Grants Awarded

Kalamazoo Community Foundation makes community investments in quality programs that we believe will make Kalamazoo County a place where every person can reach full potential.

Kalamazoo Community Foundation (KZCF) awarded $2.2 million in grants to 48 Kalamazoo County nonprofits during the first of two rounds of its 2018 grantmaking. We collaborate and partner with nonprofits throughout Kalamazoo County in a variety of sectors, including food, housing and health. Local nonprofits also received grants and distributions from Advised, Field-of-Interest and Designated Funds. Each grant is made considering the impact it will have to help everyone in our county reach their full potential, considering alignment with our investment priorities of equity and education.

2018 First Round Grantees

  • AGW Dance Angel Network | Dance Arts & Culture in Kalamazoo County
  • Big Brothers-Big Sisters | One to One Mentoring
  • Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kalamazoo | Northeastern Unit Operations
  • Can-Do Kitchen | Inclusive Incubation Continued
  • Center for Transformation | Mentoring Formerly Incarcerated Individuals
  • Christian Neighbors | Neighbors Caring for Neighbors
  • City of Kalamazoo - Parks & Recreation | 2018 SuperRec Youth Summer Program
  • Communities In Schools of Kalamazoo | Integrated Student Services
  • Community Healing Centers, Inc. | Children’s Program Case Management
  • Community Healing Centers, Inc. | S.T.R.E.E.T. After School Program
  • Community Living Options | Camp Amigo 2018
  • Community Promise Federal Credit Union | Community Promise Federal Credit Union
  • Disability Network Southwest Michigan | Advocacy Academy
  • Douglass Community Association | Fulfilling our Promise to Our Community *
  • El Concilio | Nuevo Horizonte Grant
  • Fair Housing Center of Southwest Michigan | Fair Housing Engagement and Services
  • First Day Shoe Fund | 2018 Shoe Distribution
  • Generous Hand | Strategic Planning Project
  • Goodwill Industries of SWMI | Pathways to Equity II
  • Guardian Finance and Advocacy Services | Road to Sustainability
  • Healthy House | Healthy House
  • Heritage Community of Kalamazoo | Music Therapy in Assisted Living Communities
  • Intrepid Professional Women Network, Inc. | Dressing for Success, 2018
  • Kalamazoo County Public Housing Commission | Homeless millage evaluation
  • Kalamazoo County Ready 4s
  • Kalamazoo Covenant Academy
  • Kalamazoo Institute of Arts | Building a More inclusive Community Arts Resource
  • Kalamazoo Literacy Council | 2018 Everyone Needs to Read Adult Literacy Initiative *
  • Kalamazoo Loaves & Fishes | Food Security in Kalamazoo County
  • Kalamazoo Nature Center | Seeds to Cedars
  • Kalamazoo Neighborhood Housing Services | Homeownership Services for Low and Moderate Income Households
  • Kalamazoo RESA | Anti-Racism Education Capacity Building
  • Kalamazoo RESA | STEM Education in Kalamazoo County
  • Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra | Marvelous Music/Kalamazoo Kids In Tune/Orchestra Rouh
  • Leader Dogs for the Blind | Guide Dog and Mobility Programs for the Blind and Visually Impaired
  • Ministry with Community | Resource Center & Drop-In Program
  • Northside Best Babies Zone/Preschools | Northside Best Babies Zone/Preschools
  • Open Roads Bike Program | Youth-Driven Spaces: Capacity Expansion
  • Pretty Lake Camp | First-Time Campers Program
  • Read and Write Kalamazoo | 2017 – 18 Capacity Building & Project 802 Capital Request
  • Rootead Enrichment Center | Doula Support
  • Seeding Change (Great Lakes PeaceJam) | Compassion in Action - Anti-bullying Education
  • SLD Read
  • South County Community Services | Wednesday Winners: Program for Adults with Disabilities
  • Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy | Kalamazoo Eastside Hike Our Preserves (HOP!) Program
  • Speak it Forward | Speak It Forward, Speaks It Farther 2018
  • The Arc Community Advocates | FIND – Families and Individuals Navigating Decisions
  • United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region | KYD Network
  • Urban Alliance | Urban Alliance
  • YMCA of Greater Kalamazoo | Summer Achievers
  • Young Kings and Queens | R.O.Y.A.L. program
  • YWCA of Kalamazoo | Cradle Kalamazoo *

* Multi-year funding recipient, a KZCF pilot program. Click here to learn more about multi-year funding process.

2018 Second Round Grantees

  •  AACORN FARM INC. | AACORN Skill-building Program
  • Black Arts & Cultural Center
  • Building Blocks | Building Blocks Neighborhood Leader Academy
  • Community Homeworks | Critical Home Repair
  • Confident S.O.L.E
  • Eastside Youth Strong | Standing in Their Power - Eastside Youth Academic Success, Racial Equity, and Social Emotional Learning
  • Ecumenical Senior Center | Expansion of resources and services for Kalamazoo's most underserved senior citizens
  • ERAC/CE | Capacity building
  • Family & Children Services | Brain Connect
  • Fire Historical & Cultural Arts Collaborative
  • Girls On The Run of Greater Kalamazoo | Girls on the Run 2019
  • Gryphon Place | Gatekeeper Program (Youth Suicide Prevention Program)
  • Gryphon Place | Empowering Latina Leaders Advocates for Success (ELLAS)
  • Gurlz of Color: Set 4 Life!
  • Healthy House
  • Helen L. Fox Gospel Music Center
  • Housing Resources Inc. | Coordinated Entry/Every Heart Deserves a Home
  • ISAAC | Cultivating the Beloved Community
  • Justice for Our Neighbors - Michigan | Justice for Our Neighbors Kalamazoo Clinic
  • Kalamazoo Collective Housing | Affordable Housing Cooperative Property Purchase
  • First Congregation Church | Free part-time child care for low-income families
  • Kalamazoo Loaves & Fishes | Kalamazoo County Hunger-Free Community Coalition
  • Kalamazoo RESA | Kalamazoo County Career Readiness Initiative
  • Kalamazoo RESA | Building capacity in Early Childhood
  • Kalamazoo RESA/Valley Center | Social and emotional learning (SEL) curriculum
  • Kalamazoo RESA/Woodsedge Learning Center | The Artist in Residency Program
  • Lutheran Church of the Savior | Socioeconomic integration of African immigrants
  • Michigan Immigrant Rights Center | Legal Resource and Advocacy Center
  • Northside Association for Community Development | Aging Gracefully & Earning a Living
  • Kalamazoo Public Library | ONEplace@kpl
  • Open Doors Kalamazoo | Housing Without Borders
  • OutFront Kalamazoo | Building an intentional inclusive community *
  • Portage Community Center | Capacity building and youth program support
  • Project X
  • Seeds for Success | Parents as Teachers program
  • SHARE | The Racial Healing Initiative
  • Vibrant Kalamazoo | Activating Vacant Land: Side Lot & Adopt-A-Lot program
  • WMU Homer Stryker School of Medicine | Educational program to address health disparities in the LGBTQ+ population with focus on transgender population
  • YWCA | Early learning and racial equity projects
* Multi-year funding recipient, a KZCF pilot program. Click here to learn more about multi-year funding process.

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