Partners in Philanthropy / April 2017

Partners in Philanthropy Partnering with you to love Kalamazoo

April 2017

You’ve already shown your love for this community by creating an Advised Fund at the Community Foundation. Through Partners in Philanthropy, we offer you an opportunity to demonstrate that love again by supporting one or more of the projects highlighted with a grant suggestion from the fund you established. The programs shared in this publication are among the recent funding requests we’ve received from local nonprofit organizations.

Welcoming Kalamazoo “We expect new legal challenges with respect to the integration of immigrants into our community,” says Susan Reed, managing attorney for Michigan Immigrant Rights Center.

“Undocumented immigrants in the Kalamazoo area are facing unprecedented uncertainty about their rights and status in a complex policy environment that is changing rapidly,” she adds.

MIRC is doing something about this through Welcoming Kalamazoo.

“Our central message is one of shared prosperity,” says Reed.

“When Michigan welcomes immigrants, Michigan thrives.”

And MIRC is getting results: Local law enforcement is eliminating the use of “illegal” in references to undocumented residents; Kalamazoo County is developing an ID card program that will benefit immigrant, refugee and other minority communities; and the City of Kalamazoo has adopted a “Welcoming” resolution.

5.2%

increase in migration to Kalamazoo County from 2005 to 2011* *most recent data available

250 refugees settled in Kalamazoo County in 2016

Previous support from the Community Foundation helped MIRC increase community engagement and join with 14 other Michigan municipalities as members of the national Welcoming Cities and Counties initiative.

With additional resources, MIRC can expand its leadership, public engagement and countywide communications to increase knowledge, inclusion and integration. A more immigrant-friendly community “where immigrants are fully included and able to share their unique economic, cultural and social contributions” will benefit everyone, says Reed.

To support this program, select Michigan Immigrant Rights Center on the grant suggestion form.

12,153 immigrant households in Kalamazoo County

Photo Courtesy of Michigan Immigrant Rights Center

More Co-Investment Opportunities The Arc Community Advocates / Educational Advocacy in Kalamazoo County These co-investment opportunities highlight some recent funding requests from local nonprofit organizations.

If you want to support one or more of these projects through the Advised Fund you established at the Community Foundation, please make a grant suggestion using Kalamazoo Connect — just go to www.kalfound.org and click on the green Kalamazoo Connect link at the top of the page — or complete the grant suggestion form on page four and return it to us by email, USPS or fax.

You also may email members of our Donor Relations team, who are available to provide you with more information about these and other community needs.

See page four for contact information.

The Arc Community Advocates serves individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. Through Education Advocacy they reduce barriers to needed support systems. Factors can include a lack of accommodations to fit a child’s learning needs and behavior challenges, transient families, disengaged parents and schools that are out of compliance. Educational Advocacy will help students and families navigate these challenges, primarily by helping parents get the support their students need. Since no student is the same, the focus of The Arc’s work is finding tailored solutions to individual needs. Your dollars will provide special education advocacy and training for individuals |and families throughout Kalamazoo County. To support this project, select The Arc Community Advocates on the grant suggestion form.

Educating for Freedom in Schools / Freedom Schools Educating for Freedom In Schools needs funding to help provide after-school and summer programming for 100 families. These programs will increase literacy skills, social and emotional competence, and parents’ knowledge about helping their children succeed.

Using a literacy-based model developed by Children’s Defense Fund, this multi-cultural curriculum encourages students to realize they have more commonalities than differences.

Programming with the theme I Can Make a Difference will be held at Spring Valley Center for Exploration Elementary School in Kalamazoo. To support this program, select Educating for Freedom in Schools on the grant suggestion form.

Guardian Finance and Advocacy Services / Road to Sustainability 2017 Guardian Finance and Advocacy Services has been serving vulnerable adults in Southwest Michigan for more than 50 years and is the area’s largest provider of public fiduciary services. The organization’s core mission is to bring stability, dignity and optimum independence to all those served. Road to Sustainability is a continuation of its four-year initiative to expand services that promote independence and create financial viability. Guardian has developed a unique mix of staff skilled in complex financial management along with a passion to serve. Guardian is working to grow cost-effective professional fiduciary services, while also increasing their organizational sustainability.

Supporting this work will complete the development of Guardian’s full-product offerings and increase its efforts to provide proactive assistance to individuals and families instead of solving problems that have already developed. To support this program, select Guardian Finance and Advocacy Services on the grant suggestion form.

Grad Nation Summit Participants | Photo Courtesy of Douglass Community Association

Moving Toward The Promise Douglass Community Association serves the Northside neighborhood of Kalamazoo, the neighborhood with the highest concentration of low-income and minority households in the city.

And they know mental health and related support services for youth and their families in the neighborhood is connected to the ability of these students to take advantage of The Kalamazoo Promise.

Their approach?

Douglass is building a framework of equity and customized services to address each individual’s particular needs. Existing programs include GIRLS, focusing on emotional, physical and intellectual supports; and Grad Nation Summit, focusing on success for young men of color.

Moving Toward The Promise, the name for this ambitious work, will expand efforts that contribute to increased graduation.

“Without the necessary supports — the ability to have your basic needs met — The Kalamazoo Promise cannot be realized,” says Executive Director Chéree Thomas.

While Moving Toward The Promise is focused on student success, it also recognizes that the adults in students’ lives also need support to reach their full potential in order to help their children. Your dollars will provide therapist and other professional services to 300 families.

To support this project, select Douglass Community Association on the grant suggestion form.

Partners in Philanthropy / April 2017

Grant Suggestion Form To suggest a grant in support of one or more of the projects listed in this publication, please complete this form and return it to the Kalamazoo Community Foundation. You also may suggest grants online using Kalamazoo Connect at https://connect.kalfound.org or by emailing a member of our Donor Relations team.

I/We would like to recommend one or more grants from the fund named below in the amount(s) indicated.

I/We acknowledge that any grant suggestion made does not represent the payment of a personal pledge or other financial obligation, nor is any personal benefit from this charitable distribution expected.

Name Fund Name Telephone Email

Signature Date

q Michigan Immigrant Rights Center

$

q The Arc Community Advocates

$

q Educating for Freedom in Schools $ q Guardian Finance and Advocacy Services

$

q Douglass Community Association

$

Our Donor Relations Team Raven Britt / 269.585.7273 / rbritt@kalfound.org Coby Chalmers / 269.585.7249 / cchalmers@kalfound.org Joanna Donnelly Dales / 269.585.7260 / jdales@kalfound.org Ann Fergemann / 269.585.7238 / afergemann@kalfound.org Julie Loncharte / 269.585.7270 / jloncharte@kalfound.org

402 East Michigan Avenue

Kalamazoo, MI 49007-3888

t 269.381.4416

f 269.381.3146

e info@kalfound.org