Other Grant Opportunities

The John E. Fetzer Institute Fund is an Advised Fund of the Kalamazoo Community Foundation. Funding requests of up to $5,000 are considered. A committee of five Fetzer Institute staff members makes recommendations to the Kalamazoo Community Foundation board of trustees for grants based on submitted proposals. Grant decisions are made about two months after submission deadlines. To learn more, contact Amy Slancik at 269.381.4416 or aslancik@kalfound.org.

Each year, high school students who participate in Youth United Way make decisions about and provide grants to area nonprofits. Their goal is to help make Kalamazoo County a better place to live. To learn more, contact the Greater Kalamazoo United Way at 269.343.2524.

This fund enables nonprofit organizations to provide first-time overnight summer camp experiences to low-income Kalamazoo County youths ages 7 through 10. To learn more, contact Amy Slancik at 269.381.4416 or aslancik@kalfound.org.

Grants awarded from the Equality Fund support greater Kalamazoo area nonprofits that work to foster an understanding of and respect for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning community members. The Equality Fund has four community investment priorities:

• Create awareness of civil rights and equality issues that impact the greater Kalamazoo area's GLBT community;
• Initiate opportunities for respectful dialogue and education among GLBT and non-GLBT people as a way of increasing understanding;
• Strengthen organizations that serve or want to serve the needs of GLBT youths and families; and
• Support activities that highlight the rich social and cultural contributions of the GLBT community.

To learn more, contact Amy Slancik at 269.381.4416 or aslancik@kalfound.org.

This fund supports programs that enable adults with developmental disabilities to participate in camping, travel and community outing activities. To learn more, contact Amy Slancik at 269.381.4416 or aslancik@kalfound.org.

Grants from these two funds support programs that promote health for Kalamazoo and Van Buren County young people and older adults. To learn more, contact Amy Slancik at 269.381.4416 or aslancik@kalfound.org.

Awarded in collaboration with the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo, this fund provides support to programs, organizations and individual artists in Kalamazoo County. To learn more, please contact the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo.

The Community Foundation holds three Field-of-Interest Funds that address community needs related to the environment:

• The Spirit of Community: Environment Fund, which supports projects that educate and engage citizens about environmental issues; evaluate, protect and improve natural areas and resources; and build healthy, sustainable communities. The application deadline for grants from this fund is the first business day of October.
• The Sustainable Community Endowment Fund, which is dedicated to advancing an environmental ethic that links environmental protection with economic development. Applications for grants from this fund can be submitted at any time and are reviewed upon receipt.
• The Sustainable Community Watershed Endowment Fund, which provides support to projects that address watershed management issues, such as the identification and quantification of pollutant loading from storm water runoff and other nonpoint source discharges. The application deadline for grants from this fund is the first business day of October.

To learn more, contact Jessica Aguilera at 269.381.4416 or jaguilera@kalfound.org.

Capacity Building Grants provide support that enables nonprofits to identify and address organizational development challenges through resources, training and skill building. These grants are meant to enhance an organization's ability to achieve measurable and sustainable results. Capacity Building Grants generally range in size from $1,500 to $2,500 and have funded activities like strategic planning, merger explorations and training in the areas of fiscal management, diversity, evaluation and leadership.To learn more, contact Sharon Anderson at 269.381.4416 or sanderson@kalfound.org.

Mini-grants (usually around $1,500 per grant) are available to nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations for needs that are urgent in nature. These requests must fit within our community investment priorities. Requests generally are reviewed within two weeks of receiving the application. To learn more, contact Oemeeka Liggins at 269.381.4416 or oliggins@kalfound.org.