The Board of Trustees of Grand Rapids Community Foundation recently approved two grants.

The Friends of Michigan Veterans Home, Inc. will receive a grant award for $35,000 to help provide live video feeds into the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans. The Grand Rapids Community Foundation has a field of interest fund, the Cecilia Hoagland Fund for Local Veterans which provided the funding. The fund is designated to help build the health, well-being and social connectedness among local veterans. Working with the Commandant of the local home, the desire to have live video feeds from three sites was viewed as a benefit to the residents and met the fund criteria. The video feeds will provide veterans with mobility issues easier access to events ceremonies, presentations and recreational games. “This grant will help veterans feel more connected to the Veteran’s Home community,” said Marcia Rapp, vice president of programs at the Community Foundation.

A grant for $127,000 was awarded to the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) to develop a model for supportive housing for up to 40 people who are considered chronically homeless and are at the most risk of perishing on the streets. This planning grant will further solidify the work between the CSH and the Coalition to End Homelessness. The Coalition has been involved in exploring this type of housing situation for more than a year and the grant will help engage a developer, develop a funding model and set standards for service delivery.“This housing solution offers long-term dignity and independence, while reducing cost to the community for use of publicly supported services,” said Rapp.

About the Foundation
Grand Rapids Community Foundation supports Kent County (Michigan) nonprofits and leads the community in making positive, sustainable change. Its success is connected to the generosity of donors and the expertise of grantee organizations.