Kalamazoo Community Foundation (KZCF) awarded $1.3 million in grants to 41 nonprofit programs in the second round of grantmaking in 2018.
The nonprofit programs supported by these grants align with the Community Foundation's giving priorities: equity and education. Grants were made to nonprofits serving Kalamazoo County in a variety of sectors including healthcare, art and housing.
"The programs funded this cycle are making an immediate and long-term impact on Kalamazoo County," said Martha Gonzalez-Cortes, vice president of Community Investment at KZCF. "We believe collaborative efforts focused on equity and education are moving our community toward being a place where every child and adult has the resources to reach full potential."
In this grant cycle, one multi-year grant was awarded to Open Doors Kalamazoo to fund Housing Without Borders. Earlier this year, multi-year grants were awarded to three agencies: Douglass Community Association, Kalamazoo Literacy Council and YWCA Kalamazoo's Cradle Kalamazoo program.
"We are listening and responding to the needs of our community," Gonzalez-Cortes continued. "We also sought feedback from our nonprofit partners regarding the grant cycles and made adjustments to decrease the amount of time from Letter of Inquiry submission to funding in 2019."
The revised Letter of Inquiry (LOI) deadlines for 2019 grant cycles are listed online. Nonprofits interested in receiving a grant are encouraged to review the giving priorities for program alignment and submit an LOI. Contact any member of the Community Investment team with questions about the grant application process or to learn more about KZCF giving priorities.
Round two grants were awarded to the following Kalamazoo County organizations:
Black Arts & Cultural Center
Building Blocks, Building Blocks Neighborhood Leader Academy
Community Homeworks, Critical Home Repair
Confident S.O.L.E.
Eastside Youth Strong, Standing in Their Power - Eastside Youth Academic Success, Racial Equity, and Social Emotional Learning
Ecumenical Senior Center, Continual expansion of resources and services for Kalamazoo's most underserved senior citizens
ERAC/CE, Capacity building
Family & Children Services, Brain Connect
Fire Historical & Cultural Arts Collaborative
Girls On The Run of Greater Kalamazoo, Girls on the Run 2019
Gryphon Place, Gatekeeper Program (Youth Suicide Prevention Program)
Gryphon Place, Empowering Latina Leaders Advocates for Success (ELLAS)
Gurlz of Color: Set 4 Life!
Healthy House
Helen L. Fox Gospel Music Center
Helping Other People Exceed (HOPE) thru Navigation
Housing Resources Inc., Coordinated Entry/Every Heart Deserves a Home
ISAAC, Cultivating the Beloved Community
Justice for Our Neighbors - Michigan, Justice for Our Neighbors Kalamazoo Clinic
Kalamazoo Collective Housing, Affordable Housing Cooperative Property Purchase
First Congregational Church, Free part-time child care for low-income families
Kalamazoo Loaves & Fishes, Kalamazoo County Hunger-Free Community Coalition
Kalamazoo RESA, Kalamazoo County Career Readiness Initiative
Kalamazoo RESA, Building capacity in Early Childhood
Kalamazoo RESA/Valley Center, social and emotional learning (SEL) curriculum
Kalamazoo RESA/WoodsEdge Learning Center, The Artist in Residency Program
Lutheran Church of the Savior, Socioeconomic integration of African immigrants in Kalamazoo County
Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, Legal Resource and Advocacy Center
Northside Association for Community Development, Aging Gracefully & Earning a Living
Kalamazoo Public Library, ONEplace at KPL
Open Doors Kalamazoo, Housing Without Borders
OutFront Kalamazoo, Building an intentional inclusive community
Portage Community Center, Capacity building and youth program support
Project X
Seeds for Success, Parents as Teachers program
SHARE, The Racial Healing Initiative
Vibrant Kalamazoo, Activating Vacant Land: Side Lot & Adopt-A-Lot Program
WMU Homer Stryker School of Medicine, educational program to address health disparities in the LGBTQ+ population with focus on transgender population
YWCA, Early learning and racial equity projects
KZCF, established in 1925, envisions a community where every person can reach full potential, with the mission to make life better for all through leadership and stewardship of resources that last forever. To learn more visit kalfound.org.
