GRAND RAPIDS — Goodwill Industries of Greater Grand Rapids Inc. wants to enable employees to achieve their professional work goals within the organization or other employment opportunities they may choose to pursue in the community.

Shortly after opening her philanthropic consulting firm in 2000, Christine Gavin got a firsthand look at the “unevenness” of philanthropy.

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

After 10 years as an annual event, ArtPrize switched to a biennial model for the first time this year with the debut of Project 1, a city-wide series of events and exhibitions from a handful of artists. The move marked a dramatic shift from the ArtPrize competition, which involves hundreds of artists.

GRAND RAPIDS — The inequities women face in daily life are often much worse for women who are incarcerated. 

GRAND RAPIDS — A house on Union Avenue SE may soon become part of the solution to providing safe and stable housing to the city’s growing population of homeless youths.

Just over three years ago, Joe Sobieralski was hired as the President and CEO of Battle Creek Unlimited.  Sobieralski joined BCU in 2015 as vice president and was then appointed interim CEO in 2016. Later that year, the interim title was removed. While there has been a lot of forward momentum under his leadership, he says there is still a lot more to be accomplished. With the renewal of his contract for another three years, we wanted to check in with him to get his view from the corner office.

GRAND RAPIDS — The ability of many nonprofits to successfully meet their missions can be directly tied to those who sit on their boards.

Trudy Ender joined Susan G. Komen Michigan on July 1 as its executive director. In her new role, she leads the local affiliate of the Dallas, Texas-based Susan G. Komen for the Cure Breast Cancer Foundation, which works to support research, as well as cancer screenings, diagnostics, education, outreach, and support services for patients and survivors. Susan G. Komen Michigan served more than 85,000 people last year in 24 counties across the state. Ender, who previously served as executive director of the Humane Society of West Michigan after working for years in the public sector, spoke with MiBiz about her vision for the statewide nonprofit. 

GRAND RAPIDS — Bethany Christian Services Inc. faces a difficult challenge in trying to ensure that unaccompanied migrant children who cross the border into the United States avoid any long-term effects from the detention process.

KALAMAZOO — Creating workplaces where equity is the norm rather than the exception forms the basis for the Coalition for Inclusive Communities initiative.

Building stronger relationships with donors who are part of a U.S. demographic shift should be part of the fundraising strategy for the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. 

Operating under a new name, a Detroit-based foundation for children aims to carve out a philanthropic role in West Michigan and create a statewide presence.

BATTLE CREEK — A more holistic approach to ensuring positive outcomes for students, teachers and the community is the driving force behind a new partnership involving Battle Creek Public Schools and Grand Valley State University. That’s according to GVSU President Thomas Haas, who notes having a highly skilled talent pool in Battle Creek will play a crucial role in the region’s ability to attract and retain new businesses.

KALAMAZOO — Sorghum is not a common ingredient in beer produced in the United States, but it is used widely in Africa, where the grain is favored for its drought-resistant properties. But a collaboration between Tillers International, a nonprofit headquartered in Scotts, about 12 miles southeast of Kalamazoo, and Kalamazoo-based Arcadia Brewing Co. aims to give patrons a chance to sample a beer made with sorghum at a tasting event on April 30.

While he wouldn’t categorize it as “dire,” a leading Michigan-based consultant said the fundraising climate in Michigan has been better and currently is headed in the wrong direction. Michael Montgomery, owner of Huntington Woods, Mich.-based Montgomery Consulting Inc. and an instructor at the University of Michigan’s Dearborn campus, lays out the rationale for his predictions in his annual Michigan Fundraising Climate Survey, released at the end of March.

Building the United Way brand and providing a consistent donor experience is imperative for the organization and its affiliates to remain relevant. Those were among the factors that led to the announcement in January of the Van Buren County United Way’s decision to join forces with the United Way of Southwest Michigan for back office operations.

Industry trends increasingly are blurring the lines between philanthropy and business. As government funding to address issues such as food insecurity, homelessness and poverty continues to shrink, requests to funders are increasing as the nonprofit sector seeks to fill those service gaps. The result from this growing trend is perhaps most visible in philanthropic support of economic development efforts, often through significant investments.

The newly formed Northwest Michigan Rural Housing Partnership has tapped Sarah Lucas as its executive director. Lucas, who also serves as director of community development at Networks Northwest, a 10-county public regional planning agency, talked with MiBiz about the issues that make workforce housing virtually impossible to build in communities that continually get overlooked by state and federal programs.

The economy in Northern Michigan may differ greatly from West Michigan’s, but leaders in both areas of the state have started to grapple with a common challenge: a lack of affordable housing. As in the greater Grand Rapids region, the inability of workers to find available affordable housing has reached crisis levels across the northern Lower Peninsula, in both rural markets and in cities like Traverse City and Petoskey.

The Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area surpassed its all-time record in fundraising in 2018, receiving close to $21 million in contributions.

Historically low unemployment rates could pose challenges for Michigan nonprofits looking to hire highly-qualified workers. Just as in other sectors of the state economy, the nonprofit industry also faces its share of talent constraints, according to people focused on hiring and preparing individuals for careers in the sector.

The nonprofit sector must be focused on serving needs in their communities, even if that means taking big steps and thinking outside of the box, according to Carrie Pickett-Erway, the president and CEO of the Kalamazoo Community Foundation. 

Teri Behrens took over as executive director of the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University on Oct. 22. She previously served as the director of strategy and programs at the Johnson Center and worked to integrate an applied research mission with the needs of the changing nonprofit sector. 

In the 1960s, President Lyndon Johnson declared a war on poverty, not a war on those in poverty, said Michelle Williamson, the CEO of Community Action Agency of South Central Michigan (CAASCM). 

SPRING LAKE — Roger Spoelman plans to step away from a full-time role at Trinity Health at the end of 2018 to bring together and run two nonprofit organizations he’s been involved with for years.

People give because they believe in the mission of an organization, not because of the tax deductions they can take. 

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. 

When Jennifer Goulet departed as president and CEO of Creative Many Michigan Inc. in September after 11 years, board members decided to hire a well-known philanthropic leader to lead the arts advocacy organization as it figured out the type of leadership it needed for the future. 

Trustees at the Community Foundation for Muskegon County named Todd Jacobs as the organization’s next president and CEO.

A promise first made in 2010 to students attending high school in Holland and Zeeland is about to grow through a new partnership.

GRAND RAPIDS — Noble Johnson serves as an example of the success of Heartside Ministry’s GED program.