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Community Impact: Spring 2017 Grants

<May 22, 2017> The Board of Trustees of the Community Foundation for Muskegon County (CFMC) recently approved grant awards to a variety of community organizations in support of projects throughout Muskegon County. A total of $551,328 was awarded from Unrestricted and Field of Interest Funds through the competitive application process, overseen by numerous volunteer committees.

“Grants support all three aspects of our leadership goals: to inspire hope and opportunity in our youth, to build an inclusive community, and to promote collaborative community goals and decision making,” said Janelle Mair, CFMC director of grantmaking. “Investments like these bring people together around the arts and help youth lead healthy lives, both through education beyond school and through the development of a sustainable environment in which they can grow.”

Highlights of the grants include:

  • The City of Whitehall received a grant of $220,000 (10-year commitment) from the White Lake Community Fund to support the Howmet Playhouse Capital Campaign, which aims to critically renovate the Howmet Playhouse, a cultural and artistic staple of the White Lake community.
  • Planned Parenthood of West and Northern Michigan was awarded $12,000 by the Youth Advisory Council to support Safer Choices, an evidence-based intervention project which works to prevent early, unprotected intercourse, unintended pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among teens through comprehensive, age-appropriate sexual health education. Safer Choices also aims to foster communication between youth and trusted adults.
  • Read Muskegon received a grant of $15,568 from the Greater Muskegon County Fund to support the Muskegon Heights Family Literacy Center, which acts as a county-wide hub for literacy with an emphasis on programming for children 0-5 and low-literacy adults, the latter of whom are an estimated 1 in 6 Americans.
  • Muskegon Family YMCA received a grant of $15,000 from the Julia E. Hackley Memorial Fund to support its Summer Recreation program, which engages youth ages 8-18 in activities which promote physical fitness, nutrition, swimming safety, literacy, and life skills.
  • Muskegon River Watershed Assembly and the West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum received a combined total of $12,360 from the Environmental Endowment Fund to support their efforts to reduce storm water runoff pollutants and increase sustainable business capacity, respectively.

Grant applications are accepted twice each year, once in the spring and again in the fall. Nonprofit organizations interested in seeking grant support from the Community Foundation are encouraged visit www.cffmc.org/grants for additional information about the process.  A complete list of spring 2017 grant awards is available here.