Stories

  • Youth Grant Committee Partners to Benefit Youth

    Posted on June 03, 2019 – Posted by:

    Youth Grant Committee Partners to Benefit Youth

    Each year a diverse team of high schoolers works together to impact the community by serving on our Youth Grant Committee. They recently celebrated the culmination of their year by announcing $50,000 in grant partnerships [...]
  • A Legacy of Love and Belonging

    Posted on May 28, 2019 – Posted by:

    A Legacy of Love and Belonging

    Sandy Ward plans to create a scholarship fund to honor her late husband’s passion for the arts When Sandy Ward's late husband, Cedric, was in the fourth grade, his teacher, Norma Brink, invited [...]
  • Celebrating Black History

    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 [...]
  • A Legacy of Family Giving

    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 [...]
  • Annual Report 2017-2018

    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 [...]
  • Youth in Philanthropy

    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 [...]
  • Love & Legacy

    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 [...]
  • One Hundred New Philanthropists: Jason Franklin

    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 [...]