM employees, but will work on-site in their host communities during their 15 month term starting January 2025. Fellows work directly with local municipalities to implement planning and zoning best practices, increase community engagement, and secure project funding.

The Community Development Fellowship integrates significant professional development and networking opportunities. All Fellows will be trained on the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)’s Redevelopment Ready Communities Program and have an opportunity to attend CEDAM’s signature training, Real Estate Development Boot Camp.

As a fellow, the added capacity you’ll provide your community will allow them to achieve the community development goals they’ve set. This work changes lives for the better!

Host Communities

CEDAM is hiring fellows to work in the following communities:

• Calumet
• Elk Rapids
• Roscommon
• Allegan
• Saginaw
• Cass City
• Battle Creek
• Cassopolis
• Brooklyn
• Detroit

Qualifications

The appropriate candidate will have a strong interest and/or background in community economic development, planning, coalition building and/or community organizing, and communications or a combination of such interests. The appropriate candidate must possess strong verbal and written communication skills, excellent attention to detail, the ability to work within a team or as an individual and be familiar with the Microsoft Office suite and Google Applications. Fellows are required to work the standard office hours of their host communities.

The following skills are required of all fellows:

No specific background or education is required to join the fellowship! But a minimum of 2 years of experience in these types of situations is essential for success:

• Experience facilitating a meeting with people who have more experience than them
• Complete their work without someone reminding them to do it
• Experience overcoming obstacles in work situations in the past
• Experience managing multiple professional relationships
• Comfortable working outside of the typical 9 am - 5 pm to attend community events
• Ability to use or teach oneself new software in a fast-paced role with little oversight

Scope of Work

Fellows will complete projects that vary by community, but past examples include:

• Creating a marketing plan
• Distributing a community survey and compiling the results
• Managing a website redesign, including web designer vendor selection, designing and inputting content, coordinating public participation, and communicating progress

The projects identified by each host community are available here.

All fellow projects include:

Resident engagement

• Support community efforts to include residents in long-term community planning and visioning
• Increase transparency about municipal projects by implementing strategies to communicate with residents
• Talk to residents about the opportunities they see for their community and empower them to get involved

Partnership building

• Initiate and/or strengthen partnerships with community stakeholders, including but not limited to business owners, Downtown Development Authority (DDA), Chamber of Commerce, Convention & Visitors Bureau, and school district

Research and writing

• Research examples of key municipal planning documents from other communities that integrate RRC best practices, and help customize it to reflect the unique needs of your host community
• Support efforts to draft or update key municipal planning documents, such as the public participation plan, economic development strategy, or marketing plan
• Create monthly, mid-year, and final reports detailing progress and accomplishments

Fund Development

• Support efforts to secure funding for community economic development projects, through research and/or grant writing. This may include micro-grants for placemaking projects or larger State agency grants