At its core, Fli-Anthropy was simply formed out of a deep love for Flint and its people.
The nonprofit organization was launched in June of 2025 by Flint natives Jordan Johnson and George Shawn McQueen as a vehicle to build community-focused events that raise funds, awareness, or other resources for local organizations. And a key component of that mission is an educational one – teaching people that getting involved in philanthropic causes doesn’t necessarily require having a lot of money to donate.
“We started just because of the love we have for our city and a passion to serve,” Johnson said. “When we think about philanthropy, we think about these big galas or big rich companies giving back to the less fortunate. And we had this different philosophy that philanthropy can look like anything that you can provide, whether it’s your time, your talent, your knowledge, your money, some of the clothes you’ve grown out of, really just giving what you have. And so we’re trying to change the narrative around what philanthropy looks like and it really just comes down to that village mindset of we’re neighbors. I got you. You got me. So we’ve combined our love for community engagement with philanthropy.”
“We want to make philanthropy feel accessible,” McQueen said. “A lot of people do feel like it has to be a grand and big gesture, but it could literally be people gathering together and making a concert and charging old clothes for admission. And by making it accessible or kind of showing people the way we took towards philanthropy, hopefully it will spark more people to do some of the same things to where the community gets used to relying on each other and just knowing that if there’s a group of people or a demographic that’s going underserved, that anybody could wake up and figure out a way to help them.”
Deep connections to Flint have been a theme in both of their lives. McQueen, who is also a sound engineer and musician who performs as G-S tha DreaM, has roots in the city that go back all the way to Summerfield Early Childhood Education Center. He then went to Doyle-Ryder and Center Academy and split time in high school between Flint Southwestern and Carman-Ainsworth. He’s stayed and built his career here because of the potential he sees in Flint, and the ways he believes he can help the city fulfill it.
“For me it’s kind of just a love for where I was planted,” McQueen said. “I felt like I came from this soil and I wanted to kind of develop an opportunity to give back to it. I feel like there is a pride that comes with the city and I just wanted to be here long enough to give us a reason to be proud of Flint again and have fun in Flint again and for it to start feeling like the community that I hear older people in my family talk about having back in the eighties and nineties, how people knew their neighbors or people just got out and enjoyed the neighborhood together and they kind of policed each other in a way. I just feel like that sense of community, I would like to see it come back and if I could have a hand in that, then that would be great.”
Johnson’s history in the city also dates back to elementary school – Dye and Doyle-Ryder, before going to Carman-Ainsworth in middle school and finishing high school at Genesee Early College. Johnson completed her degree in applied psychology at the University of Michigan-Flint, and has worked in disability services for youth. She launched the CRAVE Academy, a business where she works with high school students and young adults with disabilities, and has been involved with numerous Flint nonprofit and community organizations over the years.
“I’ve always just had this love for my city, especially working with young people,” Johnson said. “I just knew that I had something, or God gave me something, that I could give to the youth here, whether it’s hope, whether it’s knowledge, whether it’s wisdom, I’ve always had a heart for the community. Just seeing how the residents here really love and rally behind Flint, whether it’s having their feet in the mud with the community cleanups or advocating down at city hall. It’s just like this fire that our residents have here. And just honoring the people that came before I was like, ‘I have to stay here.’”
That shared passion for community has also deepened their bond. Johnson and McQueen became friends in 2022 and started dating two years ago. Eventually, they formalized work they’d already been supporting or involved in or ideas they had under an official nonprofit, which is how Fli-Anthropy as an idea came about.
“Something that connected us early in our relationship was a love for giving back to our city,” Johnson said. “He’s a music producer and artist, and so he’s had the heart to give music and music production back to our young people. And then I just have a heart for young people as well.”
They were also partially influenced by a sermon they’d listened to, where the person delivering the talk mentioned that giving back doesn’t have to look like just giving people a lot of money. Their signature event last year, called Rhythm Relief, captured elements of both of their stories while also helping the community. The event was held at Flint Local 432 and featured live music and performances, and it also collected items for Flint Odyssey House, an organization that helps people with substance use recovery. That cause is close to Johnson’s heart, as she is five years sober.
The event showcased a priority that they are centering in their work: listening to what people they’re trying to help need rather than just assuming. Last year’s Rhythm Relief collected donated items as an admission fee, but the list of needed items that was shared in advance came directly from staff at the Odyssey House and people they serve.
“I think it was really important that we asked them what they needed,” McQueen said. “A lot of times, from the outside looking in, you might give somebody the kind of help that you think is gonna benefit them. But when you give them the opportunity to tell you exactly what they need, it’s almost like you’re getting a perfect gift for somebody. I think that was an opportunity to make sure that we made them feel cared for or like we tried to meet their actual needs versus what we might’ve thought that they needed.”
Fli-Anthropy is ramping up its community efforts this spring and summer, announcing several events aimed at serving residents in spaces that help build connections, provide resources, show care, and mostly just bring joy to people. Here is the full lineup:
- Family Advocacy Fun Day (June 27, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. in Ballenger Park): A family-centered event created to bring together youth with disabilities and their families for activities, connection, resources, and a chance to share their needs, hopes, and ideas for stronger support.
- Date Night in the Park (July 18, 9 p.m. in Ballenger Park): A relaxing evening for parents, caregivers, couples, and anyone looking for a sweet night out with a movie, mocktails, and love songs in the park.
- Safe Space Showdown (August 15, 2-5 p.m. in Ballenger Park): A fun and energetic dodgeball tournament designed to bring Flint’s youth together through teamwork, friendly competition, positivity, and community.
- Rhythm Relief (September 5, 2-5 p.m., mobile event): A community-centered experience offering music, meals, resources, and care to support neighbors experiencing housing insecurity.
They plan to share sponsorship tiers, opportunities for in-kind donations of raffle items, food, beverages, beauty supplies, and other times, volunteer opportunities, and opportunities to have resource tables for each event, with the Fli-Anthropy Facebook page as the best place to connect and get information as each event gets closer. They’re also excited to experiment with a format change for this year’s Rhythm Relief aimed at getting resources directly to people who need them. Rather than having the entire event at a single venue, they plan to set up in multiple locations
“We’re mobilizing Rhythm Relief this year,” Johnson said. “Our stationary event was going to be live music, and we were going to hand out food to some of our unhoused residents or some of our residents who just may be having a hard time. But we were thinking what about the people in between who don’t utilize the resources, the shelters, the community closets, that kind of just fall between the cracks. And so we have this idea where we’re going to take live artists and we’re going to have these checkpoints along Saginaw Street, starting at Center for Hope and then we’re going to walk all the way down to Center Road and hand out free hot meals and backpacks that have care packages in them. At each checkpoint we’re gonna have a live artist there to give their talents to the community, but also kind of be an inspiration to those who we’re trying to serve for that moment.”
They’re also adding an element to their dodgeball tournament, with a winning team receiving $1,000 that they can put toward jerseys for a youth sports team, sports equipment, or other needs.
“Sports are where you’re learning how to socialize and work together and teamwork and pushing through hard challenges and stuff like that,” McQueen said. “And when those things go underfunded, those kids find other things to do. So we wanted to take this opportunity to kind of give back. $1,000 isn’t gonna save a program, but it can definitely help them move forward with what they have for the year.”
Johnson and McQueen are able to be creative and experiment with their events because they are such a young organization still trying to find the exact formula. But ultimately, they hope Fli-Anthropy and the many community events they put on each year can find ways to partner with other organizations or celebrations too and add elements to existing things in the city, all while encouraging more people to think of ways they can give back or impact the community. They’re also hoping the network of volunteers they’re building can eventually be deployed or tapped into by other organizations in the city doing good work who need volunteer support.
“I think that when you see people in your age group doing something, it makes it seem more attainable,” McQueen said. “I would like to see more people in our age group doing things for the community, but also the next generation. And just bridging those gaps between the people who have been doing the moving and shaking with people who want to do it and maybe just don’t know how, just connecting those people, having conversations that end meaningfully, and pushing people in the right direction as far as uniting Flint as a city again.”
“We’re really passionate about what we’re doing and anybody who has that same passion for Flint or has that same passion for community, we want to work with you,” Johnson said. “We are still so new and we want to learn from people who’ve been doing it a little bit longer. Mainly we just want people to know our heart is really behind these events.”
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