KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Wednesday, the Kalamazoo Community Foundation (KZCF) announced that it has awarded $1.85 million in grants to 50 nonprofit programs throughout Kalamazoo County in the final grantmaking of 2020.
Officials say all programs supported align with the Community Foundation’s investment priorities of equity and education. Additionally, many local nonprofits not listed receive grants and distributions from Donor Advised Funds and Designated Funds held at KZCF.
“In this second round of 2020 grantmaking we received several requests for higher amounts than usual,” Senior Community Investment Officer at KZCF Sandy Barry-Loken said in a statement. “We believe this is a result of our partners leaning into advocacy work and expanding their efforts to make an impact at a systems level.”
Grants were awarded to the following Kalamazoo County organizations:
- AGW Dance Angel Network | Dance Arts & Culture
- Alzheimers Association | Kalamazoo County African American Dementia Outreach Program
- American Heart Association | Have Faith in Heart/ Target Blood Pressure and Check Change Control
- Bangtown Studio On The Go | Studio On The Go Community expansion
- Black Arts and Cultural Center | Annual operations of programs and support
- Black Wall Street Kalamazoo | Black Business Incubator
- Changes and Beyond | People of Change
- Community Healing Centers, Inc. | Mental Health as a Continuum of Care, amidst COVID-19
- Community Living Options | Community Living Options-Camp Amigo 2020
- Community Promise Federal Credit Union | Operational support
- Confident SOLE | Operational support
- Count MI Vote Education Fund | Community mapping for community of interest in Kalamazoo County
- Eastside Youth Strong | Paradigm shift in academic SEL and Out-of-School-Time for vulnerable students
- Ecumenical Senior Center | Supporting the underprivileged and impoverished senior citizens of Kalamazoo County
- ERACCE | Operating budget support for ERACCE
- Fair Housing Center of Southwest Michigan | Fair housing engagement and services
- Fire Historical and Cultural Arts Collaborative | Operations
- Friends With Disabilities | BUILDING CONNECTIONS
- Gryphon Place | Restorative Justice Program
- Guardian Finance and Advocacy Services | Infrastructure improvements
- Helping Other People Exceed (HOPE) thru Navigation | HOPE thru Transformation (HOPEtT)
- Justice For Our Neighbors – Kalamazoo | Immigration legal services, education and advocacy
- Kalamazoo County Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Council Inc. | Kids Are Special Classroom Program, Family Help Book, mandated reporter training
- Kalamazoo Drop-In Child Care Center | Free part-time child care for low-income families
- Kalamazoo Institute of Arts | Pandemic response: Equity and access through education and outreach at the KIA
- Kalamazoo Poetry Festival | Kalamazoo Poetry Festival
- Kalamazoo Public Library | Ready to Read Kits for at home learning
- Kalamazoo RESA | Addressing challenging behavior in early childhood settings
- Kids International Home (Pre K International) | Breaking the educational gap for the Eastside Kids (distance learning COVID-19)
- Michigan Center for Youth Justice | Closing the Gate: Creating a model anti-racist juvenile justice system
- OutFront Kalamazoo | Organizational, programming, support and related expenses
- Parchment School District | Parchment Middle School – PBIS/SEL for the 2020-2021 school year
- Parchment School District | Parchment Northwood Elementary – Social Emotional Learning
- Portage Community Center | Portage Community Center 2020 capacity building and general operating
- Prevention Works, Inc. | Diving deeper into Kalamazoo Public Schools Program Expansion Project
- Public Media Network | Media-driven narrative change
- Queer Theatre, Inc. | Name-Your-Price, operating, production
- Residential Opportunities, Inc. | ROI affordable housing operating assistance
- Rootead Enrichment Center | Kalamazoo Black & Brown Therapy Collective
- Rootead Enrichment Center | Rootead sustainability
- Speak it Forward | Operations
- Society for History and Racial Equity (SHARE) | Racial Healing Initiative
- St. Barnabas Episcopal Church | Diapers, etc.
- St. Luke’s Episcopal Church | Partners in Housing Transition
- The Arc Community Advocates | Adult Advocacy Services
- Urban Alliance Inc. | Momentum Urban Employment Initiative
- West Michigan Cancer Center | Patient Care Services & Survivorship Program (PCSP)
- Western Michigan University Foundation | WMU CAMP Continuing Scholars
- Young Kings and Queens, Inc. | B.R.I.D.G.E.S. programming
- YWCA Kalamazoo | YWCA Kalamazoo Ready to Learn and Grow Program
“These decisions were especially tough this round, but we are proud of the grants awarded” Vice President of Community Investment at KZCF Martha Gonzalez-Cortes said in a statement. “We believe in the impact these programs will have on moving our community toward equity. It’s a privilege to be able to collaborate with such amazing community and donor partners to make this work possible.”
Nonprofits interested in requesting a grant over $25,000 are encouraged to review the giving priorities for program alignment and submit a Letter of Inquiry at kalfound.org. Deadlines for grant cycles are listed online.
Officials note that grant requests of $25,000 or less are reviewed monthly. A Letter of Inquiry for these requests should be submitted no later than 5 p.m. on the Monday before the first Wednesday of every month.
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