Recent Grants
$78,263 in youth grants Awarded
The Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) of the Charlevoix County Community Foundation responded to requests from nonprofit partners in November. Thanks to donors who look to the Community Foundation to make a difference close to home, grants have been awarded primarily to nonprofits who will focus in the areas of youth mental health and school atmosphere. In all, $78,263 was awarded during the Youth Needs grant cycle.
Earlier this year, the YAC conducted their Youth Needs Assessment, which they update every 3 years by surveying their peers in grades 7 through 12 about their top concerns and stressors, their top positive influences, and about their school environments. This year’s top concerns included many, like anxiety, depression, self-esteem, peer pressure, eating disorders, family issues, and excessive social media, that fit into the broad category of youth mental health. These and other top concerns also point to a need for improvement of the school atmosphere.
Results from the Youth Needs Assessment led the YAC to identify their priorities for grant funding in the areas of youth mental health and school atmosphere. This year, they were also able to be more specific about what types of projects and programs they were seeking to fund. Their goals are to specifically decrease stigma and increase education around youth mental health, while also increasing access to direct mental health services for youth. Additionally, they seek to impact their school atmosphere by spending grant dollars to help increase acceptance and belonging at school, and/or decreasing school-related stress.
The YAC was pleased to see an increase in the number of proposals overall and those specifically addressing priority areas. Mailey Hamilton, YAC President and senior at East Jordan High School, stated, “It was reassuring to see so many organizations in the community also see the need for youth mental health services and have programs established to respond to that need. Some of the organizations doing that work are familiar to us, but we were also able to see proposals and fund newer organizations focused on youth. We are excited to see how the grants we’ve made this cycle will positively impact youth in our county.”
Megan Havrilla DeHoog, C3F’s new Youth Advancement staff person, remarked on her first experience facilitating the Youth Needs grant cycle, saying, “I'm consistently inspired by the work that gets done when we center the voices of young people. The YAC is a shining example of such an opportunity. It was a privilege to watch the YAC advocate for their peers and make grant awards that will create ripples of change in their communities.”
Through this cycle, the YAC funded projects like the Family Dinner Book Club at the Boyne District Library, which will allow families to read and learn together about mental health topics such as anxiety, bullying, the body-emotion connection, and mindfulness. They also supported the Charlevoix Kiwanis Youth Foundation’s book vending machine in Charlevoix Elementary school, which improves school atmosphere by encouraging and rewarding kindness, helpfulness, and camaraderie among students.
Other school programs include the WAI-IAM, Inc. STR8TALK presentations that teach students about decision-making, and Great Lakes Center for the Arts’ Human[kind] Cinema Series that will show a film and coordinate discussion around the topics presented in the film.
Youth mental health will also get a boost, with grants being awarded to Northern Michigan Equine Therapy for technology and software upgrades that will enable them to undertake a mental health awareness campaign, to Child and Family Services for mental health support for youth in foster care, to Planned Parenthood for their IN*clued Project to empower LGBTQ+ youth in advocating for themselves and their health and mental health, and to the Women’s Resource Center for support of their counseling services. These grants help the organizations to build capacity to expand their programming to reach more people.
While the primary focus of this cycle was on the two priority areas, other grants were also awarded including to the Beaver Island Historical Society for their summer Kid’s Camp program, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwestern Michigan to help them create an Advocacy Specialist position, and to Girl Scouts of Michigan Shore to Shore to expand the program in Charlevoix County as well as conduct some troop leader training around mental health first aid.
Finally, outdoor recreation is getting a boost with grants to Camp Daggett for new campout equipment, to the Baseball-Softball Fields of Boyne for a pitcher’s mound and bases for the waterfront field in Boyne City, and to Boyne Area Skate Park for the design phase.
See below for a complete list of grants awarded.
LIST OF RECENT GRANTS
When you give to Community Grantmaking Funds, you are providing for current and future projects happening right here at home. With grant cycles throughout the year, nonprofit partners, schools, and individual communities working in Charlevoix County have the opportunity to seek support for worthwhile places, programs, and projects.
For a complete list of grant awards, and additional information (summaries) about each grant, click on the links below.
2022 Geographic Enrichment Grant Awards
2022 Community Priorities Grant Awards
2022 Environment & Land Use Grant Awards
2022 Urgent Needs Fund Grant Awards
In March of 2020, the novel Coronavirus, COVID-19 arrived in the U.S. and Michigan. The global health crisis not only caused hardship for those who became ill, but also had major economic impact, including for many Charlevoix County residents. The Community Foundation responded quickly by deploying Urgent Needs grants to organizations who were providing support for Charlevoix County residents who had been disproportionately impacted by the consequences of COVID-19. To date, grants totaling more than $240,000 have been awarded to nonprofit organizations serving Charlevoix County. Click here for a full list of grants.
Urgent Needs grants continue to be available to organizations who are helping Charlevoix County residents to access food, shelter, safety, healthcare, and otherwise assist with basic and urgent needs. To learn more about how to apply, click here. To donate to the Urgent Needs fund, click here.
MORE RECENT GRANTS
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