The Community Foundation for Oceana County (CFOC) is proud to introduce the six community leaders participating in its regional Leadership Learning Lab (LLL): Rubi Berumen, Aubrey Boerema, Curtis Burdette, Mark Olmstead, and Griffin Vogler. As the fifth cohort of LLL, participants will join Oceana County’s 26 LLL alumni in expanding their leadership skills and networks.
In 2019, the Oceana County Sheriff’s Department recognized that preparing schools for emergency lockdowns was not enough, as it prevented public safety officials from being able to provide life-saving aid. The Sheriff’s Department and the Foundation’s Youth Advisory Council (YAC) partnered to install Knox Boxes at every school in Oceana County. Through the Oceana Youth Fund and the Community Investment Fund, YAC awarded the Sheriff’s Department an initial grant of $3,000. The Knox Box project received a second grant of $2,098 from the Foundation’s Friends of Oceana County Sheriff’s Office Fund.
The Pentwater Arts Council (PAC) knows the answer: through community engagement and placemaking. PAC is beginning its three-year-long Sculpture Walk Initiative in collaboration with the Pentwater Downtown Development Authority. In this project, five sculptures were placed along downtown Hancock Street. In preparation for its first summer, PAC’s Sculpture Initiative received a $6,500 grant supported by the Foundation’s Randall and Linda Wagner Family and the Janie Denman Legacy Funds.
Annually in August, teachers have the opportunity to apply for teacher mini grants up to $250, a program run by the Foundation’s Youth Advisory Council (YAC). In 2022, the program provided 38 grants, nearly $13,000, to seven schools in Oceana County – nearly doubling the number of grants from 2021. In addition to support from the Oceana Youth Fund, the program significantly grew thanks to partnerships with several donor advised funds of the Foundation including Mrs. Mullen’s Closet, Little Point Sable Arts for Oceana, Ralph’s Kids, Nobles Family Medical Reserve Corps and the Mary Ann Peterson “Grandma Pete” Memorial Fund(s).
Empowering students begins with connecting their interests with critical skills – a realization guiding West Shore Community College’s ‘College for Kids Camp.’ Over 200 students, 9-15 years old, from Oceana, Lake, Manistee, and Mason counties spent a week exploring careers in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics). With a $5,000 combined grant from the Oceana Youth Fund and Mrs. Mullen’s Closet Fund, the Foundation sponsored 32 Oceana students to visit WSCC to explore skill clusters and the Skills for Success framework. These essential skills include Technology Literacy, Collaboration and Global Thinking, Communication, Critical Thinking, Ethical Citizenship, and more.
Together with donor-advised fundholders, Oceana Community Foundation recently awarded $58,925 to 19 local nonprofits, schools, and government agencies. While awards were divided among projects supporting the arts, education/youth, community development, and environment management, the greatest area of need was access to health and human services with a focus on family welfare and food accessibility. The Foundation’s Board of Trustees and staff would like to thank each grant applicant, fundholder, and volunteer that made its Spring Community Grant Round a success!
Oceana Community Foundation is excited to announce that there is an open AmeriCorps position. Perfect for someone at any stage in their career, the Foundation’s AmeriCorps member will play a vital role in its communications, marketing, event management, and database management. As a member of the Foundation’s office in Pentwater, you’ll gain professional experience in nonprofits and community development, and make a big impact in our community as our Outreach Coordinator. An Outreach Coordinator position has become increasingly important in this time to ensure connectedness within our community to make Oceana a stronger, healthier, and more vibrant place to live.
The Electric Forest Music Festival focuses on creating collaborative change in Oceana County through its charitable give-back programs. As part of its EF Michigan CAMP Project, the Electric Forest Charitable Fund inspired a collective effort to provide $14,500 in new instruments to Hart, Hesperia, Montague, Shelby and Pentwater bands by providing a lead gift of $10,000. Additional investments from the Electric Forest Charitable Fund include a $10,000 grant to sponsor recycling containers in the new Shelby Township Community Park and a $5,000 contribution towards the installation of the City of Hart’s Tin Man sculpture.
Congrats and best wishes to the class of 2023! The Oceana Community Foundation is excited to support 197 new and renewing students and five Complete Your Degree adult scholarship recipients as they pursue higher education. The Foundation’s scholarship program continues to grow to better meet our graduates’ interests in post-secondary education. This year’s program surpassed last year’s record amount with a total of $323,545 in 280 awards from 60 different scholarship funds! Recognizing the value in long-term support for students pursuing higher education, over a third (38%) of this year’s awards are renewable in future years including Hart Public Schools Robert E. Diman Scholarship, Shelby Rotary Club Scholarship, Michael W. Malburg Sr. Memorial Scholarship, and more.
As summer begins, the Oceana Community Foundation is pleased to launch our 3rd annual donation drive for the Oceana’s Michigan Migrant Child Task Force. The Foundation is collecting donations of new hygiene items, children’s books and toys, and more to share with West Michigan’s migrant farmworkers and their families. Each item donated is directly going to a family via the Migrant Child Task Force’s Camp Outreach events!