Genesee County, MI — The Genesee County Treasurer’s Office has received a $100,000 one-year grant from Rocket Community Fund to expand property tax exemption assistance and strengthen foreclosure prevention efforts for eligible homeowners across Genesee County.

The grant will support proactive outreach, application processing, housing counseling, and direct client assistance to help residents access available relief and maintain housing stability.

“For over a decade, Rocket Community Fund has been committed to preventing tax foreclosure and keeping at-risk families in their homes,” said Laura Grannemann, Executive Director at Rocket Community Fund. “These investments are the first steps to expanding that focus statewide to ensure that all Michiganders have access to stable housing and the prosperity that comes with it.”

Genesee County Treasurer Sam Muma said the funding will help the Treasurer’s Office connect more residents to vital support, especially those who may not know help is available or who face barriers navigating the process.

“We’re grateful to Rocket Community Fund for this investment in our community,” Muma said. “This grant helps us meet people where they are by recognizing the challenges that many of our residents face. When we bring assistance directly to the community, we can help more homeowners stay in their homes, stabilize families, and strengthen neighborhoods. We want to play an active role in community development across the county, and this is one major step in that direction.”

Rocket Community Fund has focused on property tax foreclosure prevention and reform in Detroit since 2013, when Rocket Companies Chairman and Founder Dan Gilbert was named co-chair of the Federal Detroit Blight Removal Taskforce. Through programs like Neighbor to Neighbor, an annual canvassing initiative that delivered property tax exemption information and other resources directly to residents, Rocket Community Fund helped reduce property tax foreclosures in Wayne County from a peak of 28,323 in 2015 to 2,111 in 2024 — a 93% reduction.

The Genesee County Treasurer’s Office will use the grant to increase awareness of property tax exemption resources, assist with applications, and connect eligible homeowners to counseling and direct support designed to prevent foreclosure and promote long-term housing stability.