Community Grants to improve the Quality of Life in Newaygo County (Michigan) - fundsforNGOs

The Fremont Area Community Foundation is accepting applications for its Community Grants to partner with organizations and programs meeting critical local needs.

Donor Name: Fremont Area Community Foundation

State: Michigan

County: Newaygo County (MI)

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 09/01/2023

Details:

The Foundation’s core purpose is to improve the quality of life in Newaygo County. The foundation focuses on three key areas and corresponding decade goals:

Education: Increase the proportion of residents with college degrees, certifications, or credentials to 60 percent
Poverty to prosperity: Reduce poverty to at or below the national average
Community and economic development: Maintain unemployment rate at or below the national average.

Priority Areas

Education

Grant applications are required to meet one of these focus areas:

Early childhood investments (kindergarten readiness)
- Programs that align with this priority area demonstrate a measurable approach to prepare students for kindergarten
STEAM education opportunities
- Programs that align with this priority area provide opportunities to explore areas of STEAM: science, technology, engineering, arts, and math
Literacy programs
- Programs that align with this priority area strive to increase individual’s literacy proficiency
Remediation opportunities
- Programs that align with this priority area assist student learning retention and reduce the achievement gap
Creating positive college and career-oriented culture (community/parental involvement)
- Programs that align with this priority area focus on programming that offers social/emotional support or removing barriers to college and career success.

Poverty to Prosperity

Grant applications are required to meet one of these focus areas:

Self-sufficiency (personal development or skill-building with individuals)
- Programs that align with this priority area identify and develop efficient pathways to increase the level of self-sufficiency of individuals by building upon individual strengths
Asset development (personal asset development of individuals)
- Programs that align with this priority area identify and develop efficient pathways to help individuals build personal assets
Social capital and empowerment (increase supportive relationships and networking of individuals)
- Programs that align with this priority area increase opportunities for individuals to build social networks, supportive relationships, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and sense of empowerment.

Community and Economic Development

Grant applications are required to meet one of these focus areas:

Small business development
- The majority of businesses in Newaygo County have less than 10 employees. Programs that align with this priority area will encourage the growth of locally-owned businesses and assist with increasing their ability to create jobs and hire unemployed and underemployed residents
Entrepreneurship development
- Entrepreneurs present new opportunities for their local economy. Programs that align with this priority area support an entrepreneurial culture that encourages residents to explore their ideas and supports the establishment of new local businesses
Workforce development
- Many people who are unemployed or underemployed are unable to fully participate in the workforce due to a gap between their skills and the skills needed for good jobs. Programs that align with this priority area will focus on closing the skills gap by strengthening households economically and increasing the competitiveness of local businesses through a stronger workforce
Capacity of local community and economic development partners
- Local community and economic development organizations strengthen and grow the local economy. Programs that align with this priority area will increase the capacity of these organizations to work towards measurable outcomes and collaborate both locally and regionally
Natural resources promotion and utilization
- Newaygo County boasts a wealth of natural resources. Programs that align with this priority area promote the utilization of these natural resources in ways that will positively impact the local economy while preserving the rural character.

The Foundation funds

The Community Foundation places special emphasis on issues and projects that are poised to transform the quality of life for Newaygo County residents. Through this competitive grantmaking process, they prioritize opportunities with:

Impact with measurable results
- The Foundation seeks to partner with and support nonprofit organizations that create long-term solutions to the core causes of social, economic, and educational disparity
Organizational strength to encourage institution sustainability
- The Foundation focuses on creating a stronger nonprofit infrastructure in Newaygo County by providing core operating support to organizations whose work is aligned with their focus areas
Network of partnerships/collaboration for maximum leverage
- To increase success in achieving positive outcomes, they fund organizations that are capable of working with other partners in results-oriented collaborations
- The Foundation supports holistic, multi-disciplinary and integrated methods that address local conditions and concerns
- Special consideration will be given to applications that incorporate a variety of partners. In order to promote sustainable projects, priority will be given to programs that do not require the Community Foundation to be the sole collaborator or first-dollars-in
Inclusion that demonstrates need
- To ensure the inclusion of underrepresented geographic areas and individuals, they encourage applications from organizations that represent and serve people and/or communities historically excluded from access to funding sources.