Fremont Area Community Foundation’s Housing Partnership Fund awarded its second round of grants to seven local housing creation projects. In total, $690,000 was awarded.

Projects receiving funding are expected to add more than 100 housing units in Fremont, Grant, Newaygo, and White Cloud. The projects include a mix of owner-occupied and rental units. The $690,000 awarded will enable recipients to leverage $6 million in total project investments.

In the Fremont area, Haven Design Build was awarded a $60,000 grant toward the construction of a duplex. Two larger multi-unit projects also received funding. Stone Hill Estates received a $150,000 grant and the City of Fremont received a $150,000 grant.

In Grant, Frey Management received $150,000 for a five-unit project in Ashland Township. TMW Properties was awarded a $60,000 grant for a duplex on Lee Street, and BMB Builders received $30,000 for a single-family home.

Moxy Homes was also awarded $90,000 to support a project that will add three single-family homes in White Cloud and Newaygo.

The grants are made possible through a partnership between the Community Foundation and Newaygo County. In 2023, county commissioners approved $1 million to help create the Newaygo County Housing Partnership Fund at the Community Foundation. The Community Foundation’s Board of Trustees also earmarked an additional $1 million. A committee including county officials, Community Foundation staff, and community representatives like Julie Burrell of The Right Place was formed to create grantmaking guidelines and review proposals.

The first round of housing grants was awarded in early fall 2023. A total of $300,000 was awarded to three projects in the White Cloud and Hesperia areas. The projects were anticipated to add eight housing units in White Cloud and five in Hesperia.

“Over two grant rounds, we have helped builders and developers leverage nearly $9 million in new housing development projects,” said Shelly Kasprzycki, president and CEO of the Community Foundation. “This represents more than 120 additional housing units, which are desperately needed in Newaygo County. We are grateful to work with the county and other local partners to address this need and provide support.”

“The board is very excited to see the added interest in the second round of proposals,” said Bryan Kolk, chair of the Newaygo County Board of Commissioners. “This is working out exactly as desired with the jump start of new housing projects. We can’t wait to see what the third round brings.”

A third round of housing grants will be open for applications on March 1, with proposals due on July 15. Nonprofit and for-profit developers are eligible to apply. Applicants are encouraged to leverage additional funding sources and seek the support of local municipalities. Housing developments must be located in Newaygo County to be eligible.

For more information on the application process, contact Lindsay Hager at the Community Foundation at 231.924.5350.

Fremont Area Community Foundation manages 25 separate grant rounds annually, including rounds for our three geographic affiliates. The grant review process is similar for all 25 rounds with some variations due to geographic area, strategic focus area, or fund restrictions. Each grant area has written guidelines that detail the goals, requirements, and focus area details. These guidelines are available on our website and are provided to prospective grant applicants at grantee workshops or individual meetings.

Once grant applications are received from the online grant portal, staff and committee members begin to review them for completeness, adherence to grantmaking guidelines, organizational capacity, and other due diligence. An online scoring process is used by each reviewer, allowing them to numerically rate several sections of the grant application. Scores are then aggregated and a final score is generated for each application. Reviewers can also ask follow-up questions which are sent back to applicants so additional clarification can be provided.

The final score, responses to questions, and a summary is prepared for each grant application. A committee meeting is then scheduled to review each grant summary, and a recommendation is made. Typically, each grant application will either be denied, partially funded, or fully funded. Variations to these alternatives could include a portion being funded as a matching grant (e.g., $0.50 awarded to the grantee for each $1 raised and documented by the applicant), contingency approvals (e.g., Community Foundation funding is only approved if the applicant receives funding from other sources), or phased awards (e.g., half of funds awarded up front, the second half awarded upon successful completion of first half activities).

Once committee recommendations are made, the Board of Trustees reviews recommendations and makes final decisions. Factors considered include the available grant funding in each round, the number of applications received, the scoring summary of each application, applicant capacity, and other information that might be relevant to individual grant applications.

Staff will then communicate the final decision directly to applicants. Staff will follow up with recipients throughout the year by visiting them, preferably when the grant-funded activity can be observed. For applicants who were not funded, staff will meet with them to provide feedback on why the denial was made and suggestions for improving future applications.

Successful grantees receive grant funding, implement the activity, project, or program funded with the grant, then provide follow-up reports back to the Community Foundation. Grantee success stories are written and shared in various Community Foundation publications.

News & Events

Month: March 2024

Housing Partnership Fund Awards New Grants

An inside look at grant review

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