News

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: […]

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 […]

Fremont Area Community Foundation hosted its annual Fall Donors Luncheon at the Heritage Museum of Newaygo County on September 24. Nearly 70 people attended the luncheon and heard updates on the Community Foundation’s work. Shelly Kasprzycki, the Community Foundation’s president and CEO, provided a progress report on the organization’s strategic workplan. “We’ve created a legacy […]

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 […]

Here are a list of resources from the grantwriting workshop on August 8: Dorothy A. Johnson Center grantwriting basics and resources Fremont Area Community Fondation grant rounds Amazing X Charitable Trust grantmaking guidelines Bridging Generations Fund grantmaking guidelines Fremont Area Community Foundation grantmaking guidelines Lake County Community Foundation grantmaking guidelines Mecosta County Community Foundation grantmaking […]

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 […]

Fremont Area Community Foundation recently awarded $2.7 million in its first community grant round of 2024. Grants were awarded to a variety of organizations and programs serving Newaygo County residents, including waterway restoration and protection, art programs, after-school programs, and more. Most grants targeted one of the Community Foundation’s three focus areas: community development, education, […]

At their June meeting, our Board of Trustees elected new trustees Julie Burrell and Dorothy Paris. Burrell is a Hesperia High School graduate and is the senior economic development director for Newaygo County with The Right Place. She holds a degree from Grand Valley State University and serves on our Impact Investment Committee as well […]

Our Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) recently awarded $59,410 in grants to several programs serving Newaygo County youth. Grants were awarded to programs provided social, recreational, and educational opportunities for local youth as well as those supporting Newaygo County young people facing challenges with vaping and drug use, mental health, and other issues. TrueNorth Community Services […]

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 […]