In our new issue of PARTNERS in community, a magazine by Grand Rapids Community Foundation, we lift up the strength, stability and future focus that so many of our community’s philanthropists embody. We celebrate the [...]
News
Updates and Insights from the Community Foundation
Featured Posts
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Partners in Community, Winter 2026 -
Equity Takes All of Us: Our Strategic Framework It's a time of rapid change in West Michigan. Local nonprofits have been pressure tested. But rarely like this. Hard-won advances have been challenged and reversed. Affordable housing solutions are falling short of demand. Health [...]
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For nearly a century, Grand Rapids Community Foundation has been in the business of understanding our community’s needs. Sometimes, as a development officer, I wonder how our founders could even comprehend the impact this organization [...] -
The 2018 wildfire season has devastated communities throughout California due to high temperatures and dry conditions. The Camp Fire in Butte County is the deadliest and most destructive in California history with a death toll [...]
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At the 2018 Grand Rapids Community Foundation Donor Celebration, Carol Sarosik and Shelley Padnos were awarded with the 2018 Jack Chaille Community Philanthropy Award. Carol and Shelley are transformational leaders. Learn more about this [...] -
Our Spring Current is hot off the press! Learn about great new grants, donors making a difference, and our continued efforts to work toward an inclusive economy and thriving community! -
Giving back is a part of life for Abe and Anne Rossi. “We’ve had many fallbacks in our life with the family business, but the Lord has always provided. We’ve felt blessed, and it is [...] -
In early September, Hurricane Florence caused severe damage to the Carolinas and Virginia. In parts of South Carolina, water floods the streets, in some areas as high as 10 feet, causing many residents to evacuate [...]
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On June 13, we were honored to have Linsey Gleason, partner in the Estate Planning Practice Team at Varnum, join us for a Facebook live session on estate planning. Like many things in life, the [...] -
Be a good person. Do great work. Have an impact. These are principles Chad Zagel and Ellie Frey Zagel live by and ultimately hope to be remembered for. Their estate plan is one of many [...] -
Organizing your estate plan is an act of love for your family and your community. We know that the task can seem daunting when you begin to consider how many details there are to track. [...] -
The most common way to leave a gift at the end of your life is through a simple bequest in your will. But if the idea of a gift from your will conjures up visions [...] -
Last year in a special edition of Current we featured a story from Lisa Rose, a friend of Grand Rapids Community Foundation. Her story below reminds all of us that estate planning and planned giving [...] -
We are saddened by the recent passing of John Canepa. He was a dear friend to many in our community, and is especially loved by Grand Rapids Community Foundation. Grand Rapids and West Michigan’s growth [...]