Insights

• Posted on July 20, 2015 – Posted by: Meredith Fennema

  Five Facts, Five Friends - Spread the Word about Reentry

  Too often, people who have a criminal record are dismissed and shunned by the community from where they once lived. Returning citizens might be the most marginalized group in our society. But we know our [...]

• Posted on July 13, 2015 – Posted by: Jamie Riehle

  An Inside Look at New Beginnings Program for Returning Citizens

  *A special thank you to Jamie Riehle, today's guest author and Mentor Coordinator for Women's Resource Center's New Beginnings program. Our Board of Trustees recently approved a $52,000 grant so incarcerated women can get jobs [...]

• Posted on July 06, 2015 – Posted by: Kara Kuntz

  Youth Employment Initiative Grant- An Inside Look at How Grantmaking Happens

  Thanks to a grant from W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), Grand Rapids Community Foundation is able to help local nonprofits fund youth employment for another summer. A grant recommendations committee met earlier this month to decide which [...]

• Posted on June 23, 2015 – Posted by: Shaun Shira

  Considering Your Philanthropic Journey

  Donors give for a variety of reasons. For some, the mission of the nonprofit aligns with their values. For others, a life experience may have influenced where they direct their philanthropic support. Some donors simply [...]

• Posted on June 21, 2015 – Posted by: Diana Sieger

  Our Own Patron Saint

  During my 28 years at the Community Foundation, I’ve been honored to have met and worked with quite a few of Grand Rapids’ most noted philanthropists. Many of these individuals served as Grand Rapids Community [...]

• Posted on June 02, 2015 – Posted by: Laurie Craft

  Grand Rapids' Homelessness Problem

  Last week, the Coalition to End Homelessness released the results of its annual Point in Time count and the numbers reflected a significant (15%) increase in the number of homeless individuals in our community on [...]

• Posted on January 28, 2015 – Posted by: Roberta King

  Impacting Kent County and beyond

  Sometimes we hear that Grand Rapids Community Foundation is all about the city of Grand Rapids. While we award a significant number of grants in the city, we also make grants across the county. And [...]

• Posted on December 22, 2014 – Posted by: Marilyn Zack

  IRA Rollover Extended for 2014

  The IRA Charitable Rollover has been extended for 2014! This legislation was just passed a few days ago and there will be very short window in which you may be able to complete an IRA Charitable [...]

• Posted on November 24, 2014 – Posted by: David Harrison

  Boomerang Giving Launches

  What if there was one thing everyone eligible for senior discounts could do today that would reap rewards for the rest of our lives?  The newly launched organization Boomerang Giving asks you to take the Boomerang [...]

• Posted on November 17, 2014 – Posted by: Meredith Fennema

  The future of the IRA Charitable Rollover

  People 70 ½ and older are probably aware of the IRA Charitable Rollover that has been in play since 2006. In short, the rollover allows individuals aged 70½ and older to donate up to $100,000 from [...]

• Posted on November 14, 2014 – Posted by: Meredith Fennema

  Our ideas for giving in response to Ebola

  The Ebola epidemic in West Africa is the largest and longest Ebola outbreak in history. It has killed more people than all other Ebola outbreaks combined. The majority of cases are in three countries: Guinea, Liberia [...]

• Posted on August 20, 2014 – Posted by: Roberta King

  Brian Burt, Choosing College as a Profession

  (From Current, summer 2014) Throughout his college career, from his bachelor’s degree to doctorate, Brian Burt felt connected to Grand Rapids Community Foundation. He received his first scholarship when he graduated from Ottawa Hills High School [...]