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Just before the birth of their daughter Evie, Wes and Melissa Miller started a build-a-fund at the Community Foundation. The process allows them to build up to the endowment fund minimum over a five-year period. Once completed, the Millers can recommend grants from their advised fund to the projects and causes that matter most to their family.

“We established the fund out of gratitude,” said Melissa. “We wanted to give back.”

Both Wes and Melissa grew up active in their communities, a priority that has extended into their adult lives. Wes is a program officer at the Community Foundation and Melissa is the coordinator of WE CAN! Newaygo County and mentor for Early College Newaygo County. Now they look forward to teaching their daughter about the importance of giving back.

“The fund will allow us to support good work in the community while teaching Evie about philanthropy,” said Wes. “We can tell her that we have this fund at the Community Foundation and we can use it to support the things we care about. We can make it a family tradition.”

“We’ve been blessed,” he added. “The resources that we’ve been given aren’t ours, we’re just stewards. Newaygo County has given us a lot and this is a great way to say thanks.”

Throughout his life, Chad Hickman made a difference in the lives of others.

“Anybody he crossed paths with in the community, he inspired,” said Chad’s brother Nathan. “He had passion, commitment, and drive. I’ve felt so fortunate to have him in my life.”

Chad was only four when he was diagnosed with life threatening brain tumors. The treatment that helped save his life also led to disabilities. Despite the challenges he faced, Chad’s life was defined by determination and joy.

“Chad didn’t let things get him down,” said Nathan. “I think the beauty of his life is that, despite everything, he reached a point of contentment.”

Chad loved cooking, bowling, and exercising at Tamarac. Above all, he had a special passion for environmental causes.

He composted, took pride in his garden, and continually looked for ways to conserve resources. He was also actively involved in recycling efforts. At his family’s business, Chad was personally responsible for recycling two million pounds of cardboard.

After Chad passed away in 2014, his parents Terry and Jackie, along with Nathan created the Chad Hickman Legacy Fund at the Community Foundation. It is a way for the family to continue Chad’s support of environmental causes while also giving back to the community.

“The community embraced him, loved him, and treated him as an equal,” said Nathan. “We created this fund to honor him and to thank the community that gave him an incredible quality of life.”

Community is important to Don and Marsha Van Singel. They both grew up in the Grant area and still live there today. Even in the years Don worked in Lansing as a state representative, Newaygo County was always home. But to the Van Singels, community is more than just a place. Above all, it’s about people.

“Life is about people and relationships,” said Marsha. “Otherwise it’s a pretty lonely existence.”

That’s why Marsha decorates their home inside and out each December so that even those just driving by can enjoy it. It’s also why the Van Singels have hosted neighborhood Christmas parties to ensure that at least once a year neighbors could reconnect.

And that belief in the importance of investing in people and relationships is why the Van Singels talk about giving back as a natural response to the gift of living in a community you love.

“I think it’s part of our area’s culture to give back,” said Marsha.

“Somebody along the way helped you, and now you can give back,” added Don. “It’s natural. If you’re able to help, you do.”

One of the ways Don and Marsha have chosen to help is by establishing a fund at the Community Foundation. It will allow them to continue caring for their community for generations to come.

“We’ve been blessed, and we wanted to give back to the community,” Don explained. “We just want to be helpful in some way.”

Roger and Becky Tuuk both trace their motivation for giving back to their parents.

Roger’s parents sent four children to Christian school on a factory worker’s salary. While there may not always have been much left over, they still made generosity a priority. “They always said if you give your 10 percent tithe, it comes back to you,” said Roger.

Becky learned similar lessons from her own parents who routinely gave to the causes they cared about, especially education and helping underrepresented students go to college.

Throughout their life together, Roger and Becky put these lessons into practice: saving, living simply, and faithfully supporting the things most important to them like education, the arts, conservation, and human service organizations.

Roger was the Community Foundation’s first full-time accountant and Becky was a teacher. After retiring from the workforce, the Tuuks established a donor-advised fund at the Community Foundation to enhance and continue their giving.

A donor-advised fund allows their initial gift to grow and ensures their support of the community will be permanent. “Now we can do more,” said Becky. “And it will continue after we’re gone.”

“We’ve been blessed,” said Roger of the couple’s commitment to the place they call home.

“And it’s true,” he remarked, remembering what he grew up hearing from his parents. “The more you give, the more comes back to you.”

For Fremont natives Jason and Kristin Brookhouse, creating a donor advised fund at Fremont Area Community Foundation was a way to demonstrate gratitude.

Both remember the early years of their marriage—when money was tight—with fondness. Over the years, Jason built a career in the automotive field at Hansen’s Collision and was astounded by the support he received. “People in the community supported [the business] and brought me their repairs,” he said.

When the business sold many years later, Jason and Kristin saw an opportunity to repay some of the generosity their family had received from the community.

The Brookhouses set up a donor advised fund as a way to give directly while also allowing their gift to grow into the future. They hope the fund will be part of a legacy of thankfulness carried on by their three children.

“The Community Foundation gave us the opportunity to give and to let our gift grow,” said Kristin. “There are so many opportunities to get involved and so much need. [Our children] can continue it. They can be deliberate about supporting things that excite them.”

Maggie Bailey loves her family, pets, flower gardens, and the Hesperia Community Library. Although she is in her 80s and no longer a regular physical presence at the library, she has made a donation every month for the last 10 years.

“My kids were out of school, I was alone, and I wanted to do something for my community,” explained Maggie. “If I had [the means], why not?”

Maggie loves the friendly staff and the pride that the library brings to the community. “I think it’s the most beautiful building in town,” she said with conviction. “A town needs something like this, and kids need a library to come to.”

Originally from the South, Maggie moved to Detroit and then to Hesperia in 1958. “When I was little we didn’t have too many books,” she remembered. “But I always enjoyed reading.” She first began visiting the library when her children were in school and began her regular financial support around the time funds were being raised for the new building.

Equally generous and humble, Maggie sees giving as a privilege and a responsibility. “You do what you can,” she said. “It doesn’t always take money; just do something.”