2/28/2024
The North Central Michigan Community Foundation’s (NCMCF) Youth Advisory Councils, or YACs awarded $19,579 in new grants to Crawford, Ogemaw and Oscoda Counties for programs benefiting their peers and their communities.
The NCMCF Board of Directors approved the YAC’s 17 grant award recommendations in February 2024. Grants awarded include:
- $3,900 to Ana’s Treasures through three grants for the “Ana’s Essentials” project providing clothing, shoes, schools supplies, toys, and hygiene products to children in foster care.
- $2,500 to Pegasus Springs Therapeutic Riding Center to support Ogemaw County youth with costs to attend the Center’s equine therapy programs.
- $3,250 to Northern Michigan Children’s Assessment Center through three grants for its Victim Service Assistance program serving Crawford, Ogemaw, and Oscoda County.
- $359 to Lydia’s Gate to purchase mattress protection covers for beds at the shelter.
- $1,750 to Rayola, Inc. through three grants to purchase comfort care packages for foster children in Crawford, Ogemaw, and Oscoda Counties.
- $500 to West Branch First United Methodist Church for the GAP Kids Camp.
- $2,500 to Ogemaw Youth Basketball Organization for its STORM Development project, which is for startup costs associated with the new program.
- $500 to AuSable Valley Nor-east’r Association of Folk for music workshops in Oscoda County.
- $500 to Ogemaw County Helping Hands to purchase basic needs items for their Ogemaw County Help Shelf project.
- $1,320 to Michigan Center for Civic Education for a Civic Education Access Initiative for Ogemaw Heights High School students to attend a mock trial.
- $2,500 to West Branch-Rose City Schools for an after-school STEM FUSE program.
The NCMCF YAC is a group of young people ages 12 to 21 from Crawford, Ogemaw, and Oscoda Counties. YAC connects youth to their communities through grantmaking and teaches the impact philanthropy has on the present and future.
The Community Foundation will host “YAC Day” online at ncmcf.org on May 7, 2024, to build awareness of what these Youth Advisory Councils do for their communities, and to help the YACs raise additional endowed funds to support their grantmaking in perpetuity.
The next deadline for grant opportunities through NCMCF is with the Community Impact Grant program. Applications are due June 30, 2024. Nonprofits, schools, and churches interested in applying for a Community Impact Grant can access the online application and criteria at ncmcf.org. If you have questions or need assistance with the application process, contact the NCMCF office at 877-354-6881.
NCMCF serves Crawford, Ogemaw, and Oscoda Counties, and is an affiliate of the Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan (CFNEM). CFNEM serves as the administrative arm for its affiliate foundations. NCMCF is led by a volunteer board of local citizens committed to providing people who care about the future of the region and its communities with unique and effective ways of supporting their community now, and for generations to come. The foundation oversees a group of permanently endowed 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 ncmcf.org or call 989-354-6881; toll-free: 877-354-6881.
Photo: Youth Advisory Council (YAC) members from NCMCF’s Crawford County YAC gather to hear presentations from grant applicants before making their recommendations on how funding will be distributed to the applying organizations.
#####