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.

KALAMAZOO — Rather than rely on grants, donations or fundraisers to make money, Midwest Enterprises for the Blind Inc. takes a different approach compared to most nonprofits. 

GRAND RAPIDS — If people of color continue to be underrepresented in Michigan’s philanthropic and nonprofit sector, industry leaders fear the funding, programs and services they provide might fail to reach people who most need it.

BATTLE CREEK — A $10 million commitment to help support Battle Creek entrepreneurs serves as one recent example of a project focused on ensuring racial equity in the business community.

A more business-minded approach is helping Goodwill affiliates in West Michigan achieve and maintain healthy profits while remaining true to their nonprofit missions.

GRAND RAPIDS — Collaborations between different sectors in Kent County to improve every child’s school readiness have caught the attention of national foundations that are pumping money into the countywide effort. 

An annual report on Michigan’s nonprofit sector reinforces the industry’s role and place in growing the state economy.

GRAND RAPIDS — Calls for action and change typically follow each mass shooting, but the voices advocating for increased mental health services are becoming almost as loud and persistent as those seeking gun reform.

The philanthropic efforts of nonprofits and foundations throughout Michigan are increasingly addressing bigger issues such as affordable housing, community revitalization and employment.

GRAND RAPIDS — Philanthropic and nonprofit organizations will focus much more of their efforts on the issue of equity in 2018 and beyond.

GRAND RAPIDS — Filling a seat and collecting a paycheck aren’t enough for the new generation of nonprofit employees.

Small groups of women in communities across the U.S. have collectively given more than $1.3 billion to charitable organizations since the early 2000s.

LANSING — Major players in Michigan’s philanthropic sector have joined forces to raise $4 million to finance a three-year campaign to ensure each state resident is counted in the 2020 Census.

GRAND RAPIDS — Alan Breslau’s Grand Rapids-area home served as the initial world headquarters for The Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors Inc. when he founded it in 1977 to provide resources and support services to people like him.

LANSING — Funding for arts and culture in Michigan received a $1 million bump for 2018. 

GRAND HAVEN — Foundations in Michigan are preparing to make financial investments designed to solve social issues while also increasing their asset funding pool.

HASTINGS — Kindergarteners in Barry County are getting a head start on saving for college or career training.

Philanthropic giving in a presidential election year typically remains stagnant.

Even as giving to educational causes slows nationally, two West Michigan universities remain hopeful that their capital campaigns will be successful.

GRAND RAPIDS — Advocates of the AmeriCorps program are concerned about its fate in the current national political environment.

Philanthropic leaders throughout Michigan are throwing their support behind state legislation to restore tax credits for taxpayers who make charitable donations to nonprofits.

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.

GRAND RAPIDS — The proposal by a small contingent of Evangelical Christian churches to allow tax-exempt organizations to campaign on behalf of political candidates has sent shock waves through the nonprofit industry.