Community Foundation Awards $360K in Grants at Year-End

[Photo credit: The Rock of Kingsley // Image description: Rock of Kingsley older adult program participants sitting and standing together with Boomwackers, colorful and musical plastic tubes.]

The Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation has awarded a total of $360,000 in grants at year-end to organizations across Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, and Leelanau Counties as part of its fall grantmaking cycle.

The Youth Endowment, one of the Foundation’s oldest funds, provides grants during this cycle. The Community Foundation’s Youth Advisory Councils (YAC), composed of high school-age students from across the region, decide Youth Endowment grant awards annually. In total, YAC students directed $91,000 in Youth Endowment grants, with $18,200 awarded from each county-based YAC. Organizations receiving Youth Endowment support this year include The Antrim Foundation, Glen Arbor Arts Center, Kalkaska Public Schools, Michael’s Place, PoWeR! Book Bags, and Suttons Bay Public Schools, among others.

“Watching our YACs make decisions about how grants are awarded from our Youth Endowment is impressive,” said Gina Thornbury, YAC Advisor and Senior Community Impact Manager at the Community Foundation. “These students are leaders in every sense of the word, and they are making a difference in their local communities.”

In addition to the Youth Endowment, the Community Foundation awarded grants from 18 other funds during the fall cycle. Organizations receiving these grants include Acme Christian Thrift Store and Food Pantry, Arts for All of Northern Michigan, Bellaire Public Schools, Friendship Community Center/LIFT Teen Center, Honor Area Restoration Project, Leelanau Christian Neighbors, Northwest Michigan Supportive Housing, Paddle Antrim, The Rock of Kingsley, VASA Ski Club, and Young Marines of Traverse City, among many others.

“Our fall cycle grants support both emerging and ongoing community needs and opportunities in a variety of areas, from youth development and education to mental health and environmental conservation,” said David Mengebier, President and CEO of the Community Foundation. “We’re grateful to partner with many organizations across the region to impact these critical issues.”

To view the full list of the Community Foundation’s fall grant awards, visit: https://www.gtrcf.org/grants/grant-awards. To support the areas of greatest need across the five-county region, donations are accepted at https://www.gtrcf.org/give.