Ann Arbor, Mich. – The Michigan Municipal League (MML) today announced its partnership with Syncurrent, a government technology company founded in 2022 and based in Marquette, MI, to support a centralized AI-powered state grant system, making critical funding more transparent and accessible.
MI Funding Hub (MIFundingHub.org) is a free platform, launched as a joint venture between MML and the State of Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (MI-LEO) to simplify access to state and federal grant funding. Featuring a searchable database of current grant opportunities, a grant‑basics toolkit, and a monthly newsletter, the site empowers municipalities, nonprofits, tribal governments, and other community organizations. Users can identify relevant funding by category and timeframe and request personalized support through a help desk. MI Funding Hub further enhances communities’ grant‑readiness through webinars, technical assistance, and a library of curated resources.
Through its new integration with Syncurrent’s AI infrastructure, users of MI Funding Hub can now more efficiently track and apply for state and federal grants to help improve infrastructure, enhance affordable housing, or make investments to help a community thrive.
“Michigan is one of only a few states to offer a centralized, public-facing grant hub to local and tribal governments, but having the most up to date and relevant grant information has been a challenge,” said Shanna Draheim, MML Director of Policy Research Labs. “To maximize impact, MI Funding Hub needed Syncurrent’s government-wide framework, as it shortens the grant identification process from months to minutes.”
More than one hundred small governments across the country have started using Syncurrent’s platform to pull from first-source grant data across federal and state agency websites and databases. In 2024, Syncurrent became the first AI startup to secure grant funding from the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development when it obtained a Rural Business-Cooperative Service Agreement.
“We celebrate MI-LEO and MML for recognizing the challenges local and tribal governments face when accessing this type of funding,” said Dhruv C. Patel, Syncurrent CEO and Co-Founder. “Through partnerships like this, Syncurrent can continue building solutions for tribal and local communities and states across the nation.”
“Navigating public funding shouldn’t require a full-time grant writer,” said Jonathan Smith, Senior Chief Deputy Director, Labor and Economic Opportunity at MI-LEO. “This collaboration brings the best of public service and Michigan-grown innovation together to help local leaders focus less on navigating bureaucracy and more on building stronger, more resilient places.”
Questions regarding the program can be directed to the League’s Shanna Draheim, Director of Policy Research Labs, at sdraheim@mml.org. For media inquiries, contact the League’s Agnes Krahn, communications associate, at 734-669-6308 and akrahn@mml.org.
