9/18/2024

ALPENA—The Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan (CFNEM) recently awarded a new round of Community Impact grants and Northeast Michigan Women’s Giving Circle (WGC) grants covering a four-county area that includes Alcona, Alpena, Montmorency, and Presque Isle Counties. The Board of Trustees recently approved 50 new grants totaling $149,585.

$104,797 awarded in new Community Impact grants are:

1. Alpena Childcare & Development Center - $1,000 for a Toddler Play Kitchen.
2. Alpena County - $3,000 for the Starfish Aquatics Institute.
3. Alpena Gymnastics, Inc. - $1,000 for the Little Tykes project.
4. Alpena Senior Citizens Center - $5,000 for Meals on Wheels.
5. Association of Lifelong Learners - $1,800 for the Expanding Hybrid Meeting Equipment for Enhanced User Experience project.
6. Barton City Volunteer Fire Department - $2,000 for the Emergency Shelter.
7. Boys and Girls Club of Alpena - $5,000 for the Triple Play (Mind, Body and Soul) program.
8. Common Ground - $5,000 for the Behavioral Health Urgent Care (BHUC) Outreach to Northeast Michigan.
9. Green Township Fire Department - $2,218 for Green Township Fire Department light towers.
10. Habitat for Humanity Northeast Michigan - $3,418 for the Building Affordable Housing for Alpena project.
11. Harrisville Arts Council - $4,000 for the Harrisville Arts Council Mural project.
12. Harrisville United Methodist Church - $5,000 for the Feeding Alcona County Families project.
13. Heroes - $3,000 for the Heroes Events and Start-up project.
14. Hillman Area Senior Citizens - $5,000 to purchase a generator.
15. Hubbard Lake Baptist/Bible Church - $3,500 for the Feeding the Hungry project.
16. Junior Achievement of North Central Michigan - $3,000 for the Revitalizing Junior Achievement program.
17. Lions Club of Michigan Service Foundation - $5,000 for the Mobile Pantry service expansion.
18. NEMCSA - $5,000 for the Ensuring Exploration in the Winter Months project.
19. Park Family Foundation, LLC - $2,000 for the Thunderbay / Aplex Martial Arts Equipment purchase.
20. Pegasus Springs Therapeutic Riding Center - $2,500 for Fortifying Families / Year-Round Support & Scholarships.
21. PoWeR! Book Bags - $2,000 for the EmPoWeRing Little Learners in Alpena, Montmorency and Presque Isle project.
22. Presque Isle Conservation District - $3,320 for Wetland Trails Improvement at Herman Vogler Conservation Area.
23. Presque Isle County Historical Museum - $4,000 for the Bradley House Roof Renovation.
24. Presque Isle Township Fire Department - $3,123 for the 911 Reflective Sign project.
25. Presque Isle Township Museum Society, Inc. - $1,000 for the Crapo Lifeboat Restoration project.
26. Rayola Inc. - $5,000 for the Northern Michigan Foster Children project.
27. St. John Lutheran School - $5,000 for the Pam Stenzel - Sex, Love, and Relationships program.
28. the Poetics Lab - $1,300 for the Poetics Lab After School Poetry Club.
29. The Stone House Studio - $2,000 for the Writing Your Story project.
30. The Sunset Project - $3,000 for the Local Creative Highlights project.
31. Thunder Bay Curling Club - $1,200 for the Learn to Curl program.
32. Thunder Bay Theatre - $3,418 to update lighting equipment.
33. Touchstone Services Incorporated (Light of Hope) - $3,000 for the Media Center project.
     

Community Impact grants are awarded at CFNEM through two different grant cycles throughout the year. For granting purposes, the Community Endowment Fund consists of the Community Endowment Fund, Genite Family Fund, Chuck and Kathy Ingle Fund, Lappan Fund, Neva Nelson Memorial Fund, Panel Processing Fund, Pfeiffenberger Fund, Marianne Kalivoda Hall Memorial Fund, Reitz Family Fund, Stevens Fund, and Weinkauf Fund. Additional funds supporting grants for this cycle include the Ann M. Kuntz Fund, Mr. and Mrs. O.B. Eustis Memorial Fund, Montmorency County General Fund, Wayne Wire Cloth Products Fund, Alcona General Fund, Alcona County Health Care Initiative Fund, United Communities of Presque Isle Fund, Lewiston Industrial Development Fund, Presque Isle General Fund, Huron Shores Health Fund, and the Spendable Tobacco Fund.

The Community Foundation also approved $44,788 through the annual round of Northeast Michigan Women’s Giving Circle grants. These grants are reviewed and recommended annually by a committee of ten WGC members who serve two-year terms. WGC grants are awarded for issues important to the women of northeast Michigan from the WGC Endowment Fund.

2024 WGC grants include:

1. Alcona Youth Baseball and Softball - $1,000 for the Facility Updates project.
2. Alpena & Presque Isle Child Abuse and Neglect Team - $2,850 for the Fall Family Pantry and Laundry Support project.
3. Alpena County - $1,250 for the Alpena Plaza Pool Lifeguard Training Education project.
4. Alpena First United Methodist - $1,500 for the Hearts to Home project.
5. Alpena Gymnastics, Inc. - $500 for Youth Development project.
6. Alpena Senior Citizens Center - $5,000 for the Meals on Wheels project.
7. Friends of the Alpena Courts - $5,000 for the Bayview Reconstruction project.
8. Friends of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary - $2,588 for the Sanctuary Labyrinth project.
9. Grace Lutheran Church - $3,000 for the Grace Lutheran’s Church’s Little Food Pantry project.
10. Hubbard Lake Baptist/Bible Church - $5,000 for the Feeding the Hungry project.
11. PoWeR! Book Bags - $4,000 for the Little Learners of Alpena, Montmorency, and Presque Isle project.
12. Rayola Inc. - $4,000 for the Rayola Comfort Packages project.
13. Sunrise Centre Inc. - $1,000 for the Recovery Recreation project.
14. the Poetics Lab - $1,500 for the HOMES Haiku Competition project.
15. The Sunset Project - $1,500 for the Local Creative Highlights project.
16. Thunder Bay Folk Society, Inc. - $3,500 for the Thunder Bay Folk Festival project.
17. United Way of Northeast Michigan - $1,600 for the Project Connects - Montmorency County project.
     

The next opportunity for submitting grant applications is through the Northeast Michigan Youth Advisory Council for youth programs in Alcona, Alpena, Montmorency and/or Presque Isle County. Apply online through the Community Foundation Grant Portal at cfnem.org. Applications are due by October 15, 2024.

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 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 students and local community nonprofits now and forever.

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