Stories

Posted on March 13, 2019 – Posted by:

Celebrating Black History

Donors and friends of Grand Rapids Community Foundation’s African American Heritage Fund gathered recently for a night of celebration, reflection and fellowship. During the social mixer, we honored Black history, celebrated philanthropists in our community [...]
Posted on January 29, 2019 – Posted by:

A Legacy of Family Giving

How do you wish your life to be remembered? What legacy do you want to leave? These are the questions answered with effective estate planning. Generations of people have built our community’s endowment through planned [...]
Posted on December 20, 2018 – Posted by:

Annual Report 2017-2018

2017-2018 Annual Report A community is defined by the people who call it home. Our community has the potential to be anything we want it to be. There is potential everywhere in West Michigan—potential that can break [...]
Posted on December 04, 2018 – Posted by:

Youth in Philanthropy

This past October, Rob Collier, former president of the Council for Michigan Foundations, invited me to be a closing plenary speaker for the CMF Annual Conference. The featured speaker for the event was Frans Johansson [...]
Posted on November 09, 2018 – Posted by:

2018 Jack Chaille Community Philanthropy Award Recipients: Carol Sarosik and Shelley Padnos

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 power couple and the [...]
Posted on June 05, 2018 – Posted by:

Love & Legacy

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 ways [...]
Posted on July 05, 2016 – Posted by: Roberta King

Metz Legacy Society: Kathy Humphrey

If you searched for one word to describe Kathy Humphrey it might be passionate. But, it also could be prevention. Advocate and compassion come to mind too. “I grew up with parents who taught me [...]
Posted on March 24, 2016 – Posted by: Roberta King

One Hundred New Philanthropists: Megan Sall

She’s a native West Michigander who grew up in Grand Rapids. Megan Sall left the community to serve, explore and work before growing roots in the East Hills neighborhood of Grand Rapids. “Prior to my current [...]
Posted on March 24, 2016 – Posted by: Roberta King

One Hundred New Philanthropists: Jason Franklin

New to Grand Rapids, Jason Franklin, PhD, is exuberant about philanthropy, his new house in Eastown and community philanthropy. In less than a year, the first W.K. Kellogg Community Philanthropy Chair at the Johnson Center [...]
Posted on December 16, 2015 – Posted by: Roberta King

One Hundred New Philanthropists: Scott and Lucy Joswick

Lucy Dyer Joswick and Scott Joswick have a passion for social justice and a deep-rooted desire to open the doors of philanthropy and show that everyone can be a changemaker. In their living, giving and [...]
Posted on December 14, 2015 – Posted by: Roberta King

One Hundred New Philanthropists: Emily and Ben VerWys

Ben and Emily VerWys, an investment advisor at Action Point Financial and realtor at Keller Williams respectively, are strategic thinkers and connected community members. “When we heard about how the Community Foundation could help us [...]
Posted on November 17, 2015 – Posted by: Roberta King

From Our Annual Report: Bev Drake, Ruth Lumpkins and Betty Burton Groce

Whether for economic, educational or healthcare justice, these three friends have strong feelings about removing barriers, providing access and creating opportunities for people in our community. Coming from diverse career backgrounds—job training, education and business—Bev [...]