Announcing the Community Foundation for Oceana County’s Spring Community Grant Results
Pentwater, MI – The Community Foundation for Oceana County is thrilled to announce its largest community grant round to date, awarding $77,422 to 24 projects! The grants were awarded to nonprofits, governments, and schools across Oceana County. While the grants varied widely in focus from education to recreation to environmental stewardship, nearly a third supported the growing mental health crisis.
“It is phenomenal how community partners respond to Oceana County’s greatest needs,” Foundation CEO Tammy Carey states. “The rising awareness of mental health support is crucial to ensuring our community’s wellbeing – for students, adults, and families of all shapes. Health requires looking holistically at someone’s wellbeing, including their access to housing, recreation opportunities, and meeting basic needs.” To see a complete list of grant awards, visit https://oceanafoundation.org/grants/past-grant-awards/.
Additionally, the Foundation reached another milestone with 28 different organizations applying for an award. The success and continued growth of the Foundation’s Community Grant Program is due to the organizations that applied and the donors that come together to meet the requests. By working together to connect needs to resources, the Foundation’s donor adviser partners found projects close to their hearts – adding over $43,000 in funding capacity! The other $33,7000 in awards were determined by the Foundation’s Grant Committee and Youth Advisory Council, from unrestricted and field-of-interest funds. Established by donors to support specific focus areas, field-of-interest funds support a donor’s broad interests in areas like youth, health, arts, or the environment. Oceana’s Youth Advisory Council is a group of dedicated, high school students – “philanthropists in training” – that work together to represent the interests of all youth. Another critical funding source is the Community Investment Fund, an unrestricted fund that supports local unmet needs as they arise. The Foundation would like to thank its contributors, community partners, and donor advisors for facilitating this year’s successful grant round!
The Foundation’s Fall Community Grant Round opens September 1st and all interested school districts, nonprofits, and government agencies are invited to submit their Letter of Intent by September 16th. The Foundation recognizes that multiple organizational funding needs may arise, therefore we allow for more than one submission in a calendar year. Proposals of up to $5,000 are accepted and longer-term commitments may be considered for initiatives that show exceptional promise for community impact. The Foundation is home to 185+ funds and made nearly $945,000 in scholarships and grant awards in 2021. To learn more about grantmaking, visit oceanafoundation.org/grants/. For more information about making a gift, now or through an estate plan, creating a named fund at the Foundation, or to learn more about community needs, call Tammy Carey at 231-869-3377.