Help us honor Dave's legacy!
Join us to honor Dave Mengebier, our outgoing CEO, by leaving a legacy for our region with a gift to our Focus Fund Endowment!
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Grant Awards
- 2025 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Grant Awards
In 2025, we’ve awarded $68,931 in diversity, equity, inclusion grants through our new Endowment for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and our Diversity Equity Inclusion Fund.
Summer Grants | Total Awarded: $13,995
Benzie Transportation Authority $2,000 Accessible Educational Materials Experiential Ink $2,500 Camp4All Leelanau Conservancy $2,000 Indigenous Knowledges Land Visit Project Northwestern Michigan College Foundation $1,895 Creating Comfort in Chaos: Developing a Mobile Sensory Tent for Neurodivergent Kids and Adults Northwoods Music Collaborative $2,000 Vocal Opening Series Open Your Eyes to Access, LLC $2,300 Curriculum Creation and Public Narrative Project: Centering Disability Identities Suttons Bay Public Schools $1,300 AI-Powered Translator Technology for English Language Learner (ELL) Students Spring Grants | Total Awarded: $18,050
217 Recovery $1,500 217 Recovery Rides Benzie Area Pride Network (St. Philip's Episcopal Church) $2,000 General Operating Support Child & Family Services of Northwestern Michigan $1,500 Championing Children: Supporting Native American families and all children in foster care Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology $1,500 Antrim Writers Series Presents Des Cooper, Visiting Author Crystal Community Ski Club $1,000 Crystal Community Ski Club Outreach Efforts Gospel Army Black History Group $1,800 Student Living History Grand Traverse Dyslexia Association $1,500 Tuition Assistance Project PFLAG Traverse City $2,000 General Operating Support ROCK of Kingsley Youth Center $1,500 Creating Calmer Spaces-YOU MATTER TC Curling Club $1,250 Mighty Ducks Curling League Utopia Foundation $1,000 2025 AAPI Month event--Speaking Truth to Power: An Evening with Photographer Taro Yamasaki National Writers Series $1,500 An Evening with Robin Wall Kimmerer: On Nature's Gifts ~ Gratitude and the Joy of Giving Back to the Planet Winter Grants | Total Awarded: $36,886
20Fathoms $2,500 Business and Marketing Essentials Bootcamp for Indigenous Entrepreneurs BrickWays $1,000 Drum Circle Disability Network $1,386 Project Rudolph Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes $2,500 Anishinaabe Programs at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Generations Ahead $1,750 Spanish Interpretation for Teen Parents Jobs for Humanity $2,000 Reverse Recruiting Leland Public School $1,500 LPS World Learning Club General Operating Support Maraschino Music $1,250 Therapeutic Healing Through Music #2 Mashup Rock & Roll Musical $1,750 Bromeo vs The Juliettes production Michigan Indian Legal Services, Inc. $2,500 Legal Deserts and Tribal Court practice Northern Michigan E3 $2,500 Community Education Workshop on Anti-Racism Northwest Education Services $1,000 Culturally Responsive Education Group- General Operating Support Northwestern Michigan College Foundation $1,250 Black History 101 Mobile Museum- Marching for Justice Exhibit Remain in Touch $1,000 General Operating Support SEEDS Ecology & Education Centers $1,500 Traditional Ecological Knowledge Education at Kalkaska Middle School Suttons Bay Public Schools $1,750 SB Public Schools Business Professionals of America (BPA) Club TART Trails, Inc. $2,250 Flora & Fauna Project TinkTank Animate $2,000 TinkTank Northwest Title Track $2,500 Water Protectors Training Camp Traverse City Area Public Schools $1,000 K-12 Education for MLK Day Up North Pride $2,000 Up North Pride Affinity & Social Group Program Support - 2024 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Grant Awards
In 2024, we awarded $54,525 in diversity, equity, inclusion grants.
* Child and Family Services of NWMI $2,500 Improving Inclusion: A multi-pronged approach Crooked Tree Arts Center $1,700 ART/able * Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology $2,500 The Long Memory Project: Pride Discovery Pier $2,100 Great Lakes Kayaking Access for All Elders Advisory Organization $2,500 PA System Evergreen Community Group $750 Project- All Together Now! Experiential Ink $2,500 Camp4All Grand Traverse Area Children’s Garden $1,000 Project HEART - Harvesting Equity and Agricultural Resilience Together $2,500 Ability Garden Program Grand Traverse Dyslexia Association $2,200 Tuition Assistance Grand Traverse Industries $1,000 Support for Field of Dreams project Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities $500 Ongoing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Support Kewadin Indian Mission Church $2,000 General operating support/tech support Leelanau Conservancy $2,500 Indigenous Knowledges Project Stipend * Leelanau Historical Society $2,500 African American Settlers in Leelanau County Program Maraschino Music $1,000 Therapeutic Healing Through Music Mashup Rock and Roll Musical $500 Support 2024 Slate of Productions Michigan Indian Legal Services $2,500 Project for Tribal Survivors of Domestic Violence Through Education and Outreach Montessori Children’s House GT $1,725 Understanding Early Development of Gender Identity National Writers Series $2,500 Kaveh Akbar Event & Battle of the Books Northern Michigan Adaptive Sports $2,500 General Operating Support Northwestern Michigan College Foundation $1,250 Halloween for All 2024 Remain in Touch $500 General Operating Support St. Philip’s Episcopal Church $1,500 Benzie Area Pride Network Operating Support Suttons Bay Public Schools $2,000 Support for Cultural and Pep Clubs The Watershed Center- GT Band $1,000 Development of a Justice Equity Inclusion Plan Title Track $2,300 Water Protectors Training Camp Traverse City Area Public Schools $1,000 Indigenous Education Book Totes TC Central High School Band $1,000 Purchase of gender-neutral uniforms and music by minority or marginalized composers Traverse City Sister City $2,000 Roots of Friendship Up North Pride $2,500 General Operating Support *Grant was awarded from the Marsha J. Smith Community Leadership Fund
- 2023 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Grant Awards
In 2023, we awarded $65,450 in diversity, equity, inclusion grants.
Arts for All of Northern MI $2,050 Arts Escapes Program & Art in the Garden Child & Family Services of NW MI $2,000 Expansion of DEI efforts *Commonplace $1,500 Support for Second Chance Employers *Crystal Community Ski Club $1,000 Support for strategic planning process with a DEI focus El Grupo Norte Youth Cycling $1,300 More Girls on Bikes program Experiential Ink $2,500 Camp4All General Operating Support Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes $2,300 Anishinaabe Programs at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Grand Traverse Dyslexia Association $2,500 Tuition Assistance Project for low-income families Grand Traverse Industries $2,000 GTI Community Engagement Activity Program Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy $750 Enhancing nature access for individuals with mobility impairments Grass River Natural Area, Inc. $2,000 DEI Assessment for Grass River Housing North $1,000 Housing North DEI Plan Immigration Law & Justice Michigan $2,500 Supporting legal capacity to serve immigrants, refuges and asylum seekers in the Grand Traverse Region Kids on the Go- Traverse City $2,000 Therapy Camp Program Development Leelanau Montessori Public School Academy $2,500 Universal Design and Access Infrastructure and Play Mashup Rock & Roll Musical $1,500 Grimm’s Alternative Fairytales production $1,000 Look Who’s Talking Heads production Michigan Indian Legal Services, Inc. $1,450 Legal self-help and educational materials on MILS website Mindimooyenh Healing Circle $2,500 Three Fires Midewiwin Winter Ceremonies *National Alliance on Mental Illness Grand Traverse $2,500 Northwest Michigan Youth Mental Health Initiative Northport Indian United Methodist Church $2,400 Start up installation and 1 year operation of Star Link Internet Northwest Education Services $1,250 North Ed DEIB Committee support Pathfinder School $2,000 DEI Framework Development Planned Parenthood of Michigan $1,450 Provider education to center needs of 2SLGBTQ+ people PoWeR! Book Bags $2,500 Educational equity at Mancelona schools Remain in Touch $1,500 General Operating Support The Dream Team Northern MI $1,250 Field of Dreams Dugout Project The ROCK of Kingsley Youth Center $1,000 The Rock: You Matter Programming Title Track $2,500 BIPOC Healing Ourselves Traverse Area Historical Society $2,000 Kchi Wiikwedong Anishinaabe History Project Traverse Bay Children’s Advocacy Center $750 DEI library for clients and staff Up North Pride $2,500 Pride Week Celebration 2023 Utopia Foundation $2,500 Northern MI E3 Strategic Plan Utopia Foundation $1,000 Two-part event series for Grand Traverse AAPI Month 2023 Writers Series of Traverse City $2,500 Alvin Hall author event *Grant was awarded from the Marsha J. Smith Community Leadership Fund