Displaying items tagged: Heart of West Michigan United Way

West Michigan housing groups are still experiencing a steady flow of people who have been affected financially by the pandemic and are seeking rental relief through the state’s COVID Emergency Rental Assistance (CERA) program.

Housing nonprofits are scrambling to distribute unprecedented amounts of federal funding to renters at risk of becoming homeless as a scaled-back national eviction moratorium is temporarily extended.

Here's the MiBiz Growth Report for March 28, 2021.

The full effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the national economy was still largely unknown when the first round of federal Paycheck Protection Program loans was announced in late March 2020.

An online simulation tool rolled out by Heart of West Michigan United Way in September is designed to build empathy and help people understand what it’s like to live as an ALICE (Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed) household.

This is the MiBiz growth report for September 13, 2020.

Kent County and the Heart of West Michigan United Way have issued more than $2.3 million in pandemic relief grants to area nonprofits while more is on the way.

The choices facing nearly two-thirds of Black households in Michigan are stark and unrelenting, with many forced to choose between paying for a prescription or food, a utility bill or rent.

The amount of money area foundations are able to give away this year won’t change much, if at all, but 2021 could see some level of decreases depending on what happens with the stock market in subsequent quarters.

Powered by hundreds of highly trained volunteers, the Kent County Tax Credit Coalition helps working individuals and families in the region receive important refunds during tax season.

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. 

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. 

A growing group of Michigan residents are working but not bringing home a paycheck big enough to cover their basic expenses, according to a new study by the Michigan Association of United Ways. The ALICE research project, which released new data last week, found that 14 percent of Michigan’s population lives below the federal poverty level. Another 29 percent are “asset-limited, income-constrained, employed” (ALICE), a measure of the so-called working poor who earn more than the federal poverty level but less than the cost of living.

With more limited resources compared to for-profit businesses but an equal need for talent, nonprofits must turn to other incentives for attracting and retaining qualified, passionate people.

While a recent report shows that charitable giving is on the rise nationwide, the trend is far more complex on the local level in West Michigan.

Volunteers are becoming more valuable every year as fewer people offer their time and a growing share of the workforce brings otherwise costly skillsets to the nonprofits they serve.

Michelle Van Dyke transitioned from a career in banking to become president and CEO of the Heart of West Michigan United Way in Grand Rapids at a time when nonprofit organizations need to adjust to how a younger generation contributes to causes.