update kalamazoo community foundation | summer 2017
everyone needs to read How Kalamazoo Literacy Council helps adults reach their full potential by learning to read page 4
I first learned about the Kalamazoo Community Foundation because my mother volunteered here. In fact, she served on the Community Foundation’s Finance Committee and helped draft its first investment policy. She actually stepped down from the committee when I told her I was interested in applying for a job here. I still have the letter she wrote to then President/CEO Jack Hopkins. That was 22 years ago. Since then, KZCF has continued a great tradition of working hard to honor donor intent to impact our community, to make life better for all throughout Kalamazoo County. We strive to preserve and enhance the purchasing power of each gift.
Susan Springgate Vice President Finance and Administration
This effort, going back to 1925, has paid off. A recent survey of community foundations by New York City-based Colonial Consulting revealed our investment performance ranks in the top two percent for the 10-year period ending March 31, 2017. In this issue, you can see the comparisons between KZCF performance and our benchmarks on page six. How do we do it? Our investment strategy is one of disciplined asset allocation, regular rebalancing, minimizing fees and expenses, and not reacting to near-term market pressures or new investment fads. To keep you informed about our performance, we provide detailed investment updates in the annual report you recently received, in this newsletter and on our website. On behalf of the Finance and Administration team, thank you for being part of this success and for being part of our vision of a community where every person can reach full potential. It is a vision that has developed throughout our history in the community — a history I’m proud to say my mother was a part of.
give
receive
connect
Give online www.kalfound.org/give
What we fund We fund 501(c)(3) nonprofits for projects that fit within our community investment priorities and will benefit residents of Kalamazoo County. We also provide Kalamazoo area students with scholarships for education beyond high school.
(
269.381.4416
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www.kalfound.org
Mail a check Kalamazoo Community Foundation 402 East Michigan Avenue Kalamazoo, MI 49007-3888 Arrange a planned gift There are many ways for you to plan now for a gift later. To learn more, get in touch with our Donor Relations team at 269.381.4416 or donorrelations@kalfound.org.
What we don’t fund We don’t fund for-profit business development projects, private land purchases or private home purchases. Learn more at www.kalfound.org.
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facebook.com/kalfound pinterest.com/kalfound twitter.com/kalfound linkedin.com/company/kalfound instagram.com/kalfound
David Braganini | Photo courtesy of the Braganini family
Braganini family will help kids “be nice” Thanks to the Braganini family,
Says Kalamazoo Community
campaign, it may change the
be nice.® is coming to Kalamazoo
Foundation Donor Relations
course of someone’s life.
and Van Buren counties.
Officer Coby Chalmers, “While
be nice. is a school-based mental health awareness, bullying and suicide prevention initiative focused on school-wide change through
working with the Braganinis to establish this fund, I came to a deep appreciation of the breadth of this matter.”
This is the fifth fund created for be nice. at a West Michigan community foundation. The other funds are held at Grand Rapids Community Foundation, Community
simple, daily actions. be nice. uses
Chalmers adds, “It is gratifying
Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland
the “nice” acronym — notice they
to work with donors who are
Area, Community Foundation for
are hurting, invite them to get
creating a positive and proactive
Muskegon County and Oceana
assistance, challenge and empower
effort designed to educate students,
County Community Foundation.
them — to minimize and reduce
staff and families about depression,
devastating effects of bullying like
hopefully drastically reducing
depression and suicide.
incidence of suicide for years
Recently established in memory
to come.”
of the late president of St. Julian
Says John Braganini, David’s brother,
Winery, the David Braganini be nice.
“I found my way to the be nice.
Memorial Fund of the Kalamazoo
program when I made a decision to
Community Foundation will provide
find a way to impact our family and
matching dollars to school districts in
the community in some way that
Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties
would matter in the future.”
that wish to offer this curriculum provided by the Mental Health Foundation of West Michigan.
The Braganini family hopes that by sharing their story and spreading this
support the fund Give online at kalfound.org/give Enter the amount you’d like to give, then choose Another Community Foundation fund from the Designation drop-down menu and follow the onscreen instructions. Mail a check Mail a check to the Kalamazoo Community Foundation with Braganini Memorial Fund written on the memo line.
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KALFOUND.ORG
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everyone needs to read Kalamazoo Literacy Council helps Kalamazoo County adults reach their full potential by teaching them to read.
Rob Smith believes in walking the
read, advancing from a fifth-grade
dose of a medication? How would
walk when it comes to being an
to 10th-grade reading level. He’s
you respond when children asked
example for his children.
now a Kalamazoo Literacy Council
you to read to them?
Although he couldn’t read, Smith made it through school by “showing up and bluffing” and with “help” from allies who knew he couldn’t read. He always carried a book with him for appearance sake. When he couldn’t work for a year after being injured in a car accident, he finally learned to
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KALAMAZOO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
board member and president of its Student Advisory Council. “Everything is like new,” he says. Most adults take the ability to read for granted. Imagine, however, if you couldn’t. How would you fill out a job application or determine the right
SUMMER 2017
According to the National Institutes of Health, the most important factor in children’s academic success is the reading level of their caregivers. Children of parents with low literacy skills have a 72 percent chance of ending up at the lowest literacy levels themselves.
“Everything is like new.” Rob Smith Board Member and Student Advisory Council President Kalamazoo Literacy Council
Michael Evans, executive director
exclusively on individual tutoring,”
Evans believes the Community
of KLC, will tell you this is a serious
says Evans.
Literacy Center Model has made
problem here in Kalamazoo County. Literacy, he says, is the path to addressing the many challenges
So KLC’s approach is to place literacy centers “in the path of the
Kalamazoo a leader in adult literacy efforts.
adult learner” throughout various
When pressed, he smiles and
neighborhoods. Helping KLC in
proudly shares KLC recently
this work is the Adult Literacy
received an Innovation Grant
Collaborative, a group of adult
Award from the National Literacy
education, workforce development,
Directory, a nationwide resource
“The good news,” says Evans, “is that
English as a Second Language
of literacy and education programs
with a fully engaged community, we
and literacy agencies, and other
supporting adults, families
can make a difference. We can build
community organizations.
and youth.
“Our solution is pretty straight-
The goal
forward,” says Evans. “We’re
What’s an acceptable illiteracy
creating a county-wide adult
rate for the greater Kalamazoo
The problem
learning campus that specifically
community? “Zero,” Evans quickly
More than 13 percent of Kalamazoo
addresses this need.”
says. “Let’s make a statistical
— like poverty, health, education and workforce preparation — facing people in our community who have been marginalized.
a solution.” Kalamazoo Community Foundation funding and partnership has helped KLC in its work.
County’s adult population struggles to read. KLC focuses its resources on those who are 25 and older. Unfortunately, the number of people seeking KLC’s assistance has outpaced the number of available volunteer tutors. The wait for a tutor can be up to six months, and by then many adults get discouraged and lose interest in getting the help they need.
KLC and the Collaborative developed an innovative, cost-effective solution
difference first. Then we can work toward 100 percent literacy.
called the Community Literacy
“I don’t know anyone who is
Center Model. The pilot program
embarrassed to say they want
saw students attend lessons on
to learn something new,” he says.
a drop-in basis at 14 sites, with
“That should also apply to those
partners providing free space
who want to learn to read, but
and volunteers. In one year, in
they face a real stigma.
addition to learning to read, more than 132 students improved their employment/job skills, obtained
The solution
a driver’s license or helped their
“The need is too great to rely
children with homework.
“We need to raise awareness that it’s okay for adults to want to learn to read. Everyone needs to read.”
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KZCF wins national, regional awards The Kalamazoo Community Foundation recently received two regional awards and two national awards.
& Associates of Kalamazoo also assisted the effort. Finally, the American Business Awards recognized
For the fourth time, the Community Foundation was named
the Community Foundation with two Stevies, which
one of West Michigan’s Best and Brightest Companies
“honor and generate public recognition of the
to Work For. The award recognizes organizations with
achievements and positive contributions of
“innovative and thoughtful” approaches to human
organizations and working professionals worldwide.”
resources. Says Kelley Kellis, director of human resources, “Our team is passionate about our mission; working hard at best practices is a vital part of delivering impact.”
A gold medal was awarded for the video The Power of One, which supported the Community Foundation’s 2016 year-end giving campaign. A silver medal was
The West Michigan Chapter of the Public Relations Society
awarded for its 2015 Annual Report, also titled
of America recognized the Community Foundation, Battle
The Power of One. Kalamazoo-based Rhino Media
Creek Community Foundation, and United Way of the
produced the video. The annual report was photographed
Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region with a gold PRoof
by Michigan photographer Robert Neumann and
Award for its Help Now! Fund collaboration, a philanthropic
printed by Parchment-based RiverRun Press, with project
response to the Feb. 20, 2016, shootings that affected
management, design and writing by the Community
people in Kalamazoo and Calhoun counties. Rick Chambers
Foundation’s Marketing Communications team.
Kalamazoo Community Foundation Investment Performance FIRST QUARTER 2017 Qtr 1
YTD
3 Yrs
5 Yrs
7 Yrs
10 Yrs
Actual
4.1%
4.1%
6.0%
9.1%
9.3%
6.3%
Benchmark
4.2%
4.2%
5.9%
8.3%
8.8%
5.5%
Actual
3.5%
3.5%
6.8%
8.2%
8.9%
7.1%
Benchmark
3.4%
3.4%
6.6%
7.9%
8.4%
6.2%
Core Assets Moderate Growth Performance
Income and Growth Performance
Investment performance is net of manager fees and derived from core Kalamazoo Community Foundation assets allocated into its two investment strategies. Historic performance for each is then derived from linkages to prior quarterly returns. Performance reflects prior changes in asset allocations while benchmarks assume current allocations. The Moderate Growth Benchmark is a staged index composite benchmark that has the current composition of the Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index (15 percent); Barclays US Treasury 5-10 Yr TR USD (10 percent); DJ US Select REIT index (2.5 percent); MSCI EAFE Small Cap Index (10 percent); MSCI Emerging Markets Value index (10 percent); Russell 1000 Value index (5 percent); Russell 2000 Value index (10 percent); Russell Micro Cap index (5 percent); S&P 500 index (30 percent); and the NCREIF Fund Index ODCE (2.5 percent). The Income and Growth Benchmark consists of the S&P 500 index (50 percent) and the Barclays US Aggregate Bond index (50 percent).
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Hello, my name is... Meet the newest members of our Donor Relations team.
Meredith Bradford
Raven Britt
Julie Loncharte
Adrienne Neubert
Scholarship Coordinator mbradford@kalfound.org
Development Officer rbritt@kalfound.org
Donor Relations Officer jloncharte@kalfound.org
Donor Relations Coordinator aneubert@kalfound.org
I came to Donor Relations
A native of Lansing, I’ve
I have a teaching certificate
After attending WMU
from the Community
returned to my home
in secondary chemistry and
and participating in their
Foundation’s Finance and
state from New York City,
earth science and a master’s
nonprofit leadership
Administration team. Prior
where I worked for the
degree in literacy studies
program I held positions
to working at KZCF, I worked
past 13 years in sales
— both from Western
at small businesses and
at the School of Music at
and marketing. My role
Michigan University.
nonprofits, my last being
WMU; the Bemis Center
as a development officer
I have also spent time as
with the University of
for Contemporary Arts in
involves reaching out to
a business owner, reading
Notre Dame. Kalamazoo
Omaha, Neb.; and was a
new audiences and
tutor, furniture maker and
has felt like home to me
store director for J. Crew
sharing the possibilities
group cycling instructor
since college, so when I
in Kansas City, Mo. As the
of philanthropy with the
at the YMCA. As a donor
got the chance to come
scholarship coordinator,
next generation of donors.
relations officer I get to
back it was a dream come
I coordinate the daily
My colleagues, our legacy
work face-to-face with
true. I coordinate, report
operations and activities
and numerous opportunities
people who want to make
and track information
of KZCF’s scholarship
to help others are just a
a positive impact in our
for our donor database,
program. I love working
few of the reasons I enjoy
community. I love getting to
connecting people with
here because of my
working at KZCF.
know our donors and what
data. I’m passionate about
inspiring colleagues and
their philanthropic interests
working for the Kalamazoo
our focus on education
are so we can all be more
Community Foundation
and equity as a means
connected and supported
because it enables me to do
to address systemic
here in Kalamazoo County.
what I love, in and for the
barriers for people in
community I love.
Kalamazoo County.
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KALFOUND.ORG
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Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage paid Kalamazoo, MI Permit Number 66
402 East Michigan Avenue Kalamazoo, MI 49007-3888 269.381.4416 www.kalfound.org
DUANE ROBERTS DIED IN 1989 TODAY HE’S FIGHTING FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE IN OUR COMMUNITY AND BEYOND Duane Roberts was a champion for social justice and racial equity in Kalamazoo. The Kalamazoo Public Schools graduate, who served with the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II and was president of the local branch of the NAACP, was instrumental in convincing the KPS Board of Education to desegregate Kalamazoo’s schools in 1971. His legacy is the Duane Roberts Scholarship, created to honor him and his commitment to social justice in Kalamazoo. Each year the scholarship is awarded to two minority KPS graduates who, like Duane, demonstrate a commitment to social justice. We can help you show your love for Kalamazoo and leave a legacy too. Call a member of our Donor Relations team or visit kalfound.org to learn how. Raven Britt 269.585.7273 / rbritt@kalfound.org
Ann Fergemann 269.585.7238 / afergemann@kalfound.org
Coby Chalmers 269.585.7249 / cchalmers@kalfound.org
Julie Loncharte 269.585.7270 / jloncharte@kalfound.org
Joanna Donnelly Dales 269.585.7260 / jdales@kalfound.org