KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – If you live in Kalamazoo, you likely got a newsletter from City Hall over the weekend, updating data on the Foundation For Excellence, which just celebrated its 5th anniversary.
The one-of-a-kind fund is sort of like the Kalamazoo Promise, but instead of putting KPS grads through college, it helps reduce property tax bills and funds improvements the city would not be able to afford otherwise.
Everything from planting trees to replacing lead pipes, from improving affordable housing to upgrading parks and streets, and from providing youth programs to boosting local entrepreneurs.
Assistant Kalamazoo City Manager Rebekah Kik says it’s all driven by public demand.
Kalamazoo City Manager Jim Ritsema says before the Foundation, none of it would have been possible.
Most of its funding comes from the same source as the Kalamazoo Promise, local billionaires, which had prompted concerns that they might have undue influence on how the money is spent, but they say appointing an independent foundation board to call the shots prevents that.
The Foundation For Excellence has a $500 million endowment, which should generate enough annual interest to provide the city with extra funding in perpetuity.
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