News

Updates and Insights from the Community Foundation

Featured Posts

  • 2023-2024 Annual Report

    Posted on November 08, 2024

    2023-2024 Annual Report
    In a pivotal year, Grand Rapids Community Foundation awarded $16,078,689 in grants to nonprofit partners and scholarships to students. The organization's total assets were stewarded to $448,331,707. Other results and stories from partners are highlighted [...]
Insights

  • Posted on March 01, 2016

    What are You Waiting For?
    October 22, 2015. The sun was shining, the fall colors were in full effect and I was driving along a two-lane highway south of Traverse City coming back from an unscheduled afternoon trip and on [...]

  • Posted on February 16, 2016

    A Plan to Manage your Digital Assets
    Regardless of age, our lives are integrated with digital technology. Whether you use a smart phone and text, or maintain multiple email and social media accounts; conduct online banking, shopping or pay bills—we are connected. [...]

  • Posted on February 08, 2016

    Being Organized for the Time After Life
    When my father died in September, 2014 I was certain that his affairs were in order—he had an estate plan and since the death of my mother nearly 20 years prior we’d updated his plan [...]

  • Posted on February 04, 2016

    Four Easy Ways to Make a Planned Gift
    Planned giving—those two words conjure up images of lawyers, accountants and stacks of legal documents. What many of us don’t realize is just how simple it can be to designate a portion of our estates [...]

  • Posted on January 20, 2016

    Helping in Flint
    Philanthropy is about finding long-term solutions to a community's problems, but it is also how we respond in a crisis. We urge you to consider doing something for the people of Flint. Beyond donating water--which [...]

  • Posted on January 04, 2016

    New Ideas for a New Year!
    Last month, the Community Foundation hosted a Knotty Cocktails event on the housing affordability challenges facing Grand Rapids and many other communities across the country (you can view the 45 minute panel discussion here). The [...]

  • Posted on December 23, 2015

    IRA Rollover News for Community Foundation Donors!
    The IRA Charitable Rollover has been permanently extended! Here's what it means for you: If you're age 70½ or older, you may be able to take advantage of an important incentive for charitable giving. Congress [...]

  • Posted on December 07, 2015

    Change for the Better
    Adaptability is a great trait in people and organizations. We expect leaders to be willing to change the status quo and move forward. Sometimes, though, we hold onto our past and do things like we’ve [...]

  • Posted on September 24, 2015

    Toward a Racism-Free Grand Rapids
    In July I was on a panel hosted by Partners for a Racism-Free Community. The organization’s vision is a community where racial and ethnic disparities are eliminated so all people are accepted and included as [...]

  • Posted on September 16, 2015

    Scholarships for Success
    Since 1945, thanks to hundreds of donors and community members who believe in making college a reality for Kent County students, we've awarded more than $12.9 million in scholarships. In 2015, 56% of scholarship recipients [...]