Peter Kageyama (pictured above), author of "For the Love of Cities," presented the keynote address at the Kalamazoo Community Foundation’s 2012 Community Meeting on August 21 at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in downtown Kalamazoo.

Kageyama, co-founder and producer of the Creative Cities Summit, talked about the mutual love affair between people and their place as one of the most powerful influences in our lives. Based in St. Petersburg, Fla., Kageyama is an authority on "bottom up" community development and previously served as president of Creative Tampa Bay, a grassroots community change organization.

The event, which was attended by about 500 people, also included remarks by Barbara James, chairperson, Kalamazoo Community Foundation board of trustees; the Community Foundation’s president/chief executive officer, Carrie Pickett-Erway, provided an overview of the organization’s activities throughout the past year and introduced Kageyama.

"Peter's message about the emotional connection between people and place is very powerful," said Pickett-Erway. "His ideas also complement our current theme of 'Love Where You Live,' which celebrates the benefits to the entire community when people focus their time, talent and resources on local issues."

Following is a review of Community Foundation highlights for 2011:

• Assets at the end of 2011 totaled $314 million.
• More than 800 charitable funds have been established at the Community Foundation—21 of which were established in 2011.
• The Community Foundation received 2,685 new gifts totaling $24 million from the community. The smallest gift was $2. The largest gift was $9.1 million.
• $17 million in grants were awarded by the Community Foundation in 2011.