Grand Rapids Community Foundation

For good. For ever.

Lowell Area Community Fund

Mission, Purpose, Area Served, and Areas Funded

The Lowell Area Community Fund gives grants to organizations that assist in fulfilling its mission to assure community cooperation and participation that supports a healthy, dynamic community. The fund places an emphasis on broad educational initiatives, but also supports initiatives in the areas of arts & culture, community development, environment, health, human service, and recreation in the Lowell area. The Lowell area is currently defined as the City of Lowell, the Township of Lowell, and the Township of Vergennes.

A Decade Along the River
- celebrating 10 years of
the Lowell Area Community Fund





Grant Instructions, Deadlines and Application Information

Begin Application

The Lowell Area Community Fund gives grants to organizations that assist in fulfilling its mission: to assure community cooperation and participation that supports a healthy, dynamic community. The fund places an emphasis on broad educational initiatives, but also supports initiatives in the areas of: Arts & Culture, Community Development, Environment, Health, Human Services, and Recreation.

Examples are projects that:

While the Lowell Area Community Fund encourages creative and innovative projects, it generally does not support:

Grant applications are accepted three times a year on the third Friday of April, August, and December.

For more information, please contact Kate Luckert Schmid, Program Director, at 616.454.1751, extension 117 or email her at kluckert@grfoundation.org.

History of the Fund

Read the History of the Lowell Area Community Fund and the biography of Harold J. Englehardt.

Annual Reports

Recent Grants Approved

March 2008

Englehardt Library
$1,977 for lighting and electrical outlets upgrades.
Grand Valley American Indian Lodge
$2,500 for the Restoring The Circle Pow Wow.

February 2008

Downtown Lowell Historic District
$50,000 to preserve historic buildings in downtown Lowell
City of Lowell Trees Program
$25,000 to provide more trees throughout the City in both public and private areas.
Greater Lowell Chamber Foundation
$11,125 to provide support funding for the 2008 Summer Concerts Series.
Greater Lowell Chamber Foundation
$15,889 to provide one year of funding to publish the Kaleidoscope brochure and community base website beginning with winter 2007/2008.
Kent County Parks Department
$16,500 to acquire six acres of private land just west of the covered bridge that is currently surrounded by park property, for inclusion in Fallasburg Park.
Kent County Youth Fair
$24,694 to strengthen financial stability with continuing staffing support to concentrate on year round fundraising, and also for facility upgrades to the goat barns.
Lowell Area Arts Council
$21,700 to support the Council's administrative costs in calendar year 2008.
Tots on Track for School
$84,296 to help families prepare their preschool children to enter school healthy and ready to learn.
Lowell Community Wellness
$27,000 to provide program and operating support.

September 2007

Vergennes Township Land Preservation Education
$19,500 to create a new model of public and individual education for the preservation of prime farmland and open space in Vergennes Township.
Fallasburg Park Improvements
$9,500 to provide general improvements to preserve the shelter house structure, improve safety and services, and promote the historic character of the area.
Lowell Area Trailway Fundraising Assistance
$20,000 to hire a fundraising professional to conduct a campaign planning project that will raise funds for local match of State and Federal grants to build phase one of the Lowell Area Trailway.
Family Resource Centers
$11,300 to establish a Family Resource Center at Cherry Creek Elementary to provide a single point of entry for linking families to resources appropriate for the ages of their children.
Video Broadcasting Public Channel & Internet
$19,175 to purchase video and audio equipment that will link the Lowell High School stadium, gymnasium and the high school baseball/softball diamonds, to the cable TV local access channel in the WLHS radio room, allowing for ‘live’ broadcasting of sporting and other community events.
2007-08 Education Foundation Grant Cycle
$20,000 to provide matching funds for the Lowell Area Schools Education Foundation grants.
Lowell Community Wellness
$2,000 to determine the present reality of our organizational strengths and weakness so we can decide as an organization our ability to live out our mission.
St. Mary Catholic Church
$3,360 to bring a sexual abstinence program to the Lowell Community.

June 2007

Christ the King School Association
$1,800 to provide quality art, culture and drama classes to Lowell-area home schooled students.
West Michigan Trails and Greenways Coalition
$4,500 to partially fund a feasability study for a rail trail connecting Greenville to Ionia, via Lowell.
Lowell Dog Park
$5,000 to create a free-to-the-public off-leash dog park in the City of Lowell.
City of Lowell
$25,000 to fund technology upgrades for the Police Dept.
Richards Park Skating Rink
$16,000 to provide a permanent ice rink in the winter and a hard surface for skateboarding in the summer.
Our Love Lowell Skate Park
$20,000 to purchase equipment used for skateboarding and BMX biking.
Flat River Outreach Ministries
$40,000 to provide financial housing assistance to Lowell area residents to assure warmth and housing.
Kent County Youth Fair
$15,108 to improve and upgrade facilities at the fairground for the youth of the community to safely display their projects.
Lowell Area Arts Council
$5,000 to provide operating support due to loss in State funding.
Lowell Area Arts Council
$5,300 to support the planning phase of the LAAC capital campaign.
WLHS "Remote" Equipment
$849 to purchase equipment that will enable WLHS to remotely broadcast a wide variety of events.
Wege Land Study
$35,000 to conduct a facility needs assessment with conceptual design and cost estimate and overall development of a master recreational plan for the Lowell Area.
Lowell Area Schools
$32,000 to provide the NovaNet Online Curriculum Program for Summer School.
Lowell Area Schools
$4,100 to purchase new equipment for the industrial arts program to increase safety.

February 2007

Greater Lowell Community Marketing Plan
$30,000 to provide continued match funding to the Lowell Chamber of Commerce for implementation of the Greater Lowell Community Marketing Plan.
2007 Lowell Showboat Nostalgia Night
$8,250 to provide support funding for the 2007 Lowell Showboat Nostalgia Night.
Office Support for LACC & GLCF
$10,895 to provide funding for part-time staff position for the Lowell Area Arts Council and Chamber Foundation.
2007 Lowell Showboat Sizzlin' Summer Concerts
$10,000 to provide support funding for the 2007 Summer Concert Series.
Kent County Youth Fair
$26,960 to provide for a staff position to increase the year-round rental use of the Fairgrounds.
Arts Alive Everyday
$20,000 to support the programs and services the Lowell Area Arts Council offers in the visual and performing arts to residents and visitors to the greater Lowell community.
Public Access Channel Transfer
$5,500 to purchase equipment needed to transfer Lowell Cable TV public access channel 20 to Lowell High School.
Magnificent Math Mentoring Program
$13,000 to fund a service Learning initiative where high school math students will provide math mentoring services to our at-risk elementary math students throughout the 2006 - 07 & 2007-08 school years.
TOTS on Track for School
$81,827 to ensure all children have an opportunity to begin school healthy and ready to learn.

© Grand Rapids Community Foundation - 161 Ottawa Avenue NW 209 C - Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503 - 616.454.1751

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