Growing Capacity and Leadership Development

For many years now Grand Rapids Community Foundation has been on a journey of listening to reimagine what it looks like to strengthen and deepen our relationship with community. We have explored our role in supporting the nonprofit community in West Michigan. And, we have been examining how to best support smaller, grassroots organizations at various stages in their growth and development. Nonprofits in our community are often born from passionate people who care deeply about a cause impacting people close to them. Thus supporting nonprofits of all sizes benefits not only our sector, but our neighbors.

Making Room For Smaller Nonprofits

More than five years ago in our listening sessions, smaller nonprofits expressed frustration that funders often find it easier to see the benefits of supporting larger nonprofits. A preference for established organizations with large teams and budgets can leave limited dollars for smaller organizations. The Community Foundation sees benefit in a robust ecosystem with nonprofits of varying size and style, so we’ve explored ways to support more small organizations. This goal is rooted in our desire to center the experiences of those closest to the problems and invest in their solutions for bringing about change.

As researchers study funding patterns, new lessons have emerged. National statistics show that grassroots organizations receive less funding from major funders, and national funders award fewer grant dollars to organizations led by people of color. When these factors intersect, the impact can mean less funding for the projects with solutions for problems developed by the community most impacted. Also, organizations led by people of color see more restrictions on their funding.

Partnerships Disrupting The Norm

To disrupt this, the Community Foundation has revised and revisited its grant applications and policies. Beyond that, we have explored ways to invest differently into emerging nonprofits and their leaders. For smaller organizations, opportunities for leadership development can mean greater sustainability for the long term.

Two examples of the Community Foundation growing alongside nonprofits are through our partnerships with A Glimpse of Africa and Immigrant Assistance Center of West Michigan. As political climates shift, so too does the work of organizations supporting refugees and immigrants. These organizations not only face the cycles of growing a nonprofit but often must scale their organization to meet quickly emerging immediate needs, such as a refugee crisis resulting in larger influx of new members to our community. These nonprofits help refugees and immigrants navigate the many stages of legal paperwork, new cultures and finding a sense of belonging. It’s no easy feat and requires adaptable relationships with grant providers.

Grant Partnerships Making An Impact

A Glimpse of Africa brings people together to showcase, educate, celebrate and share the diverse African cultures. It fosters essential community programs that voice, advocate for and address African refugees' and immigrants' needs and disparities. A recent grant partnership with them supports their participation in collaborative efforts and community engagement for the African community in West Michigan. Adding more funds to the grant partnership helped support them with nonprofit consulting services. The fund addition came about because we could have honest conversations with AGOA about their needs. Without a new approach and relationships driven model, their true needs might not have surfaced.

Immigrant Assistance Center of West Michigan is rooted in community and birthed from personal skill and passion. It is one of the only nonprofit organizations providing immigration services led and founded by a woman of color. This valuable addition to the immigrant legal support ecosystem has rapidly grown over the last two years. IAC provides equal access to affordable legal services in Kent County, and our grant award supports their ability to offer reduced-fee immigration legal assistance.

Partnering With Community

Across Kent County, we are committed to creating a community that aggressively seeks to put an end to inequity. One way we make that happen is by adapting our policies and practices to be in greater alignment with our commitment to racial, social and economic justice. As we listen to community voices and our partners, we will continue to explore ways to live into truly being our community’s foundation—one that represents everyone we serve, responds to today’s pressing needs and builds for the future.