Between Mar. 11 – June 10, 2016, Saginaw Community Foundation (SCF) granted $201,173.50 supporting 95 programs and projects via its designated, donor advised and competitive grant processes.
“Every person who has supported the foundation – whether through donations, volunteering or advocacy – has helped us give much needed support to area programs. It’s people like you who truly help make an impact in Saginaw and make our community a better place,” said Reneé Johnston, president and CEO of the foundation. “We strive to grant funds to support programs that will make a difference in our communities.”
Programs managed by a variety of organizations were supported, including Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance, Lawn Chair Film Festival (Old Saginaw City, Inc.), and Saginaw Intermediate School District. During this most recent grant cycle, grants awarded were funded by The Dow Chemical Company Foundation Community Donor-Advised Fund, the Dow Corning Donor Advised Fund, the SCF Unrestricted Fund, the YWCA Fund for Women & Children, as well as various designated and donor advised funds.
Currently, SCF manages 25 unrestricted funds, 66 designated funds and 51 donor advised funds.
A $20,000 grant was awarded to Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance for its Great Lakes Bay Region Middle School Mathematics Project. In response to the well documented demand for people with science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills, the Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance is leading a comprehensive effort to build STEM strength across the region as a means of powering community prosperity. The Middle School Mathematics Project will strengthen the foundational skills needed to build STEM excellence by offering education-enhancing tools to students and teachers. Funding will allow Saginaw County schools/classrooms to apply to the Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance/STEM Network to take part in one of several programs within the following three categories:
student math programs, professional development programs, and creative programs. Funding for this grant was provided by the SCF Unrestricted Fund and the Saginaw County Child Development Fund.
The Lawn Chair Film Festival (Old Saginaw City, Inc.) received a $10,000 grant to be used for its Save Our Screen (S.O.S) Initiative project. The Lawn Chair Film Festival has been providing free movies under the stars during the summer in the heart of Saginaw’s Old Town community since 2003. The grant provided by the SCF Unrestricted Fund and the Neighborhood Revitalization Fund will be used to assist with replacement of the large, retractable movie screen as well as modern projection and audio equipment for the Lawn Chair Film Festival. It is estimated that 6,000-8,000 people attend the film festival annually.
A $9,500 grant was awarded to the Saginaw Intermediate School District to be used to assist with the creation of a nature-based preschool located at Hartley Outdoor Education Center’s Murphy Farm in St. Charles, Mich. This program, scheduled to open in September, 2016, will serve 17 children and their families from the local area providing all elements of a nature-based preschool, including daily outside time, nature walks, and a classroom environment rich with nature-based activities and materials. A nature-based preschool includes all components of a quality preschool environment, yet every area, indoors and out, is infused with nature. Funding for this grant was provided by the Lulah C. McMullen & Family Endowment Fund and the YWCA Fund for Women and Children.
Organizations interested in applying for a grant through SCF can learn more at our Grants page, or contact Kendra Kempf, program officer, at (989) 755-0545 or via email.
The following SCF funds provided designated and donor advised (non-competitive) grants, Mar. 11 – June 10, 2016:
Citizen’s Bank Corporate Advised Fund – $5,000
Saginaw Community Foundation Inner Circle Sponsorship
The Dow Chemical Company Foundation Community Donor-Advised Fund – $18,000
East Side Soup Kitchen – $5,000 (After-School Program)
Girls on the Run Saginaw Bay (Underground Railroad, Inc.) – $5,000 (Program Support and Expansion)
Underground Railroad, Inc. – $8,000 (Civil Legal Services for Victims of Domestic Violence)
Dow communityGives – $7,000
Chesaning Community Schools – $1,000 (Chesaning High School Key Club)
Freeland Community School District – $1,000 (7th Grade Class)
Merrill Community Schools – $1,000 (Merrill High School Leadership Group)
The Rage 13U Travel Baseball Team – $1,000
Saginaw Public Schools – $1,000 (Arthur Hill High School Baseball Team)
Saginaw Public Schools – $1,000 (Arthur Hill High School Quiz Bowl Team)
Tri-City Heat Elite Basketball 8th Grade Red Team – $1,000
Heroes for Kids Fund – $3,930
Roethke House – $3,930 (Child on Top of a Greenhouse Language Arts Review Camp)
K.P. Karunakaran Family Foundation Fund – $1,102
Bharatiya Temple of Flint – $501
Saginaw Township Soccer Association – $500
Eternal Mother Temple, Pontiac, Mich. – $101
Lucille & James Martineau Family Fund – $1,500
Saginaw Arts & Enrichment Commission – $200 (to purchase fertilizer, compost, and plants for the Perimeter Garden at the Andersen Enrichment Center)
Saginaw Choral Society – $800 (80 music folders)
Saginaw Art Museum – $500 (Great Lakes Bay en Plein Air Festival)
Nexteer Steering the Future Fund – $10,000
Castle Museum of Saginaw County History – $2,500 (History on the Move)
Saginaw Valley Historic Preservation Society – $1,500 (Carrington “The File” Painting Project)
Invent Now – $3,000 (Camp Invention)
New Beginnings Enrichment Center – $3,000 (One Week, One Street)
Maria Elizabeth Paquette Eternal Memorial Fund – $300
Nouvel Catholic High School – $300 (Maria Elizabeth Paquette Scholarship)
SCF Unrestricted Fund (Capacity Building) – $607.50
CAN Council Great Lakes Bay Region – $607.50 (Capacity Building for Performance Evaluation Development & Process Management)
Robert E. Stark & Martin H. Stark Foundation Fund – $34,000
American Society for The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) – $500
Anti-Defamation League – $500
B’nai B’rith International – $500
Boy Scouts of America – Woods and Water Council – $500
Boys and Girls Club of Saginaw County – $500
Children’s Zoo at Celebration Square– $500
City Rescue Mission of Saginaw – $500
Covenant Healthcare Foundation – $500
Delta College Foundation – $500 (Karen Macarthur – Teaching Chair)
Delta College Foundation – $500 (Peter Boyse President’s Scholar Program Endowment)
East Side Soup Kitchen – $500
Emmaus House – $500
Field Neurosciences Institute – $500
First Ward Community Center – $500
Friends of the Animal Shelter – $500
Friends of the Public Libraries of Saginaw – $500
Girls Scouts of Mitten Bay – $500
Hidden Harvest – $500
Historical Society of Saginaw County – $500
Hospital Hospitality House of Saginaw – $500
Humane Society of Saginaw County – $500
Japanese Cultural Center – $250
Junior Achievement of Northeast Michigan – $250
Mid Michigan Children’s Museum – $500
Mother’s Against Drunk Driving, Saginaw Chapter – $500
NAACP Saginaw Branch – $500
Paralyzed Veterans of America – $500
Parkinson Research Foundation – $500
Pit & Balcony Theatre– $500
Pride in Saginaw – $500
READ Association – $500
Saginaw Area Fireworks – $500
Saginaw Arts and Enrichment Commission – $500
Saginaw Community Foundation – $500 (FORCE Youth Advisory Committee)
Saginaw Community Foundation – $500 (Heroes for Kids)
Saginaw Community Foundation – $500 (Inner Circle)
Saginaw Community Foundation – $500 (Library Foundation Fund)
Saginaw Community Foundation – $500 (Lucy R. Allen Cornerstone Club)
Saginaw Community Foundation – $1,000 (Robert E. Stark & Martin H. Stark Scholarship Fund)
Saginaw Choral Society – $500
Saginaw County Business and Education Partnership – $500
Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame – $3,000
Saginaw Crime Stoppers – $250
Saginaw Future – $1,000
Saginaw Habitat for Humanity – $500
Saginaw YMCA Strong Kids Campaign – $500
Saint Mary’s of Michigan Foundation – $250
SVSU Foundation – Dr. Benjamin Stark Biology Scholarship – $1,500
SVSU Foundation – Watrous/Stark Endowment – $3,000
Temple Beth Israel – $500
The Jewish Welfare Federation of Saginaw Fund – $1,000
The Salvation Army – $500
United Negro College Fund – $500
United Way of Saginaw County – $500
United Way of Saginaw County – $500 (Ramp/Mobility Program)
Wolf Family Foundation Fund – $1,500
YMCA of Saginaw – $1,500 (Strong Kids Campaign)
The following organizations received grants to support programs/projects via various competitive grants available through SCF:
American Chemical Society Midland Section – $6,000
(from the Dow Corning Donor Advised Fund)
Support ACS Programming Supplies
Boys and Girls Clubs of the Great Lakes Bay Region – $8,000
(from the Dow Corning Donor Advised Fund)
LEGO Education in Clubs
The Diaper Alliance – $10,000
($9,000 from the Lulah C. McMullen & Family Endowment Fund; $1,000 from the YWCA Fund for Women & Children)
Keeping Babies in Saginaw County Clean, Dry, and Healthy
Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan – $5,000
($3,250 from the Mental Health Fund; $1,750 from the YWCA Fund for Women & Children)
Saginaw County Community Outreach
Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance – $20,000
($19,033 from the SCF Unrestricted Fund; $967 from the Saginaw County Child Development Fund)
Great Lakes Bay Region Middle School Mathematics Project
Lawn Chair Film Festival (Old Saginaw City, Inc.) – $10,250
($9,646 from the SCF Unrestricted Fund; $604 from the Neighborhood Revitalization Fund)
The Save Our Screen (S.O.S.) Initiative
Major Chords for Minors – $8,000
(from the Dow Corning Donor Advised Fund)
Music for Youth
Merrill Community Schools – $8,000
(from the Dow Corning Donor Advised Fund)
Welding Program
Michigan Technological University – $3,000
(from the Dow Corning Donor Advised Fund)
2016 Dow Great Lakes Bay STEM Festival
RISE Educational Consulting – $2,500
(from the Lulah C. McMullen & Family Endowment Fund)
RISE & Shine Summer Program
The New Ezekiel Project – $5,000
(from the Lulah C. McMullen & Family Endowment Fund)
Road to a Better Saginaw (RABS)
Saginaw Intermediate School District – $9,500
($6,888 from the Lulah C. McMullen & Family Endowment Fund; $2,612 from the YWCA Fund for Women & Children)
Murphy Farm Nature Preschool
Saginaw Valley State University – $8,484
($7,084 from the Carl Werth, Sr. & Ruth Werth Memorial Fund; $1,400 from the YWCA Fund for Women & Children)
SVSU Advocates for Latino Student Advancement in Michigan Education (ALSAME) Conference
Saginaw Valley State University – $5,000
(from the SCF Unrestricted Fund)
SVSU Cross Country Trail
Tittabawassee Township Fire Department – $7,000
(from the Dow Corning Donor Advised Fund)
Operation Public Fire Awareness