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. Before submitting your grant proposal, you must schedule a pre-application conversation with a member of our Community Investment team. This conversation must be scheduled at least two weeks before the grant application deadline. Grant decisions are made about two months after submission deadlines. To learn more or schedule your pre-application conversation, contact Jessica Aguilera at 269.381.4416 or jaguilera@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.

Grants awarded from the LGBT Equality Fund support greater Kalamazoo area nonprofits that promote equality and celebrate appreciation for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning community members who live, work and raise their families here. The LGBT Equality Fund has four goals:

• Advocate for human rights and equality to positively impact Kalamazoo County's LGBT community;
• Promote social justice and unity;
• Support activities that celebrate the rich social and cultural contributions of the LGBT community; and
• Strengthen organizations that serve the physical, health and social or emotional needs of the gay and transgender community.

The LGBT Equality Fund’s priority areas are:

• People of Color
• Youths
• Families
• Transgender
• Cross-generational
• Leadership Development

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

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, please contact Bobbe Luce at 269.381.4416 or bluce@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 Bobbe Luce at 269.381.4416 or bluce@kalfound.org.