The Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan (CFNEM) Board of Trustees approved a new round of youth-related grants from the Northeast Michigan Youth Advisory (YAC) on March 10, 2026. $23,225 in grants will support young people in Alcona, Alpena, Montmorency, and Presque Isle Counties. YAC members review grant applications and hear presentations from applicants about their project before making recommendations to the CFNEM Board for approval.

Winter 2026 YAC grants awarded are:

• $2,500 awarded to Harrisville Arts Council for their Harrisville Arts Council Youth Arts, Culture & Humanities Workshops.
• $2,500 awarded to Northern Michigan Youth Athletics for their Cubs Off-Season Youth Wellness & Safety Initiative project.
• $2,000 awarded to Lions Club of Alpena Memorial Fund for their Play - Learn - Care for Our Community project.
• $2,000 awarded to Hillman Methodist Church for their Back to School Bash project.
• $2,000 awarded to Posen Consolidated Schools for their Great Lakes Plastic Pollution Research & Stewardship Trip.
• $1,800 awarded to Hinks Parent Teacher Organization for their Henry Ford Field Trip.
• $1,625 awarded to Michigan 4-H Foundation for their 4-H Ocqueoc Summer Camp.
• $1,400 awarded to United Way of Northeast Michigan for their Building Swimming Skills and Self Esteem project.
• $1,250 awarded to Thunder Bay Transportation Authority for their Youth Wellness program.
• $1,179 awarded to Lincoln Pop-Up Pantry for their Lincoln Pop-Up Pantry project.
• $1,000 awarded to Northeast Michigan Center for Fine Arts, Inc. (Art in the Loft) for their Summer Partnership project.
• $1,000 awarded to United Way of Northeast Michigan for their Imagination Playground project.
• $981 awarded to Hillman Community Schools for their Growing the Game of Golf project.
• $835 awarded to Rogers City Community Theatre Inc. for their Mary Poppins, Jr. project.
• $500 awarded to St. John Lutheran Church for their Sewing for Charity project.
• $355 awarded to Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library for their Tween and Teen Library Loot Boxes project.
• $300 awarded to Onaway Area Community Schools for their Saltwater Ecosystem project.
   

The next opportunities for submitting grant applications are through the Northeast Michigan Women’s Giving Circle and Community Impact Grant with respective grant deadlines of July 1, 2026, and July 15, 2026. Applications are available at cfnem.org.

The Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan is a charitable organization committed to providing people who care about the future of our area with unique and effective ways of supporting their community now, and for generations to come. Led by a volunteer board of local citizens, the foundation oversees a group of permanent endowment funds from a wide range of donors. Gifts of all sizes from individuals, families, businesses, and agencies are invested in a balanced, well-managed portfolio to build endowments, enabling support for local community nonprofits now and forever. To donate or learn more about how community foundations work, visit cfnem.org or call 989-354-6881; toll-free: 877-354-6881.

Photo: Northeast Michigan Youth Advisory Council (NEMYAC) members during their Winter 2026 grant review meeting.

#####