The Community Foundation is home to more than 750 different charitable funds that range in size from $10,000 to $30 million. While these funds were created for a wide range of purposes, they all can be organized into six main types. Here is a quick look at the different fund types we offer and some real examples of each.
Donor advised funds are convenient and flexible. With this type of fund, the donor can personally recommend grants from the fund to different organizations or causes of their choice.
Mother and daughter Joan and Cathy Obits created a donor advised fund together to help meet needs in their community.
Designated funds are created to benefit a specific charity or programs of a nonprofit organization.
June Britt created the Jerry and June Britt Fund, which supports the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and their work benefitting youth transitioning out of foster care.
Field of interest funds allow the donor to choose the interest area they care about most that their fund can be used to support. Our board then awards grants from the fund to address needs within the chosen field.
John and Ailene Pugno created a field of interest fund dedicated to environmental causes.
Scholarship funds help Newaygo County students achieve their educational goals. The Community Foundation offers scholarships for high school seniors, current college students, medical students, and adult students.
Sisters Sarah Coville and Emily Zoulek graduated from Newaygo High School and went into careers in healthcare. They created a scholarship for other Newaygo graduates planning to enter similar fields.
Unrestricted funds allow us to address the changing and most critical needs in Newaygo County. These funds provide maximum flexibility. One of the things that makes our Community Foundation unique is our relatively high percentage of unrestricted funds. It allows us to offer a robust community grant program.
At age 95, Harold Kalsbeek created an unrestricted fund to support his lifelong home community.
Agency endowments are created by an organization to provide a sustainable source of long-term funding.
Baldwin Family Health Care has an agency endowment fund to support their ongoing work and community health programs.
