Displaying items tagged: Grand Rapids Community Foundation

GRAND RAPIDS — At the beginning of her 35 years leading the Grand Rapids Community Foundation, Diana Sieger was often the only woman in the room. But during her tenure, the foundation sought out diverse voices to shape its philanthropic efforts, distancing itself from the “donor knows best” model common in many nonprofit circles.

GRAND RAPIDS — Diana Sieger plans to retire as president of the Grand Rapids Community Foundation, the organization she helped to grow significantly over her 35-year tenure during which she became a powerful voice for Michigan’s philanthropic sector.

GRAND RAPIDS — New City Neighbors is set to unveil its new location at a renovated urban farmhouse that sits on a 1-acre plot in the city’s Creston neighborhood.

Nonprofit leaders and researchers say maintaining donor relationships is perhaps the biggest ongoing challenge for organizations as the COVID-19 pandemic continues surging and creating distance between funders.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused major shifts in philanthropic giving last year as human services organizations benefited and small-level donors increased, according to a recent report from global nonprofit Giving Tuesday.

GRAND RAPIDS — The city of Grand Rapids is partnering with the Grand Rapids Community Foundation on what has been a years-long process of creating a fund to increase the amount of affordable housing.

Opening a cannabis dispensary comes with significant barriers, but West Michigan entrepreneurs are looking at opportunities other than retail storefronts to get their foot in the door of the burgeoning industry.

Some nonprofits survived the first nine months of the pandemic relatively unscathed while others are hanging on in hopes that a widely distributed vaccine lifts capacity restrictions and renews confidence in gathering indoors.

GRAND RAPIDS — The Grand River has historically divided the city of Grand Rapids in multiple ways, but as redevelopments have ramped up in recent years, leaders of a restoration plan are stressing the importance of making the river accessible to all residents. 

Here is the MiBiz growth report for August 31, 2020.

The Grand Rapids City Commission is considering a $250,000 contribution to an emergency pandemic relief fund for undocumented immigrants and mixed status families who reside in the city and need housing assistance.

Mike Goorhouse isn’t a banker, but the coronavirus pandemic has him thinking like one.

MiBiz growth report for April 26, 2020.

Eight organizations united to create an emergency relief fund for undocumented workers and mixed status families in Kent County who are ineligible for unemployment or other relief.

The amount of money area foundations are able to give away this year won’t change much, if at all, but 2021 could see some level of decreases depending on what happens with the stock market in subsequent quarters.

GRAND RAPIDS — Backed by a three-year grant, the Grand Rapids Community Foundation aims to better understand and encourage philanthropic giving in the region’s African American and Latinx communities. 

Diversity, equity and inclusion have been foremost in the minds of people who work in Michigan’s nonprofit and philanthropic sectors.

Five weeks before a pair of mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio rocked the nation, community leaders in Grand Rapids held a press conference on the city’s southeast side to address the city’s recent spike in gun violence. 

GRAND RAPIDS — The increasing diversity within giving circles is broadening the scope of causes they support and better reflecting the nation’s changing demographics.

Foundations face a changing landscape both in how they raise money and award grants to nonprofit organizations. MiBiz recently brought together leaders from four West Michigan foundations to talk about the trends they see today. 

GRAND RAPIDS –– An array of organizations in West Michigan have launched new initiatives aimed at bridging the wealth gap in a region characterized by vast income disparities.

Despite their strong ties to smartphones and virtual communication, Gen Xers and Millennials still crave face-to-face interaction, and the philanthropic sector is taking note.

GRAND RAPIDS — People at or near retirement age are increasingly looking to create a next chapter in their lives that will give them opportunities to work and make meaningful contributions.

Philanthropic giving in a presidential election year typically remains stagnant.

GRAND RAPIDS — Based on the success of prior technology workshops, a local nonprofit plans to leverage its partnership with a Detroit-based training firm to support a bootcamp specifically for women.

When Jim Hackett retired from the corner office at Steelcase Inc. in 2014, he told MiBiz the “narrative is still being written” about what he planned to do in the next phase of his professional life.

GRAND RAPIDS — The growth of a fund established three years ago by a same-sex couple from Grand Rapids proves there’s interest in addressing issues the LGBT community faces in West Michigan.

A new partnership and grant dollars aim to help train future technology sector employees.

GRAND RAPIDS — Blandford Nature Center has collaborated with local partners on a transformational land deal that could help reshape a neighborhood on the west side of Grand Rapids. 

The nonprofit community has a unique opportunity to engage individuals from both sides of the political aisle in meaningful conversations to find common ground. That was a key theme during a panel discussion as part of the 2017 MiBiz Best Managed Nonprofits Awards, held on Tuesday at the Goei Center in Grand Rapids.