Displaying items tagged: nonprofits

GRAND RAPIDS — A West Michigan nonprofit that provides free temporary housing for families of children receiving medical care plans to renovate and expand its Grand Rapids campus after experiencing pandemic-related delays.

GRAND RAPIDS — City officials have released a plan for spending $8.5 million in federal funding primarily on repairing or building hundreds of affordable housing units and creating homeownership opportunities.

Born and raised in Grand Rapids, Shayla Young won a prestigious Gates Millennium scholarship just before graduating from Central High School in 2008 that paid for all of her post-secondary education. After earning a doctorate in education from Michigan State University, Young will now play a key role in a new effort by KConnect, a nonprofit that convenes cross-sector partners to address inequities where she will help build a common policy agenda that closes the “unacceptable achievement gaps for children and families of color in Kent County.” Alongside assistance from the Michigan League for Public Policy and local experts Kathleen Bruinsma and John Helmholdt, Young serves as the postdoctoral fellow who will convene community members to craft policy objectives around issues such as education, housing and family stability, to name a few. This policy agenda will then be communicated with local, state and federal lawmakers, and also help to inform KConnect’s internal and external policies around advocating for legislative issues. Young recently discussed her role in KConnect’s new policy initiative and how her background prepared her for the job.

Nonprofit organizations are increasingly turning to alternative leadership structures with shared responsibilities to help combat burnout as well as open doors for more diverse executives.

Vista Maria, a Dearborn Heights nonprofit serving abused and neglected girls, has named a new CEO following a six-month search.

Michigan advocates for migrant workers welcome a new federal task force to address child labor violations, but say more policy change is needed to address systemic problems with the migrant labor system across industries, including food and agriculture.

GRAND RAPIDS — The Frey Foundation has invested $500,000 in the New Community Transformation Fund, a Grand Rapids capital fund that invests in minority-owned businesses.

GRAND RAPIDS — At the beginning of her 35 years leading the Grand Rapids Community Foundation, Diana Sieger was often the only woman in the room. But during her tenure, the foundation sought out diverse voices to shape its philanthropic efforts, distancing itself from the “donor knows best” model common in many nonprofit circles.

GRAND RAPIDS — Three Grand Rapids organizations on Thursday will air a documentary about housing insecurity with the goal of breaking down the “silos” between groups working to solve the crisis in West Michigan.

GRAND RAPIDS — The Grand Rapids Trans Foundation plans to grow its programming via new office space and a full-time, paid executive director position for the first time in the nonprofit’s seven-year history after being entirely volunteer-run.

West Michigan nonprofit leaders are helping state officials distribute the first round of $50 million in operational support grants for small and medium-sized nonprofits.

The Children’s Healing Center, a Grand Rapids nonprofit that operates a recreation center for children with compromised immune systems, plans to open a second location in Southeast Michigan.

William Coderre received a “cryptic” email last summer saying a private philanthropist wanted to donate $1.1 million to his organization.

A $90,000 grant from the Wege Foundation will back the work of Northern Initiatives, a federally designated community development financial institution (CDFI) that lends to small businesses that may otherwise lack access to credit and capital.

GRAND RAPIDS — Diana Sieger plans to retire as president of the Grand Rapids Community Foundation, the organization she helped to grow significantly over her 35-year tenure during which she became a powerful voice for Michigan’s philanthropic sector.

GRAND RAPIDS — A new community development financial institution could form in West Michigan to support Hispanic entrepreneurs.

A Chicago organization that provides capital and other support to nonprofits looks to build momentum and reach across the west side of the state after opening an office in Grand Rapids last spring.

GRAND RAPIDS — After a tumultuous year of internal dissension, as well as internal and external reviews based on allegations of executive wrongdoing, the Grand Rapids Community Media Center has regained its footing under a new leader.

GRAND RAPIDS — Nonprofit housing developer Dwelling Place plans to break ground this spring on a years-long project to build 42 homes in Grand Rapids’ Garfield Park Neighborhood. 

After nearly two years of contending with a pandemic that brought fundraising uncertainty and growing community needs, West Michigan nonprofits spent 2022 finding new ways to serve and capturing much-needed federal relief funding.

Constance Brown Hearing Centers will become part of Bronson Healthcare next week, allowing for easier collaboration and follow-up care between the two organizations.

A former office furniture executive whose career includes positions at Kentwood Office Furniture and the former Herman Miller Inc., Bob Von Kaenel took over as Hope Network’s CEO on Dec. 1.

Four West Michigan housing nonprofits will receive $4.2 million in state grant funding to construct or upgrade 71 homes and rental units.

As 2023 approaches with rising interest rates and widespread predictions of at least a mild recession, some nonprofit leaders are already seeing the effects of rising consumer prices and other economic headwinds on fundraising.

A major statewide survey of nonprofit organizations highlights significant and persistent racial gaps in the sector as roughly three-quarters of Michigan nonprofits remain white-led.

GRAND RAPIDS — The Diatribe Inc. will still pursue plans for a mixed-use arts and cultural center despite the controversial removal of its $2 million request from Kent County’s list of federal stimulus-funded projects.

Ottawa County officials have signed off on plans to leverage $7.5 million in federal stimulus funds with nearly $25 million from the private sector to create 1,000 new child care slots in the next three years.

GRAND RAPIDS — Dozens of individuals and organizations in Grand Rapids have formed the Coalition for Community Owned Safety to educate residents on the city’s budget and explore new ways to direct city funding to address the root causes of crime. 

HOLLAND — Mike Goorhouse began his work with the Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area when he was just 14 years old. In the coming months, Goorhouse will say goodbye to the organization that he has led for the past eight years.

Since Grand Valley State University’s Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy was founded 30 years ago, the nonprofit industry has seen seismic shifts in the amount of charitable giving, nonprofits’ assets, and the overall number of nonprofit organizations.