Call to Action!
What Happened:
On Wednesday, December 10th, 2025, the Michigan House Republicans through the House Appropriations Committee voted to terminate $645 million dollars in payments for unspent funds across several grants and programs.
These funds were already appropriated in previous fiscal years through budgets passed by a bipartisan majority of the Michigan House and Senate. Many of the funds were then awarded to projects vetted through a grant process approved by the various committees and departments. Many of these projects are multi-year projects that are just getting underway or are in the midst of their project goals. We were not notified of this action by House Republicans, but found out about it after the fact from some of our valued supporters.
The Impact:
This decision to terminate funding without public input is personal to Troy Historic Village and our many supporters as one of the affected grants are the recently awarded Labor & Economic Opportunity Community Museum Grants. 20 museums across Michigan received a total of $9 million for capacity building projects. Here at Troy Historic Village, we were awarded $399,770 for our $600,000+ West End Expansion Project. The grants were announced in November of 2024. We applied by January 30, 2025, and the award announcement came on May 30, 2025.
The Labor & Economic Opportunity Community Museum grant allowed us to use funds for up to 4 years, but our plan here at the Village was to complete our project in about 2 years. Regardless, there was no way we could have spent all of those funds in a matter of months.
The West End Expansion Project will move the Log Cabin, expand the fence line, create an Indigenous Teaching Space, take care of drainage issues to make other programming spaces available, and add parking. When the Log Cabin is moved some much-needed structural repairs will take place, and we will add heating to expand our programming through the year. All of this expands our programming capacity.
The Project also prepares us for the next steps in our Master Plan which include an Artisan Teaching Space and a new Visitor Center that will enable us to better serve the 12,000+ field trip students and additional 12,000+ other visitors who visit annually by adding spaces to eat lunch and for more workshops, classes, and programs. It will improve safety at the Village by providing a central secured entrance. Finally, a new Visitor Center will equip us to better tell Troy’s story by including the last 100 years of history which includes the development and immigration that makes our Troy community so vibrant.
We will keep working hard at the Troy Historic Village to bring you great programming and community events, and will update you with any news we hear about the funding. Thank you for your continued support and we hope to see you at the Village soon!
What You Can Do:
While some of our representatives are working on next steps in legislation to restore this funding, I am encouraging you all to reach out to your representatives to let them know what the impact is on Troy Historic Village and your community (to find your Representatives click here). Here are some of the basics in a talking point I’m happy for you to use:
"This week the House Appropriations Committee voted to terminate remaining funding for several state grants including the Labor & Economic Opportunity Community Museum Grant program. The Troy Historic Village was awarded $399,770 in May to be spent between July 1, 2025, and December 31, 2029. This is part of a $600,000+ project that is just getting underway to expand the Village and its programming capacity.
Troy Historic Village staff have worked hard with the City of Troy and other stakeholders on this project and defunding it puts the next steps in jeopardy. In addition, 19 other museums and cultural organizations are impacted by this action. This was a rare opportunity for us in the museum world to take on much needed projects for growth and to expand our educational impact across Michigan.
I would like you to consider steps that reinstate that grant funding immediately. I am happy to talk to you further about the impact this action has had on the Troy Community, or you can reach out to Jen Peters, Executive Director of the Troy Historic Village at 248-524-3570."
Learn More:
- To find your Representatives click here.
- To read the public document detailing the programs and projects that were cut, please click here.
- To read more about what is happening in Lansing, please click here.