While most Americans can self-quarantine against the coronavirus from the comforts of home, the area’s homeless population and domestic violence victims rely on shelters to keep them safe. Many guests and clients have complex needs, compromised immune systems, and chronic mental or physical health issues, making essential services even more critical.  

During a time when people may need some escapism and laughs the most, the stage is silent. The music has stopped. The curtain has dropped.

A significant and expanding group of people in Michigan are working but still not bringing home a paycheck big enough to cover their basic expenses. 

Increasing prosperity and the decade-long economic expansion have provided a record number of jobs in Michigan, yet people who want to work are still facing barriers to employment. 

A flood of mergers has hit the West Michigan nonprofit sector in recent months and the trend is expected to continue as more organizations of all sizes seek efficiencies through consolidation. 

As concerns over privacy and misinformation mount, federal and state officials are preparing for the 2020 Census by using nonprofits to collect an accurate count of the nation’s residents. 

GRAND RAPIDS — Within the last two to three years, Keith Hopkins has been receiving more calls from organizations seeking his fundraising expertise with projects to address the growing and varied needs of senior citizens.

NILES — Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lower West Michigan is merging with South Bend, Ind.-based Big Brothers Big Sisters of St. Joseph County, effective Jan. 1. 

Despite all the distraction and noise around the 2020 election, veteran fundraiser Keith Hopkins does not think the cycle will have any effect on giving. Even so, he’s monitoring what’s going on in the economy and how the massive transfer of wealth could change what West Michigan nonprofits will need to do to attract the next generation of donors. 

United Ways around the country continue to focus on the population of people who are Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE), or another measure for the working poor. United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region President and CEO Chris Sargent said about 40 percent of people in the region live paycheck to paycheck, which has many ripple effects in the community. 

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. 

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.

KALAMAZOO — A conversation among the leaders of four nonprofits has resulted in a collaboration that’s designed to save money and resources and improve service delivery to their clients.

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

The March 2019 merger of Porter Hills Presbyterian Village Inc. in Grand Rapids and Chelsea-based United Methodist Retirement Communities Inc. brought together the strengths of two like-sized and like-minded organizations. 

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

KALAMAZOO — The Blacktop Saints Riding Club is among hundreds of motorcycle clubs throughout the country that are riding for good. 

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 economic power of  Grand Rapids’ immigrant community grew by more than $100 million in just one year.

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. 

After being named executive director of Equality Michigan in May, Erin Knott is focusing in on efforts to expand the state’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to protect LGBTQ people.

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

GRAND RAPIDS — Within the next 20 years, the need for the types of services provided by D.A. Blodgett-St. John’s is projected to double.

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.

In Michigan, the second most diverse agricultural state in America, one in six children goes to bed hungry. That was among the findings in Map the Meal Gap 2019, the latest report from Feeding America on food insecurity and the cost of food at the local level.

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.

GRAND RAPIDS — Fountain Street Church is less than one month away from finalizing the creation of a separate nonprofit organization that will enable it to increase the efficiency of its space and its long-term sustainability. Executive Director Jack Woller said the non-denominational Fountain Street Church would retain ownership of the building it has occupied for 150 years, but will make a more formalized effort to sublease space or make in-kind donations of space to organizations that have a relationship with the church for continuing education or personal growth opportunities.

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.

GRAND RAPIDS — Steve Heacock admits to having a level of discomfort about being the focus of the Grand Rapids Whitewater project. Heacock left his job as a senior vice president with Spectrum Health to take the position of president and CEO with the nonprofit organization earlier this month. He said everything he has done in his career has prepared him for this new role.

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.

GRAND RAPIDS — A new initiative funded with a $300,000 grant from the Wege Foundation wants to develop environmentally-conscious human beings at a young age. The aim for the Grand Rapids Environmental Education Network, or GREEN, is to have every student in Grand Rapids Public Schools participate in an environmental experience, according to Clayton Pelon, associate director of the Grand Valley State University College of Education who serves as the lead on the grant.

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