News & Events

This month, meet the chairman of our board, Bill Alsover. Bill began serving as a member of the Community Foundation’s Investment Committee over 10 years ago and began working as a trustee on our board shortly after. We are so grateful for his dedication and contribution to the Community Foundation and to the community!

Bill’s connection to Newaygo runs deep, with memories going back to childhood summers spent on Pickerel Lake. One of his neighbors was William Branstrom Sr., one of the founders of Fremont Foundation, later renamed Fremont Area Community Foundation. The Branstrom family was a big part of the Newaygo County community, and their legacy shaped Bill’s early experiences.

After graduating from business school at MSU, Bill went on to work as everything from stockbroker to regulator for over 40 years. He returned to Newaygo County to live here permanently over 10 years ago. After receiving the Community Foundation’s annual report, he reached out to Carla Roberts, then-president and CEO. One shared lunch later, Carla invited Bill to become a member of the Investment Committee. Not long after joining the committee, he was asked to become a trustee. Bill recalls seeing the portrait of his neighbor William Branstrom Sr. and many of the early executives on the walls of the boardroom and feeling a connection to them and to the community.

When asked what Bill feels the role of the Community Foundation is in the community, he responded, “To bring positive change to Newaygo County and the surrounding communities. We’ve learned the power of working together with other stakeholders to multiply the effect of our investment. It’s impossible to address all the critical needs of Newaygo County by ourselves, but working together, we’ve made major progress.”

Bill expressed his enjoyment of feeling part of the community. He said, “The Community Foundation has found a diverse group of people to represent our area. I think we work well together and accomplish so much more together.”

In addition to serving the Community Foundation board, Bill works with the Pickerel Kimball Lakes Improvement Board and collects antique radios and midcentury modern quartz clocks.

It’s Community Foundation Week (November 12-18)! This annual celebration was created in 1989 by former president George H.W. Bush to recognize the important work of community foundations and their collaborative and innovative approach to working with the public, private, and nonprofit sector.

In honor of Community Foundation Week, here are some facts about our sector:

• Community foundations are grantmaking public charities that are dedicated to improving the lives of people in a defined local geographic area.
• Nearly half of the community foundations in the U.S. are located in the Midwest and 36% serve rural areas, like ours!
• We got our start as a private foundation in 1951, but in 1972 we reorganized to become a public charity and community foundation.
• Our Community Foundation is one of more than 500 US community foundations that has achieved accreditation through the Community Foundations National Standards program. Accreditation is a voluntary and rigorous evaluation process that ensures an organization meets high levels of accountability, transparency, and excellence.
• Education, children, and human and social services are the three most common program priorities among community foundations.
• Giving by foundations has tripled over the past 15 years.

This month’s blog was written by Shelly Kasprzycki, president and CEO, and Lola Harmon-Ramsey, director of impact and engagement. Shelly and Lola reflect on the importance of civility.

Here at Fremont Area Community Foundation, we have a goal of promoting the common good. One particular area of focus is civility and goodwill. Civility is more than mere politeness; it encompasses respect, consideration, and an active commitment to the well-being of others. It is the essential element of a stable and productive society.

We see examples every day of people’s kindness and concern for one another through volunteering, supporting those in crisis, and serving on boards and committees. But we also see the destructive path of contempt. Social media and its anonymity exacerbate contempt without direct consequences to the person sharing vitriol.

The Community Foundation recognizes that we can play a role in supporting civil society. Our trustees and staff took part in training on civil discourse. And we’ve launched a pilot project in White Cloud called the Goodwill Project. The concept is relatively simple: bring together a group of citizens with varying backgrounds and experiences, train them in civil discourse, and ask them to lead a project with $10,000 to improve the quality of life for their community.

The results of this work are fascinating. When tasked with exploring what core values they felt exemplified their community, the group chose the words home, connection, and relationships. These core values will be utilized to inform the group’s final project, a community gathering spot in the downtown corridor. The goal of the gathering spot is to welcome you home to White Cloud and provide a way to connect with each other while building relationships and expanding friendships.

To learn more about our work, please contact us. We will be expanding our efforts in the coming year. Every moment of patience, listening before judging, and every thoughtful gesture contributes to a culture where trust and respect are the norm.  Join the Community Foundation in working toward more mutual understanding, resilience, and hope.

This month’s blog was written by Becky VanHaften, the newest member of our marketing and communications team. Becky reflects on some of the best parts of the summer season.

As I look out my window at the beautiful sunshine, looking forward to today’s swim, I can’t help but be thankful for the amazing Michigan summer season and all the festivities that come along with it.

Only weeks ago we celebrated Memorial Day and those who willingly gave their lives for our country. We made plans with family and friends for Independence Day celebrations when we commemorate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. We anticipate summer’s final three-day weekend on Labor Day which honors American workers and their contributions.

Here, at Fremont Area Community Foundation, we are grateful for these meaningful commemorations, for Michigan summers, and the opportunity to participate in the special events each community in which we serve promotes and enjoys.

In Newaygo County, festivities include the Hesperia Family Fun Fest, National Baby Food Festival, Newaygo County Fair, Gus Macker Tournament, Grant Festival, and the Logging Festival. Luther Days and Idlewild Summer Soul Festival are celebrated in Lake County. Mecosta County boasts the Summer Antique Farm & Power Club Show as well as the Summer Fest. Finally, guests look forward to the Pocket Park Concert Series and the Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show in Osceola County. Happy summer!

Our staff and partners have made several trips to Lansing this spring to advocate for Newaygo County, share local stories, and highlight areas of concern.

In mid-April, Lola Harmon-Ramsey, director of impact and engagement, spent the day in Lansing as part of the Council of Michigan Foundations’ (CMF) Foundations in Lansing event. The day was focused on early childhood issues and included meetings with Representative Joseph Fox and Senator Rick Outman. A month earlier, Harmon-Ramsey and Trustee Julie Burrell visited Washington D.C. for Foundations on the Hill, hosted by United Philanthropy Forum and CMF.

On April 23, five members of our Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) and their staff advisors, Maria Gonzalez and Patti Wheater, attended Michigan Prevention Association’s Advocacy Day at the Capitol. YAC students and advisors joined a group from Corewell Health Gerber Hospital and the Headway Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition for the event.

The YAC group included Rachel Maddox and Cayman Ramsey of Fremont, Naomi Scripps and Morgan Pope of Newaygo, and Kaleb Phillips of Grant. They attended sessions on how to talk to legislators and the differences between advocacy and lobbying. They also met with Representative Fox and Senator Outman to share how tobacco use and vaping impacts their peers, schools, and community.

On May 6, Shelly Kasprzycki, president and CEO, joined a group of Michigan philanthropic leaders in Lansing to meet with Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The group talked about philanthropy’s partnership with state government and discussed concerns about how pending budget challenges could impact communities. The event was sponsored by the Office of Foundation Liaison, a nonpartisan cabinet-level position that was initiated and supported by members of CMF and the state.

Andrew and Mattie Gerber (pictured above) left a bequest to benefit the community more than 80 years ago. They likely couldn’t have imagined that in 2024 their gift would help local school districts upgrade their web-based school information systems. They might have been even more impressed to know that, in the same year, their gift also supported the Dogwood Center, bringing the Grand Rapids Symphony to Newaygo County, adult student scholarships, after-school programs, and more.

The Gerbers’ fund—one of our oldest—is an unrestricted fund. Of all the different fund types we offer, unrestricted funds allow the most flexibility in grantmaking. They allow donors like the Gerbers to help fill gaps for organizations and causes that may not even exist during their own lifetimes. No matter how the needs in our community change over the years, unrestricted funds can help us meet those needs.

One of the things that makes our Community Foundation unique is our relatively high percentage of unrestricted funds compared to many other community foundations. More than half (55%) of our total assets are in unrestricted funds. This allows us to offer a robust community grant program. It also demonstrates the trust that generations of donors have in us. Donors understand that we operate with the highest standards of accountability and integrity. They also trust that we have our finger on the pulse of the community’s needs, priorities, and key partners.

For more information on unrestricted funds, contact our philanthropic services team.

Ever wonder how Community Foundation funds are invested and managed? We checked in with Kathy Pope, our vice president and chief financial officer, and Bill Alsover, chair of our Board of Trustees and Investment Committee, to get more details on this important component of the Community Foundation’s operations.

Our investments provide funding for the Community Foundation’s grants to nonprofits and scholarships to students. To fulfill our mission, we must maintain a pool of assets sufficient to build community capital for future use with the corresponding obligation to support current and future community needs. The primary goal is to provide for long-term growth of the investments without undue financial risk to help meet the Community Foundation’s spending goals.

The Community Foundation has an Investment Policy Statement that provides the philosophy and investment objectives for investing our funds and standards for monitoring investment performance.

Our investment strategy utilizes an allocation between asset classes (stocks, bonds, cash, and others). The allocation of the investments is diversified so they are not subject to large changes in value due to market fluctuations. The most important decision is to reduce risk and accomplish long-term success.

To oversee our investments, we have a five- to seven-member Investment Committee made up of trustees and community members with an investment background. The Investment Committee works with an outside investment consultant that provides investment reporting, education, and recommendations to the committee.

The Community Foundation awards hundreds of scholarships each year to high school seniors, current college students, and medical students. And this year’s application deadline (March 1) is quickly approaching!

As you or the student in your life is working on a scholarship application, check out the tips below for ensuring that application is as good as it can be. As always, please contact us any time with questions about the scholarship process. Email rcowles@facommunityfoundation.org or call 231.924.5350.

• Use a personal email address on the application—not your school email, which you’ll lose access to when you graduate. Doublecheck the phone number you include too; we may need to reach you.

• Take your time. Leave yourself plenty of time to gather the information you’ll need, ask questions, and write a good essay. Don’t wait until February 28 to start—start now!

• Read all questions and answer options carefully. This is especially important when it comes to questions about your major or career path. Choosing the best answers from the lists there ensures that you’re considered for all the scholarships for which you’re eligible.

• Make your English teacher proud and use your best spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. Think essay, not text message. Ask someone to proofread for you too.

If you’re awarded a scholarship, our biggest tip: check your email regularly! We’ll send you a form to complete before any money can be released. We may also have questions or need more information. If you can’t be reached by email or phone, your scholarship could be cancelled.

Scholarship applications for high school seniors, current college students, and medical school students are completed online and due March 1. The application for Newaygo County adult students is open year-round; for more information on adult student scholarships, click HERE.

It’s Community Foundation Week (November 12-18)! This annual celebration was created in 1989 by former president George H.W. Bush to recognize the important work of community foundations and their collaborative and innovative approach to working with the public, private, and nonprofit sector.

In honor of Community Foundation Week, here are some facts about our sector:

• Cleveland Foundation in Ohio was the first community foundation, created in 1914.
• There are now more than 900 community foundations in the U.S. and at least one community foundation on every continent except Antarctica.
• Silicon Valley Community Foundation in California is the largest community foundation in the world, with $13.8 billion in assets in 2022.
• We are the fifth largest community foundation in Michigan (based on 2023 assets). Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, Kalamazoo Community Foundation, Grand Rapids Community Foundation, and Community Foundation of Greater Flint are first through fourth. We are the 88th largest in the country (as of 2022).
• We got our start as a private foundation in 1951, but in 1972 we reorganized to become a public charity and community foundation.
• More than half of U.S. community foundations are located in the Midwest, and more than one-third serve rural communities—like ours!
• Education, arts and culture, and human services were the fields receiving the most grant funding from Michigan community foundations in 2023.
• U.S. community foundations collectively grant more than $14.8 billion in each year.

David M. Byrne is an attorney based in Fremont specializing in estate planning, small business, probate and trust administration, and Medicaid nursing home planning. He also serves on Fremont Area Community Foundation’s Professional Advisors Board. He has seen it all in his 31 years of practice. In honor of National Estate Planning Week, he answered some important questions and shared the good, the bad, and the horror stories of estate planning.

What factors contribute to the different results of estate planning?

David: “Estate planning” is exactly what the name says: planning for what happens to a person’s property upon death. Estate planning should also properly name a person to make business/financial actions and medical decisions on behalf of a person. If a person has a minor or disabled child, it is important to name guardians to care for the child should the parent die or become unable to do so. To put it simply, a successful result from estate planning is if a person’s desires actually occur.

What is an estate planning bad result?

David: A bad estate planning result is when the person’s desires are not met when the person becomes unable to handle their own business or medical affairs and/or upon their death. I have witnessed matters and relationships become very contentious after a person’s incompetency or death, which may result in unnecessary and costly legal proceedings. Those become the horror stories. Relationships are permanently destroyed, and estates are financially depleted by legal proceedings.

What are some horror stories?

David: I have lots of examples. People with minor children or disabled children usually have very specific people in mind to be the guardian, if they are unable to themselves. However, unless properly named in a last will and testament, the probate judge will have to select a guardian for the child, and the judge is limited by Michigan statute. Several family members may believe that they are the best to care for the child. So instead of stability and the family all working together in a time of crisis, there is uncertainty and legal proceedings to determine who the guardian will be.

Another example is if a person names all of their children as an owner and/or beneficiary on bank accounts, real estate, cars, retirement accounts, life insurance accounts, etc., there are all sorts of issues. Creditors of a child/beneficiary can take assets to satisfy the child/beneficiary’s debt. The person may be limited from managing, making decisions regarding, or selling their own property. I was involved in a case where the person added as a joint tenant to a person’s property refused to allow the actual owner to sell the property or transfer the property to someone else. There is no one person who can act to administer the “estate.” There is no money to pay the bills of the property and estate. Each joint owner will need to individually contribute to each expense. Each joint owner needs to agree to all sales, transactions, payments, etc. This creates lots of problems and expensive legal proceedings.

On the other hand, if only one child/beneficiary is named as the owner/beneficiary, that child/beneficiary may not follow the desires of the deceased person. There is no requirement for the child/beneficiary to account for their actions. This results in strained relationships and very possible litigation.

 How does a person end up with a successful result and avoid a bad result or even worse, a horror story?

David: The key word in estate planning is “plan.” We all have heard the saying “failing to plan is planning to fail.” If a person doesn’t plan for their estate, then their desires are not likely to be met. The best way for a person to plan for their estate, the guardianship of any minor/disabled children, and for when the person is unable to act, is to work with an attorney experienced and specializing in estate planning. This attorney can walk the person through a series of questions to make sure the person has thought about the various scenarios and resulting desires for whatever happens in the future. If there are concerns regarding how family members and/or beneficiaries will act, the attorney can draft to limit or remove any potential issues. The attorney will then draft and review with the client the necessary documents to ensure that the client’s desires will be met. These documents include a will and/or living trust, durable power of attorney, patient advocate, etc. A well drafted estate plan that carefully details what the desires of a person are and directs the necessary actions is the best way to make sure that person’s desires are put into effect.

Since the 1990s, our Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) has provided a space for young adults to be leaders in philanthropy and grantmaking. Our group is made up of students from Fremont, Grant, Hesperia, Newaygo, and White Cloud high schools and homeschool. They oversee the Community Foundation’s Youth Endowment Fund and review and award grants from it each year.

Our YAC meets one morning a month during the school year. Here’s a snapshot of a typical meeting and what our YACers are doing this month.

The week before:

Our team of four officers meets with their staff advisors to plan an agenda. Officers are elected each year by their peers. They decide on topics and activities, how to present them, and who will facilitate each agenda item. The advisors are there for support, but YAC meetings are almost entirely youth-led.

8:45 a.m. on meeting day:

We start with snacks and an icebreaker activity (this month, we’re sharing what we did over summer break). We review minutes from our last meeting and go over the meeting agenda. Every third month, Community Foundation trustees will visit and share a report from the board.

9:15-9:45 a.m.

Most of the meeting is broken up into four half-hour sections: continuing education, grantmaking, leadership development, and a topic that varies each month. Our continuing education block might feature a presentation from a staff member or local organization, studying a particular trend or issue, or learning about another topic. This month, we’re creating group norms for the year and setting expectations for how we want to treat each other and create a space where everyone feels safe to participate.

9:45-10:15 a.m.

Next up is usually grantmaking. In January and February, we’ll work on a grant review simulation to prepare for our real grant review in March and April. In the meantime, there’s a lot to learn, and YACers take their responsibility very seriously! They learn how to read a proposal and budget, share feedback, reach consensus, make motions, and take minutes.

10:30-11:00 a.m.

After a break and energizer game, we explore a topic or activity the YAC officers have picked out. This month we’re talking about recruiting new members. Each school group will meet to develop a plan for getting the word out at their school.

11:00-11:30 a.m.

We typically end with leadership development. We’ve talked about different leadership styles and how to work together effectively, motivational values, and more. This month, we’re talking about planning a needs assessment to determine the most pressing needs and concerns of local youth. We’ll spend some time working in subcommittees and as a whole group. A needs assessment is a big project we’ll work on throughout the year.

Wrap-ups

We often wrap up with a discussion question or challenge to complete before the next meeting. We share reminders or announcements, then finish up with lunch (pizza and breadsticks are a favorite).

Recently, we reviewed the report “Giving USA: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2023.” It is remarkable that Americans donated an estimated $557.16 billion to U.S. charities in 2023. After a decline in 2022, total giving showed positive signs in 2023, though it has not yet surpassed the high of 2021.

Here in Newaygo County and in the counties served by our three affiliates—Lake, Mecosta, and Osceola—we witnessed an exponential increase in giving. In 2022, we were grateful for $1.3 million in gifts; in 2023, the Community Foundation received $4.4 million. Nearly 30 new funds were created with us last year. Not only did individual donations increase, but we also established a successful partnership with the County of Newaygo to enhance housing and received planned gifts that boosted our assets and community investment ability. Our area is incredibly generous.

What makes charitable giving through a community foundation unique is the ability to direct your gift to meet your charitable intent. Whether it be long-term giving like Our Next 75 members, having a donor advised fund, including the Community Foundation in your estate plans like Slautterback Legacy Society members, or making an unrestricted gift to meet the ever-changing needs of our community, your contributions make a significant impact.

We are excited to work with our donors to continue strengthening the capacity of people and communities. In tumultuous times, we remain steadfast in building goodwill, earning trust, and strengthening relationships. We are forever grateful to our wonderful donor partners for making this possible. Aesop said, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” We value each gift, no matter the size, and we invest those gifts to enable even more giving. Last year, total grants awarded were nearly $9 million and scholarships exceeded $700,000.

If you would like more information about giving or are interested in our investment returns, grants, and leadership, please contact me at 231.924.7601. We welcome your interest. Thank you!

Last month, three Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) members and their advisors, Maria Gonzalez and Patti Wheater, spent a day in Lansing as part of the Keep MI Kids Tobacco Free Alliance Day at the Capitol. The tobacco treatment and prevention team at Corewell Health Gerber Hospital spoke at a YAC meeting earlier in the year about vaping and tobacco use in Newaygo County. We were grateful for the invitation to then join them in Lansing on June 13.

The day began by meeting with other groups from around the state to learn more about tobacco use in Michigan and a bill package aimed at reducing youth tobacco use. A few facts we learned:

• Tobacco use is still the leading cause of preventable death and disease in Michigan, killing more than 16,200 Michiganders annually. (American Lung Association)
• Michigan is ranked 49th in state spending on tobacco prevention, ahead of just West Virginia and Texas. Michigan spends only 1.7% of the CDC’s recommended funding level. (Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids)
• Michigan is one of 12 states that make up a region called “Tobacco Nation.” These states—including Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, and others—have a smoking prevalence nearly 50% higher than in the rest of the U.S. (Truth Initiative)

We were scheduled to meet with our legislators later in the morning and had time to practice and prepare. Our group met with State Representative Joseph Fox. YAC students Cayman, Noah, and Rachel did a great job sharing facts on vaping and tobacco use and their perspectives on the impact of vaping on their peers.

After lunch, we went on a tour of the Capitol building and sat in the gallery as the House of Representatives voted on a bill. The tour was a highlight of the day. “My favorite part of our day in Lansing was being able to explore the Capitol building for the first time and see all of the beautiful architecture,” said Cayman.

We wrapped up our day with an ice cream social on the Capitol lawn. It was a great day to bring awareness to an important issue, experience new things, and get an up-close look at how our state government works.

“It’s important to be educated and a part of a higher level of knowledge to help understand what is going on in the state,” said Noah.

You may have heard of an opportunity through the Community Foundation called impact investing. If you are anything like me, when you first heard it, you probably had a lot of questions about what this is and does it change the way the Community Foundation does its work. The answers to those questions are yes and no.

Impact investing, in its simple form, is purposefully making investments that help provide social impacts that benefit our communities. Now you may be asking, what does that mean? The Community Foundation makes investments of our asset base to continue to grow our endowment. Impact investing allows us to do this locally. We work with local businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies to invest in projects across Newaygo, Lake, Mecosta, and Osceola counties. As the investments we provide are completed, they are paid back to the Community Foundation to allow us to do more projects in the future.

The opportunity that impact investing provides allows us to have a broader range of impact in our communities by supporting not only our nonprofits and government entities, but sometimes our local businesses as well. We can generate financial returns while also creating positive social change on a local basis across our communities. The Community Foundation uses its strategic goals around strengthening capacity for people and communities to determine the social impact of a project and engages with our donors to provide impact investment opportunities.

Impact investing consists of a few different opportunities, including working with Northern Initiatives, program-related investments or mission-related investments, or small business loans in partnership with Michigan State University Federal Credit Union. Through these investments, we have supported over $9 million in our communities. Some of these projects include 911 equipment for Central Dispatch in Newaygo County, broadband expansion with Great Lakes Energy, and affordable housing opportunities with various developers.

For more information on our impact investments, contact Maria E. Gonzalez at the Community Foundation at 231.924.5350.

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.

Trust-based philanthropy is an action many community foundations are now undertaking to strengthen relationships with grantees. As a Community Foundation team, we strive to be accessible and to understand the challenges faced by nonprofits in the important work they undertake every day to address community problems and protect community assets.

We’ve learned a lot about how to make ourselves more approachable and to streamline, where we can, the grant application and reporting processes. Instead of a complicated logic model for outputs and outcomes, we hope a grantee can share a story. We want them to tell us about how the grant changed lives and what we were able to accomplish together.

Site visits and field trips are also an important part of building trust and partnership. We are frequently visiting grantees now to better understand the projects we fund. A recent example was our visit to the Newaygo County Career Tech Center for a tour and lunch.

Trust works both ways, of course, and we hope to build a stronger-than-ever relationship with our grantee partners so that we have the most impact on quality of life in Newaygo County. We are striving to be more transparent, to provide more technical assistance, and to maintain the absolute highest standards of integrity and financial stewardship possible. Our team is always cognizant that we are the trusted stewards of many donations, creating a forever legacy. Look for more stories on our social media and in our publications about your Community Foundation, and thank you for being a part of philanthropy.

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.

The Community Foundation is home to over 700 funds, thanks to the generosity of others. For decades, people in Newaygo County have partnered with us to impact a future they couldn’t predict simply because they love this community. Let’s take a look back to where it all started!

Our story began in 1933 at the height of the Great Depression when two visionary philanthropists changed the future of Newaygo County forever. A gift of $5,700 from the estate of Harry Williams established a fund to support the general well-being of Newaygo County. The same year, a bequest of $31,000 from Jacob Andrew Gerber was established to support charitable projects. In a period of crisis, their acts of generosity were both timely and timeless.

After Mattie Gerber, wife of Jacob Andrew, added to her husband’s fund in 1944, local attorney William J. Branstrom, well-known for his philanthropy and civic engagement, consolidated the funds from Harry Williams and the Gerbers with his own. With these funds, Branstrom—along with Frank Gerber, Horace Loomis, Dick Pikaart, and Herman Schuiteman—created a private foundation called the Fremont Foundation in 1951.

Bessie Slautterback, a tenacious special education teacher, was hired as Executive Secretary—or what we might call today the executive director—and became our first employee. Intelligent and relentless, she led the Foundation for over two decades. She championed arts and education and worked to build community support.

In 1972, we reorganized to become a public community foundation in response to changing tax laws and a continuing desire to serve the whole county. From 1972 to 1994, our assets grew from $10 million to $65 million, and we granted approximately $2.5 million annually to organizations and programs at work in Newaygo County.

In 1994, Gerber Products, Inc. was sold to Sandoz of Switzerland. Our organization, which owned 1.8 million shares of Gerber stock, saw its assets grow from $65 million to $109 million virtually overnight.

Another important milestone six years later reflected our continuing commitment to the community as a whole. In 2000, the Foundation changed its name to Fremont Area Community Foundation, emphasizing its goal to serve all of Newaygo County.

What began with modest charitable funds in 1933 has grown to become one of the largest community foundations in the U.S. on a per capita basis and the fourth largest in Michigan based on total assets. Our history is built with this kind of forward-looking generosity. Through the Community Foundation’s careful stewardship and investment, the generous gifts of countless community members, from 1933 until today, will continue to grow and serve our area forever. We look forward to celebrating our 75th anniversary in 2026 and are excited to share this important milestone with you!

The Community Foundation has more than 100 scholarships available for high school seniors, current college students, and medical students. Last year, the Community Foundation awarded new and renewable scholarships to 321 Newaygo County students, totaling more than $692,000. And now that the holidays are over, a new scholarship deadline season is just around the corner!

We put together a few tips for students who are working on completing their applications before the March 1 deadline. As always, please feel free to contact us any time with questions about the scholarship process.

• Don’t wait until February 29 to get started! We know you get a whole extra Leap Day this year, but you’ll want to start on the application well before then. Give yourself plenty of time to gather the information you’ll need, ask questions, and complete a quality application.
• Read all questions carefully. For questions with answer options to select, read through all the options carefully and then choose the one that best describes your situation or plans.
• Scholarships can be used for trade schools and apprenticeship programs. In fact, we have several scholarships just for students pursuing those paths.
• Check your essay for appropriate spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. Think of it more like an essay you’re writing for English class and not a text message to a friend (e.g., Don’t use acronyms like “IDK” in your essay). And it never hurts to ask someone to proofread it for you!
• The application will ask for your email address—be sure to use a personal email, not your school email. We may need to contact you after you graduate and no longer have access to the school email account.

Scholarship applications for high school seniors, current college students, and medical school students are completed online and due March 1. The application for Newaygo County adult students is open year-round; for more information on adult student scholarships, click HERE.

This year has been full of accomplishments, events, learning, and impact. And it’s all possible thanks to the thoughtfulness, generosity, and passion of people like you! Here are a few of the things we accomplished together in 2023:

We have awarded $5.3 million in grants so far this year, with more to be awarded by the end of this month.

We welcomed 14 new members to Our Next 75 this year. Our Next 75 includes those who commit to supporting their community now and into the future. With our 75th anniversary coming in 2026, we are already at nearly 85% of our goal!

In August, we held our first Emeritus and Board Dinner for current and past trustees. It was a time for updates and great discussions.

We partnered with Newaygo County to launch the Housing Partnership Fund. County commissioners approved $1 million and our trustees earmarked an additional $500,000 to support local housing creation. The first grants were made from the fund this fall, with a second round open now.

We were excited to host several learning opportunities, including a Bridges Out of Poverty workshop in May and a grantee workshop in September. We also welcomed author, speaker, and educator Dr. Ilyasah Shabazz to Lake County in August. Ilyasah—the daughter of Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz—spoke about her memoir Growing Up X and how educational attainment is a key to alleviating poverty.

Students in Mecosta, Newaygo, and Osceola counties were engaged in grantmaking and leadership development as part of our Youth Advisory Committees.

We worked with the Newaygo County Economic Development Partnership in their efforts to attract state grants, leverage resources, and make plans to enhance our community.

We hosted Congressman John Moolenaar, Representative Joseph Fox, and Senator Rick Outman to talk about Newaygo County, surrounding communities, and priorities for citizen well-being. I also participated in Foundations on the Hill to advocate for philanthropic issues on Capitol Hill.

We launched our updated strategic framework. Guided by our refreshed goals and guiding principles, we began to engage in more trust-based philanthropy, streamlined our governance structure, and look for opportunities for positive disruption.

We loved spending time meeting with donors, community leaders, and neighbors to listen to their stories and dreams for the Community Foundation.

Your partnership made all of these things—and much more—possible in 2023. We look forward to continuing to serve our community with you in 2024. Thank you, and happy holidays!