KALAMAZOO COUNTY -- Kalamazoo Community Foundation (KZCF) recently awarded $2 million in grants to 35 nonprofit programs throughout Kalamazoo County in the second round of grantmaking of 2019.

All programs supported by these grants align with KZCF's investment priorities of equity and education. Local nonprofits also receive grants and distributions from KZCF Advised and Designated Funds.

"We are collaborating with local nonprofits that are developing more equitable approaches to meeting complex needs within our community," says Martha Gonzalez-Cortes, vice-president of Community Investment of KZCF. "It takes community commitment to make an impact and we thank each one of our partners and donors for making Kalamazoo County a place where every adult and child can reach full potential."

Second round grants were awarded to the following Kalamazoo County organizations:

  • AACORN FARM INC. | AACORN Skill-Building Program Expansion
  • Black Arts and Cultural Center | Black Arts & Cultural Center
  • Bronson Health Foundation | Community Health, Equity, and Inclusion work
  • Community Healing Centers | Niñas del Corazon Programa
  • Community Promise Federal Credit Union | Community Promise FCU
  • Confident S.O.L.E. | Confident S.O.L.E.
  • Count MI Vote Education Fund | Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission Implementation
  • Eastside Youth Strong | Igniting Their Greatness - Eastside Youth Academic Success, Racial Equity, and Social Emotional Learning
  • Ecumenical Senior Center | Support to Assist Kalamazoo's Underprivileged Senior Citizen Population
  • Fair Housing Center of Southwest Michigan | Fair Housing Engagement and Services
  • Fire Historical and Cultural Arts Collaborative | Fire organizational development and programming
  • Girls On The Run of Greater Kalamazoo | Girls on the Run 2020
  • Gryphon Place | The Gatekeeper Program (Youth Suicide Prevention Program)
  • Helen L. Fox Gospel Music Center | Music Education Program
  • Helping Other People Exceed (HOPE) thru Navigation
  • ISAAC | Living into & Becoming the Beloved Community
  • Justice for Our Neighbors-Michigan | Justice for Our Neighbors Kalamazoo Project
  • Kalamazoo County Government | FY19 Drug Treatment Court Programs
  • Kalamazoo Drop-In Child Care Center | Free Part-Time Child Care for Low-Income Families
  • Kalamazoo RESA | Building Capacity in Early Childhood Around Challenging Behaviors While Examining Racial and Gender Bias in Discipline Practices
  • Kalamazoo RESA/Valley Center | Supporting Social and Emotional Learning Throughout the School and Community Setting by Empowering Paraprofessionals to Systematically Respond to Student Behavior
  • Kalamazoo RESA/Youth Opportunities Unlimited | YOU Career Pathway Initiative
  • ONEplace@kpl | ONEplace
  • OutFront Kalamazoo | Surviving, Living, Thriving
  • Parents for Transition | Parents for Transition (P.F.T)
  • Playworks Michigan | Playworks TeamUp
  • Portage Community Center | General Operating/Capacity Building and Capital Improvement
  • Prevention Works, Inc. | Kalamazoo Public Schools Program Expansion Project
  • Rootead Enrichment Center | Operations & Strategic Planning
  • Salvation Army | Emergency Financial Assistance Network-Emergency Assistance Fund 2019
  • Seeds for Success | Seeds for Success, Parents as Teachers program
  • Society for History and Racial Equity (SHARE) | The Racial Healing Initiative
  • Speak it Forward | Speak It Forward Operations
  • Western Michigan University Foundation | Office of LBGT Student Services Program Assistant
  • YWCA of Kalamazoo | YWCA Equity and Education Programs

Nonprofits interested in receiving a grant are encouraged to review the giving priorities for program alignment and submit a Letter of Inquiry at kalfound.org. Deadlines for 2020 grant cycles are listed online.