Insights

• Posted on February 08, 2016 – Posted by: Roberta King

  Being Organized for the Time After Life

  When my father died in September, 2014 I was certain that his affairs were in order—he had an estate plan and since the death of my mother nearly 20 years prior we’d updated his plan [...]

• Posted on February 04, 2016 – Posted by: Marilyn Zack

  Four Easy Ways to Make a Planned Gift

  Planned giving—those two words conjure up images of lawyers, accountants and stacks of legal documents. What many of us don’t realize is just how simple it can be to designate a portion of our estates [...]

• Posted on January 20, 2016 – Posted by: Roberta King

  Helping in Flint

  Philanthropy is about finding long-term solutions to a community's problems, but it is also how we respond in a crisis. We urge you to consider doing something for the people of Flint. Beyond donating water--which [...]

• Posted on January 04, 2016 – Posted by: Laurie Craft

  New Ideas for a New Year!

  Last month, the Community Foundation hosted a Knotty Cocktails event on the housing affordability challenges facing Grand Rapids and many other communities across the country (you can view the 45 minute panel discussion here). The event [...]

• Posted on December 23, 2015 – Posted by: Marilyn Zack

  IRA Rollover News for Community Foundation Donors!

  The IRA Charitable Rollover has been permanently extended! Here's what it means for you: If you're age 70½ or older, you may be able to take advantage of an important incentive for charitable giving.  Congress recently [...]

• Posted on December 07, 2015 – Posted by: Diana Sieger

  Change for the Better

  Adaptability is a great trait in people and organizations. We expect leaders to be willing to change the status quo and move forward. Sometimes, though, we hold onto our past and do things like we’ve [...]

• Posted on September 28, 2015 – Posted by: Kara Kuntz

  Create a College-Going Culture: Support First-Generation Student Success

  George Davis has seen the triumphs and struggles of countless incoming freshmen. As associate director of admissions at Grand Valley State University, George oversees The Oliver Wilson Freshman Academy Program. The Freshman Academy Program goal [...]

• Posted on September 24, 2015 – Posted by: Diana Sieger

  Toward a Racism-Free Grand Rapids

  In July I was on a panel hosted by Partners for a Racism-Free Community. The organization’s vision is a community where racial and ethnic disparities are eliminated so all people are accepted and included as [...]

• Posted on September 24, 2015 – Posted by: Meredith Fennema

  The Road to Success: Supporting First Generation College Students through High School and Beyond

  As part of the Challenge Scholars initiative, Tracy Benjamin serves as College and Career Coordinator at Union High School. We recently caught up with Tracy to learn more about how she helps high schoolers who [...]

• Posted on September 16, 2015 – Posted by: Meredith Fennema

  Scholarships for Success

  Since 1945, thanks to hundreds of donors and community members who believe in making college a reality for Kent County students, we've awarded more than $12.9 million in scholarships. In 2015, 56% of scholarship recipients [...]

• Posted on August 25, 2015 – Posted by: Kara Kuntz

  Survey Says Pt. 3: Myth Busters

  Five Myths about Grand Rapids Community Foundation: BUSTED MYTH 1: Grand Rapids Community Foundation is all about Grand Rapids. We fund all of Kent County. This map shows how the Foundation impacts Kent County and beyond. MYTH 2 [...]

• Posted on August 24, 2015 – Posted by: Kara Kuntz

  Survey Says... Pt. 2

  These next five findings put our survey respondents to the test. We asked respondents what causes they think Grand Rapids Community Foundation supports. Let’s see how they did: If you were one of the many survey [...]