2020 Spring Grant Round Announced
APRIL 7, 2020
The Community Foundation for Oceana County is pleased to announce that $693,215 was granted out of Foundation funds in 2019 to support a wide variety of nonprofit programs, leadership initiatives, student scholarships and community projects. “Understanding Oceana’s greatest needs and how we can be a catalyst for change definitely guides our work. We’ve become much more active in promoting economic development activities in the last couple years, including post-secondary education attainment, workforce development and capital investments in community projects. The support of our donors and their eagerness to partner continue to be enable significant impact,” said Foundation CEO Tammy Carey. The Foundation ended 2019 with $14.1 million in assets.
CFOC is currently comprised of 175+ funds, as created by individuals and organizations with many of them actively involved in deciding which nonprofits and community projects are supported. Some fund creators entrust the CFOC board to manage the contributions as part of CFOC’s competitive application process. The primary funding source is the Community Investment Fund, which supports critical, unmet needs that suddenly arise or to respond to community projects and opportunities as they develop. Other grant resources come from CFOC’s Field of Interest Funds focused on youth, health, parks and environment needs. Multiple donor advisors also partner to help meet these requests.
Grant applications are submitted online and are due by April 30, 2020. While the Foundation can accept applications across all nonprofit projects and programs, they encourage applicants to be mindful of community priorities during this point in time. “We will be screening letters of intent to determine if the request is time sensitive, related to COVID-19 challenges and critical for the health and safety of our community. We also have some funding availability to support requests outside of those priorities. If in doubt about applying for a specific program or project – call us,” said Carey. The application portal is on the Foundation’s website here.
The Foundation will also be managing a side-by-side abbreviated grant application process for our Urgent Needs Fund, established in the last week. This Fund is meant to provide fast support to area nonprofit organizations, schools and governments on the front lines serving those most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Fund received initial support of $40,000 from the Foundation and several donor partners. “Since we established the Urgent Needs Fund, people have contributed alongside us to grow this important resource. We know that impacts from this health and humanitarian crisis will evolve and we are here for the long haul,” said Foundation Chair Randall Wagner. For those who would like to help, we encourage you to support the Urgent Needs Fund online or checks are welcome too. Mail to CFOC, P.O. 902, Pentwater, MI 49449. Please note Urgent Needs Fund on the memo line.
The Foundation envisions an Oceana where everyone has access to resources to thrive. It receives and manages contributions from citizens and organizations and has provided nearly 7 million in grants and scholarships back to the community since 1989. More information can be obtained by calling Ms. Carey at 231-869-3377 or following the Facebook page.