Displaying items tagged: nonprofits

MUSKEGON — Two Muskegon nonprofits are partnering on a new affordable housing pilot program calling for six new homes in the city just east of downtown. 

Grand Haven-based nonprofit Do More Good has merged with a Nebraska organization that provides educational resources to nonprofits across the U.S., a move that officials say will expand their reach and mission.

GEORGETOWN TWP. — Hudsonville-based nonprofit Hand2Hand recently purchased a former Aldi grocery store to consolidate its office and warehouse space into one location.

KALAMAZOO — The Kalamazoo Community Foundation has dropped its membership with Southwest Michigan First effective immediately as backlash continues over the economic development organization’s hiring of former GOP House Speaker Lee Chatfield as its CEO.

Mel Trotter Ministries’ acquisitions of two other Grand Rapids nonprofits in 2020 marked the start of a significant, long-term shift for the nonprofit that executives say will fundamentally change the organization.

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.

GRAND RAPIDS — After acquiring two other Grand Rapids nonprofits over the last year, Mel Trotter Ministries is considering plans for a housing development after purchasing an abandoned property on the city’s south side.

Through the pandemic-related turmoil of 2020, many nonprofit organizations shifted focus or practices while others shined a light on longstanding disparities around health outcomes, racial equality and economic opportunity for people of color, researchers say.

The corporate foundations of the state’s two major energy utilities have distributed nearly $26.5 million in direct relief funds to meet basic needs such as food, shelter and personal protective equipment since the COVID-19 pandemic began. 

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.

The coronavirus pandemic is taking a toll on children and families who are struggling to meet basic needs while stretching nonprofits that provide essential services around food, shelter and mental health, according to a new report.

Some nonprofits survived the first nine months of the pandemic relatively unscathed while others are hanging on in hopes that a widely distributed vaccine lifts capacity restrictions and renews confidence in gathering indoors.

Michael Layton looks forward to the day when he can walk around downtown Grand Rapids or join colleagues for a coffee or beer in person. Originally from Philadelphia, Layton is Grand Valley State University’s new W.K. Kellogg Community Philanthropy Chair, the nation’s first endowed chair focused on community philanthropy. He joined GVSU’s Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy in early September, but his relocation is on hold because of the pandemic. Layton founded and directed the Philanthropy and Civil Society Project at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) in Mexico City, where he developed a groundbreaking research and advocacy program to understand and strengthen philanthropy and civil society.

The West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will use a $100,000 grant from Bank of America to help businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Highly intuitive horses are experts at nonverbal communication and can sense chaos, conflict and other human emotions. They often mirror behaviors and, as herd animals, reveal the benefits of working in collaboration. 

When the coronavirus pandemic hit eight months ago, many Latinx and Black business owners missed out on federal loans and other relief because they didn’t have relationships with local bankers or didn’t have financial statements in order.

A national organization and a Michigan-based nonprofit are partnering to raise $30,000 in support of people currently or formerly incarcerated for cannabis-related crimes, hoping to bring an element of justice for those jailed for offenses that would now be legal in Michigan.

GRAND RAPIDS — A nonprofit housing advocacy organization has launched a new program aimed at reducing the number of individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness, targeting a high-traffic area in downtown Grand Rapids. 

GRAND RAPIDS — United Methodist Community House will receive $1 million in state funding for an early childhood education and senior activity center planned on the city’s disadvantaged southeast side.

Michigan nonprofits operating in the workforce development and housing sectors see a need to raise awareness among clients following new statewide criminal justice reforms.

GRAND RAPIDS — Catherine’s Health Center, a nonprofit health care provider for underserved patients in Kent County, plans to open two or three new clinics this fall after securing designation as a Federally Qualified Health Center.

GRAND RAPIDS — Nonprofit In the Image is in the process of moving locations after the city of Grand Rapids bought its aging building along South Division Avenue to relocate a fire station. 

State lawmakers advanced a pair of bills last month that nonprofit organizations across Michigan say would help restore charitable contributions to community foundations, homeless shelters and food banks.

KALAMAZOO — The Kalamazoo Community Foundation has added a stronger racial equity analysis to its longtime Impact Investment Loan program.

GRAND RAPIDS — The Grand River has historically divided the city of Grand Rapids in multiple ways, but as redevelopments have ramped up in recent years, leaders of a restoration plan are stressing the importance of making the river accessible to all residents. 

Keli Christopher founded the Grand Rapids-based nonprofit STEM Greenhouse six years ago to help K-12 students — in particular, children of color — along an academic path more comfortable than she experienced. As the first Black person to receive a Ph.D. in agricultural engineering from the University of Illinois, Christopher endured a challenging and isolated path through higher education. Her mission now is to increase students’ exposure to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in the greater Grand Rapids area, where she still sees a diversity gap in STEM education. Earlier this month, Christopher was a featured speaker at the Southeast Grand Rapids Community and Economic Development Conference hosted by the Grand Rapids African-American Community Task Force. In an interview with MiBiz, Christopher discussed inequities in the nonprofit sector as well as the ongoing barriers to engaging more non-white students in STEM education.

GRAND RAPIDS — Local housing nonprofits are beginning to vet dozens of vacant properties made available through the state’s Land Bank Authority in an effort to fill the city’s need for affordable housing.

Housing nonprofit leaders say the temporary halting of residential evictions issued recently by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a positive short-term move, but could cause a large wave of evictions at the end of the year.

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 Steelcase Foundation is launching a search for a new president after president Julie Ridenour announced plans to retire at the end of the year.