2025 Geographic Enrichment Grant Cycle
Opportunities for DONOR impact
We are pleased to share opportunities for co-funding in the Geographic Enrichment grant cycle. It is our pleasure to connect you with needs that may align with your philanthropic goals and values. These are requests from nonprofit partners working to support community needs on Beaver Island and in Boyne City, Charlevoix and East Jordan. This year, there are also a couple of Housing requests included and a few proposals that impact multiple communities.
To view the requests, simply click on the headings below. You will see a brief summary of each request, along with the request amount and any remaining needs. Be sure to click into each heading to see the full list of requests. We will be updating this page each time someone contributes to a request, so that you are always seeing the most current information.
To recommend a grant from your Donor Advised Fund, please email Ashley Cousens by October 23rd. Grant review committees met October 13th through 15th and made good use of the funds available. However, there are several requests that could not be fully funded and which still have remaining needs. Just because something wasn't funded by the committee, doesn't necessarily mean the committee didn't want to fund it. In several cases, there simply wasn't enough money to cover all of the needs that they valued. Reach out to Ashley anytime with questions at 231-536-2440.
The Fund Advisor Portal isn't used for this co-funding opportunity (though it may be helpful to check your grantmaking balance!) and Donor Advised grants are listed as anonymous when made through the grant cycles (like this one). If you would like your grant to be named (not anonymous), please specify that in your email, along with the organization, project, and amount you'd like to grant from your fund.
Thank you for your partnership in philanthropy! Your support is making a difference, right here at home.
- Boyne City
Eveline Township Request: $6,250 Remaining Need: $3,125
Eveline Township is committed to providing safe travel routes for all forms of transportation utilized by its residents and guests. A dramatic increase in the number of people walking and cycling along Lake Shore/Ferry Road over the last decade has led to interest in installing dedicated buffered bike/pedestrian lanes on Lake Shore Road from the Boyne City city limit to Whiting Park. Grant funds will support a feasibility study as a first step in the process.
- Charlevoix
Charlevoix Circle of Arts Request: $7,500 Remaining Need: $1,500
CCA seeks funding support for a community-wide photographic project and exhibit that captures a singular day in the life of the town. Residents, businesses, students, and visitors will be invited to document their experiences on that day through photographs, which will then be collected, curated, and presented as a community display at CCA in September 2026. Bringing community members into the process ensures that the arts are not only something to view, but something to be a part of—accessible, inclusive, and rooted in the community. Grant funds will support the project and exhibit.
Charlevoix Kiwanis Youth Foundation Request: $2,900 Remaining Need: $1,400
Young students are facing a national mental health crisis. To help combat these struggles, Kiwanis Club of Charlevoix launched a new social and emotional learning (SEL) Library at Charlevoix Elementary School in September. While they have furnished the library with books, seating, tools, equipment and computer software, the needs are greater than they anticipated. Grant funds will help expand the SEL materials as well as to promote the program more broadly in the community.
Traverse City Dance Project Request: $6,760 Remaining Need: $4,570
As the sole professional dance company in Northern Michigan, The Traverse City Dance Project Community Tour brings a distinctive and enriching experience to the Charlevoix community, filling a gap in the regional arts scene and providing unparalleled artistic excellence to the community audience. Grant funds will support this year’s Charlevoix performance, which notably offers free admission and a free youth dance class, making high-quality art and arts education accessible to individuals of all ages.
- East Jordan
Little Traverse Conservancy Request: $50,000 Remaining Need: $50,000
The Farmland Conservation Initiative introduced in 2024 is transforming the future of farming by protecting precious farmland through conservation easements, all while empowering farmers to continue their vital work. Currently, LTC is working to purchase a combined 320 acres of productive farmland—valued at $535,000—just outside the City of East Jordan by December 2025. Grant funds will support LTC purchasing easements, conserving these two properties forever.
Raven Hill Discovery Center Request: $38,000 Remaining Need: $24,000
After 34 years of creating exhibits that deepen their mission, Raven Hill is entering a new phase of reflection and refinement. In the early years, the focus was on building bold, iconic outdoor structures—like the pyramid, sphinx, Music Garden, Jurassic Park, Treehouse and more. Over time, they've realized that every exhibit—large or small—contributes to the visitor experience and Raven Hill's mission to connect science, history, and art and thus deserves to be clearly identified and interpreted. This project is not just about signs. It’s about equity in access to knowledge and about helping each visitor see the connections that link every part of Raven Hill into a shared journey of discovery. Grant funds will help to create consistent, branded signage for Raven Hill's entire campus, which will also include translations into Spanish and Anishinaabemowin.
Village of Ellsworth, Friends of the Labyrinth Request: $6,670 Remaining Need: $6,670
The Friends of the Labyrinth was formed this year to better maintain the labyrinth in the village park in Ellsworth. The 8 foot berm labyrinth is a cross-community collaboration open to the public and one of the first amenities that replaced two dilapidated waterfront factories, symbolizing the path taken to reclaim the village's heritage at the top of the Chain of Lakes. Grant funds will help install an irrigation system for easier maintenance of the labyrinth.
- Housing
City of East Jordan Request: $28,500 Remaining Need: $8,500
The City of EJ, in partnership with Michigan Community Capital (MCC), has invited proposals from qualified architecture firms to provide professional design services for the redevelopment of a City-owned waterfront parcel located at 98 Bridge Street (former boat launch). The goal is to collaboratively design a mixed-use, mixed-income development that activates the site’s prominent waterfront location and contributes to the vitality of downtown East Jordan. Grant funds will support a feasibility study to help determine future housing options for the property.
Housing North Request: $15,000 Remaining Need: $7,500
Significant barriers to creating much needed housing in Charlevoix County are outdated zoning laws and a lack of easily interpretable data. Housing North aims to provide a county-wide Housing Zoning Atlas (HZA) that will be a foundation for community planning to identify opportunities and barriers to the creation of needed housing including multi-family and small square footage construction. Grant funds will support the HZA Project in Charlevoix County.
- Multiple Communities
Top of Michigan Trails Council Request: $7,500 Remaining Need: $1,875
The TOMTC sees the next 12 months as a critical time for the success of trail projects planned for Boyne City and Charlevoix, like the Boyne City to Charlevoix trail--which was recently voted down at the county level--and the "last mile" trails into and out of Charlevoix, connecting to other trails. Grant funds will enable the TOMTC to commit additional staff time and organizational resources to increase community outreach and engagement in these communities with the goal of bringing all of these trails closer to completion.