In the fall of 2008, when it became obvious that the economic situation nationally and locally would have a profound effect on families in Kent County, local philanthropists gathered to determine how to help. The result is a $2 million fund supported with pledges from the Daniel & Pamella DeVos Foundation, Dick & Betsy DeVos Foundation, Doug and Maria DeVos Foundation, Rich and Helen DeVos Foundation, Dyer-Ives Foundation, Frey Foundation, Grand Rapids Community Foundation, Neighbor to Neighbor Fund (City of Grand Rapids), Nokomis Foundation, Paine Family Foundation, Sebastian Foundation, Slemons Foundation, Steelcase Foundation, VanderWeide Family Foundation, Wege Foundation, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The fund is administered by Grand Rapids Community Foundation.
“In meetings with area foundations it became clear everyone wanted to help Kent County people through this difficult time and wanted to do it efficiently. Instead of having nonprofit agencies applying to each of the area foundations, it made sense to create a temporary pooled fund and one application,” said Diana Sieger, Community Foundation president.
“Partnering with other foundations in Kent County to respond to needs in the community during this critical economic time in Michigan was important to us. We hope the model can be replicated in other counties our foundation serves,” said Carol Paine McGovern of the Paine Family Foundation.
The most recent grant round includes support for:
- United Way’s 2-1-1—$46,000
- Degage Ministries—Heartside Neighborhood Emergency Need fund—$15,000
- Feeding America West Michigan (formerly Second Harvest Gleaners)—Kent County delivery truck—$25,000
- ACCESS—Kent County Food Pantry Capacity—$160,220
“The two food grants were a result of recent studies which pointed to specific system improvement needs—these dollars will address many of the long-term issues at the food pantries,” Kate Luckert Schmid, program director at Grand Rapids Community Foundation said.
“Our food pantries are seeing the highest case loads ever. We are serving 7,000 households each month and expect this to increase during the summer months when children are out of school,” said Marsha De Hollander, of ACCESS Kent County. “ENTF funders gave us the flexibility to apply for items that will increase our capacity to serve more families. We will add food storage and refrigeration, and staffing so that our pantries may extend their hours of service.”
The funds are moved to grantees through the work of the Essential Needs Task Force (ENTF) that began in 1982 as Emergency Needs Task Force. It works with nonprofits, governmental units and faith-based organizations to develop and manage basic systems that deliver food, housing, utilities and transportation services to Kent County’s most vulnerable citizens. Kent County Board of Commissioners, Kent County Department of Human Services and the Heart of West Michigan United Way provide ongoing funding and in-kind support for ENTF operations.
Organizations that apply for funds must deliver services meeting one of these kinds of needs: food security, utility assistance, transportation, housing, or system infrastructure to directly improve delivery of immediate response services or services that more effectively help people become self sufficient and avoid emergencies.