Co-Investment Opportunities For Donor Advisors (Spring 2018)
The following three co-investment opportunities highlight some recent funding requests from local nonprofit organizations.
Northside Association for Community Development
Photo Courtesy of NACD
The Northside Association for Community Development’s (NACD) objectives are to create programs and services that will increase financial independence of Northside residents and provide safe affordable housing for seniors, individuals and families. A group of concerned citizens incorporated NACD as a non-profit organization in 1981. These citizens wanted to make a difference and over the years, many of their children have served on the board to ensure the residents who lived in the neighborhood continued to have a voice.
Board meetings are open to the public and 80 percent of board members live in the Northside neighborhood per the by-laws. NACD’s mission is to advocate and promote a healthier environment, job creation, financial independence, safety and neighborhood revitalization.
Read And Write Kalamazoo
Photo Courtesy of RAWK
Literacy is a foundational component of an equitable community. Providing platforms for youth to exercise their voices and strengthen their skills as readers and writers is not a privilege, but a right. Read and Write Kalamazoo (affectionately known as RAWK) celebrates and amplifies authentic voice in the specific context of each student’s cultural identity, while remaining mindful of the practical and social capital resulting from the use of academic language. As RAWK continues to discover ways of addressing equity and access in our community, all programs are provided at no cost.
The face of RAWK is The Geological and Musicological Survey Co., a public storefront that helps support free programs. It also serves as an exciting portal to the brand new literacy center, and a new publishing center as well. The publishing center provides the capability to print and publish student books in-house. RAWK provides fun, positive experiences with reading and writing. Youth are encouraged to use their words and access their authentic voices, strengthening their skills to advocate for themselves and our community.
Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy
Photo Courtesy of SWMLC
Since 1991, Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy (SWMLC) has been conserving the scenic and ecologically important landscapes that give our region its natural character. Over the last few years, SWMLC has focused on creating public access to its 3,500+ acres of preserves to ensure that everyone has a place to connect with nature and enjoy its many benefits. Most recently, SWMLC has been working to develop programs, such as Hike Our Preserves (HOP!) program, that encourage children and families to get out into nature.
With additional funding, SWMLC will be able to expand this program to create the Eastside HOP! program, which will provide underserved youth in the Eastside community with nature education and transportation to four different SWMLC nature preserves in and around Kalamazoo. Research shows that time in nature builds confidence, promotes creativity, teaches responsibility, and reduces stress. SWMLC wants these benefits to be available to all children in southwest Michigan.
Note To Our Donor Advisors:
If you would like to support one or more of these projects through the Advised Fund you established at the Community Foundation, please make a grant suggestion using Kalamazoo Connect at https://connect.kalfound.org or complete the grant suggestion form and return it to us by email, USPS or fax. You also may email members of our Donor Relations team, who are available to provide you with more information about these and other community needs.
