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The Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area is pleased to announce the awarding of 17 grants totaling $568,604 from the Community’s Endowment in 2019.
Two years ago, at our 2015 fall celebration event, we launched Today. Tomorrow. Forever. A Campaign for our Community's Endowment, with a three-year completion goal. We were thrilled to announce its completion one year early at this year's fall celebration. The campaign was a success well beyond our expectations and has generated $5 million in "today" gifts and a pipeline of $30 million via 100 "tomorrow" future estate gifts for our Community's Endowment. Our collective efforts promise to more than TRIPLE the size of our Community's Endowment over time!
Why this campaign? We can't predict the future, but we can prepare for it. When we pool our resources together, we can do amazing things. We truly believe that these gifts are a gift back to the entire community and an investment in Holland/Zeeland's future. These gifts will provide significant, community-wide benefit for generations to come, and we are delighted that so many were a part of this effort. With this campaign, we hoped to broaden our base of support. We're excited to share that we have estate gift commitments from every decade age group from 20's to 80's, and we had almost 350 "Today" gifts that ranged from $20 to $150,000. Holland/Zeeland has proven that all ages and income levels care about planning for our future!
Interested in how the campaign worked? Check out this brief video our friends at Boileau Communications created with us that overviews the campaign.
Our community's generosity has ensured our Community's Endowment grows both now and in the future, and it will always be here to address needs and opportunities as they arise. Thank you to all who made this possible. Holland/Zeeland will be grateful for generations to come.
Because of our community's generosity and the growth of our Community's Endowment, we're able to respond to an issue that the Foundation Board sees as both a critical need for local families and an opportunity for creative, innovative solutions. At the fall celebration, we announced that we are making a $500,000 commitment to spur a significant, community-wide effort to address our affordable housing shortage. We hope to rally the entire community to prioritize decreasing the number of people spending more than 35% of their income on housing, as that is one of the biggest contributors to financial instability, which leads to so many other challenges.
650 supporters joined us on Thursday at our fall celebration - the largest event in our history. We were thrilled to have so many of our closest partners in the room to share in the excitement! Stay tuned for the event photos from deVries photography, which we'll share via email and on our facebook page when they're available.
We are so excited to continue to partner with our generous community to make a difference today, tomorrow, and forever. Thanks to all who made this event possible and to all who attended. It was truly a bright night for us!
Check out the event recap featured in the Holland Sentinel News or watch/listen to Mike's live-recorded event remarks.
If you want to learn more about CFHZ, don't hesitate to contact Mike at your convenience at mgoorhouse@cfhz.org or 616-396-6590.
The highlight of 2020 for Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area was our 'Community Impact' work. The magnitude and creativity of how we deployed Community Endowment resources was significantly greater than any other year in recent history. The flexibility of the Community's Endowment allowed us to respond swiftly and meaningfully to unique new needs, while the breadth of the Community's Endowment allowed us to continue strengthening our community today, tomorrow, and forever.
The Board of Trustees of the Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area elected a new slate of officers during its 2017 annual meeting.
Elected as Board Chair is Mark K. Harder, a partner with the law firm of Warner Norcross & Judd LLP. Harder chairs the firm’s Private Client and Family Office Practice and concentrates his practice in estate planning and administration for high-net-worth individuals and in the representation of family-owned businesses and their owners.
Harder succeeds Scott Spoelhof, who held the position of chair in 2016. Mark served as chair-elect to Spoelhof for the past year. Harder joined the Board in 2014 and has most recently served on the Foundation’s executive, governance, development, and audit committees.
“The Community Foundation plays an integral role in maintaining and improving the quality of life in our community as it helps steward resources to impact others,” Harder said. “I am deeply honored to be part of that effort and look forward to working with the leadership team and my fellow Board members to help create lasting positive change.”
Harder has been recognized as a Michigan Super Lawyer since 2006 and has been listed among The Best Lawyers in America since 2005. He was named Lawyer of the Year for Trusts and Estates in the Grand Rapids area in 2010 and again in 2017 and a Leading Lawyer in Michigan from 2014 to the present. He was also recognized for for his work in private wealth law by Chambers High Net Worth Guide in 2016.
Mark is a Fellow of the American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel and is a member of the American Bar Association, State Bar of Michigan, State Bar of Wisconsin, Ottawa County Bar Association, Michigan State Bar Foundation and American Bar Foundation. He is also a member of Attorneys for Family Held Enterprises.
Mark serves on the Institute of Continuing Legal Education Probate and Estate Planning Advisory Board. From 2003 until 2010, Mark led State Bar of Michigan efforts to write the Michigan Trust Code, as well as other legislation regulating how trusts are handled. In 2015, he authored a commentary for Michigan’s Uniform Principal and Income Act. He has also co-authored the Estates and Protected Individuals Code with Reporters’ Commentary from 2010 to 2017 for the Institute of Continuing Legal Education.
A graduate of Leadership Holland, Mark has been active in a variety of community organizations, including the Center for Women in Transition, Macatawa Cycling Club, Holland Area Chamber of Commerce, Hospice of Holland and the Grand Rapids-based Family Business Alliance.
Harder holds a bachelor of business administration with high distinction from the University of Iowa and his doctor of jurisprudence with highest distinction from the University of Iowa College of Law.
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