News & Events

With the beautiful spring season in full bloom, we are so pleased to welcome two new staff members to our team, Shelly Henderson and Greg Poches.

Shelly grew up in this area and is a former county employee. Her new position with the Community Foundation includes assisting with the grant administration process and supporting our affiliate foundations and supporting organizations.

Greg is our new community investment officer, specializing in community and economic development and natural resources. He is a lifelong Newaygo County resident, loves the outdoors, and has a business and environmental background. Please join me in welcoming Greg and Shelly to the world of philanthropy!

Did you know April was National Financial Literacy Month? A 2021 survey showed that as many as 75 percent of American teens lack confidence in their knowledge of personal finance. In a world barraged with messages about purchasing, teaching children about money is essential. P.T. Barnum said, “Money is good for nothing unless you know the value of it by experience.” The Community Foundation funds an array of programs to support financial literacy. You can also find some practical tips in one of our most recent professional advisor articles.

We are grateful for people like you who make the grants, scholarships, and programs we support possible. Please stop in today or call me if you’d like to be a part of sharing philanthropy. And enjoy the blooms and all Newaygo County has to offer!

Recently, I served as part of the Foundations on the Hill 2023 team in Washington, D.C. This annual event is an opportunity for Council of Michigan Foundations member philanthropists to visit Capitol Hill and share the power of philanthropy in their communities. Our legislators see the charitable sector as a key partner in serving community needs and initiatives. Community foundations in particular are viewed as neutral partners who have excellent data and work closely with grantees, community leaders, and citizens to solve problems.

During the event, teams were devised to meet with various regional representatives. For our area, we met with Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, as well as Congressmen John Moolenaar and Bill Huizenga. In addition, we met with two Treasury representatives to talk about reverse scholarships and charitable tax credit issues. Reverse scholarships can be a tool for talent attraction and retention and address student loan reduction as a means to entice young people to return to their home communities to live and work.

Foundations on the Hill 2023 promoted restoration of the charitable tax credit for donations and asked that the federal government not require “spend downs” of donor advised funds. In addition, we promoted the value of the charitable sector as a key to addressing community problems and leading initiatives. Council of Michigan Foundations had the largest delegation of foundation leaders as part of the United Philanthropy Forum.

On a personal note, between briefings and meetings, we enjoyed a visit to the Capitol, but I highly recommend anyone traveling to Washington, D.C. visit the Library of Congress. It has breathtaking architecture and history!

As we kick off 2023, we are delighted to approach philanthropy with a renewed mission and strategic framework. We’ll be sharing details early in the year as we finalize our work plan and partner with donors to fulfill our promise to make our community even more vibrant.

I count my blessings to work with such generous people to make our community a better place. I am so optimistic about our future! Did you know that Newaygo County recently ranked 13th among small counties for talent attraction across the nation? That we saw positive increases from 2017-2021 in educational attainment and availability of jobs? These statistics, from Lightcast’s annual talent attraction scorecard, demonstrate our steadfast commitment to make real progress. That takes all of us working together, and the Community Foundation is proud to be a strong partner in our success.

On a personal note, my heart is warmed through by the strength of services for the most vulnerable in our community. I know we can do even more, and the Community Foundation staff and trustees are more committed than ever to making that happen. Call me anytime with your thoughts. I wish you a safe and happy winter season.

As we near the holiday season, we are reminded of the oft-spoken quote, “Peace on earth and goodwill to all.” The Community Foundation is celebrating successes in partnership with our donors to improve quality of life for all people in Newaygo County and surrounding communities. We are proud of our staff and trustee team, the grants and scholarships awarded, and the relationships built. But we also know the value of combining goodwill with innovation, of reaching even farther to build and leverage partnerships and resources, and of facilitating change one step at a time.

This year, we embarked on a new strategic planning process. We will be implementing a plan that continues to address poverty, education, and community and economic development, but also prioritizes civility, placemaking, and the environment. We hope to strengthen our community investments through leveraging additional funds from federal, state, and private sources. We look forward to taking a proactive approach to one of our biggest local issues: affordable housing.

Civility and how we embody goodwill will be embraced in our work. We hope you will join us in setting aside differences to work together and lift up our communities. I’m so delighted to lead the Community Foundation, thanks to the wonderful people who make that leadership possible.

I recently read George Washington’s Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior. He copied these rules from French Jesuits at age 16. Some seem silly—“Rule 16:  Do not puff up the cheeks, loll not out the tongue….”—but others carry just as much gravity now. My favorite is the 110th rule: “Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.”

Let us follow that 110th rule and bear goodwill to all this season. We are truly grateful for you, and we wish you and your family a blessed holiday season.

Dear friends:

As we begin a new year, I enjoy the task of preparing a new notebook, full of possibilities, ideas, tasks, and plans. I am reminded of the words of songwriter Brad Paisley, “Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365-page book.” Together, I want our community to write an excellent 2022 book.

We are kicking off 2022 following a banner year for grantmaking and investments. Changes in leadership took place, and our team feels stronger than ever. Change can be difficult, but the Community Foundation team rose to the challenge, and Newaygo County residents couldn’t have been more welcoming to me.

Coming in 2022, we anticipate enhancing our community investments through strengthened grant processes and refreshed community partnerships. I appreciate all the visits I’ve had with residents and look forward to many more. The legacy of past donors and involvement of current donors has funded many programs supporting the reduction of poverty, our vibrant arts and cultural community, preservation of history, literacy, youth development, recycling, economic development work, and scholarships. The breadth and depth of the grants awarded is amazing, and we are grateful to you for being a part of it.

Though the past two years have been difficult, I believe this community has great assets and, together, we can overcome the challenges we face with real solutions, one step at a time. Our Board of Trustees and staff will look at our lessons learned and update our strategic plan and how we implement grants, partnerships, and work with donors.

Thank you for being a part of our Community Foundation, and we look forward to sharing exciting updates this year.