Investment Policy and Financial Information

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A complete copy of our audit is available by calling Lynne Black, Vice President of Finance at 616.454.1751 or click to email your request.

Statistics

Grants Authorized: $9,101,346

Academic Achievement	$2,679,566
Arts and Social Enrichment	$552,929
Economic Prosperity/Vibrant Neighborhoods	$1,461,468
Healthy Ecosystems	$338,845
Healthy People	$4,024,818
Unclassified	$43,720

Bequests and gifts received: $8,246,431

Number of funds: 499

Assets at June 30, 2009: $190,396,960

Investment Management

The Grand Rapids Community Foundation realizes that in order to care for and enrich the surrounding community, it is most efficient to pool together the resources of those who would like to help. This is the reason why we accept donations of various types, invest them in the most prudent way and then distribute the earnings to those projects or organizations that better the Greater Grand Rapids area.

The amount we are able to grant is a direct result of how our investments perform. This is why understanding the philosophy, objectives, and investments of the Grand Rapids Community Foundation's assets is essential to the Foundation's donors, their grantees and the members of the Grand Rapids community.

Click here for a pdf of our Investment Policy

Investment Objective

Grand Rapids Community Foundation is entrusted with the investment and management of its endowment and with carrying out the wishes of its donors in the best interest of the Grand Rapids community.

Our investment objective is to preserve the real purchasing power of the assets after all withdrawals by earning a total rate of return over full market cycles (net of fees), which will support the spending policy. We invest assets in order to maximize the long-term return while assuming a reasonable level of risk.

Spending Objective

Our spending rule is set at five percent of a 16-quarter rolling average market value. The level of spending will always be between 4.0-5.75 percent of the current market value.

Benchmarks (Net of Fees)

Assets are expected to exceed these benchmarks over a full market cycle (3 to 5 years). Investment managers are expected to achieve their objectives while consistently adhering to their investment style.

Asset Allocation Parameters and Benchmarks

Operating Range	Asset Class	Long-term Optimal	Benchmark
21-29%	U.S. Equity Large/Mid Cap	25%	S&P 500
7.5-12.5%	U.S. Equity Small Cap	10%	Russell 2000
13-21%	International Equity	17%	MSCI EAFE
1.5-4.5%	Emerging Equity	3%	MSCI Emerging Markets
0-4%	High Yield	2%	Merrill Lynch High Yield
10-30%	Domestic Fixed Income	12%	Lehman Aggregate Bond Index
15-35%	Alternative Investments	31%	Varies per asset class
	Total Fund		CP I + 5%

Investment Review Committee

Bonnie Miller joined the Investment Review Committee in August 1999. She retired from United Bank where she worked for 35 years. Prior to that she worked six years at First of America Bank where she was the first woman in consumer lending and first woman Branch Supervisor.
Sam Cummings is partner with CWD Real Estate Investment, (formerly president of Second Story Properties), a full-service boutique investment, development, brokerage and property management firm.
R. Jack Frick is the Chief Financial Officer for the VanAndel Institute. He has been with the Van Andel Institute since 1997 and his responsibilities include accounting, endowment management, grants administration, information systems, and purchasing. His work experience includes 21 years with Amway Corporation, including two years based in England as the Financial Controller of Amway Europe.
Peter Perez joined the Investment Review Committee in 2010 and is the President of Carter Products Company based in Grand Rapids.
Michael G. Rosloniec, CFA is a Senior Vice President & Wealth Management Institutional Consulting Director with Citi Institutional Consulting.
Bob Roth joined the Investment Review Committee in 2009. He is the President and CEO of RoMan Manufacturing, Inc.
Kerby Wallick joined the Investment Review Committee in 2010 and is the Senior Investment Manager at Legacy Trust. Prior to joining Legacy Trust, Kerby was a Senior Portfolio Manager for the Wealth Management Group at Fifth Third Bank.

Additional Information

The Community Foundation's 2006-2007 990 is available upon request by calling or emailing Lynne Black, Vice President of Finance & Administration at 616.454.1751 x 107 or email her at