News & Event
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.
Outdoor Discovery Center - ecoSystem Education Network
Macatawa Area Coordinating Council - Creating a Green Infrastructure Vision for the Macatawa Watershed
Ladder Homes - Housing Capacity Expansion
Goodwill Industries of West Michigan - Holland/Zeeland Career Training Center
Beacon of Hope - Building Campaign
Human Services
Seniors
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.
Amount Awarded: $75,000 over 3 years Purpose: To open and operate Groundworks at Herrick District Library's main facility. This will be a place for adults to learn and collaborate in real-time, while exploring digital media content, with access to relevant technology and community experts. Why this matters: The launch of Groundworks aligns with the results of a yearlong community listening effort that the library conducted in partnership with the Harwood Institute. One of the key findings from this process was that residents are looking for lifelong learning opportunities that enrich their lives and provide new avenues for exploring entrepreneurship. Groundworks will provide an accessible space for community members to explore new tools and gain new skills for life and work.
Amount Awarded: $70,000 over 3 years Purpose: To provide a School Mental Health Care Manager to support student mental health by coordinating and managing care between the school, family, and health care provider and/or hospital. Why this matters: The impact of every life lost to suicide is profound and ripples out through family, friends, classmates, and community. Like many communities across the country, the Holland/Zeeland area has seen an increase in youth suicides and suicide attempts and that this issue is impacting younger and younger students. The School Mental Health Program will place a trained medical professional in the school building to help students and families navigate this incredibly difficult issue and ensure key information flows smoothly between students’ medical providers, family members, and school supports. These potentially life-saving connections to treatment and management/coordination of follow up care and school services are critical to prevent repeated crises for vulnerable students.
Amount Awarded: $65,000 over 3 years Purpose: To support the creation and implementation of the school-based Blue Envelope Suicide Prevention Program in Ottawa County. Why this matters: The impact of every life lost to suicide is profound and ripples out through family, friends, classmates, and community. Like many communities across the country, the Holland/Zeeland area has seen an increase in youth suicides and suicide attempts and that this issue is impacting younger and younger students. The Blue Envelope Program has the potential to save lives by equipping every adult in the school setting from teachers to custodians to coaches to recognize and take initial steps to respond to a student who reveals suicidal thoughts or behaviors. It also provides training and protocols for the initial responder to loop in secondary responders such as principals, social workers, and counselors who can provide additional support, resources and referrals for help.
Amount Awarded: $12,000 Purpose: To support conducting a consumer research study and a master planning process that will help prioritize the necessary physical plant needs of The Warm Friend senior living facility. Why this matters: Deciding the best way to move forward with stewarding the Warm Friend facility is a pivotal decision for Resthaven, the residents who live there currently, future residents and the immediate surrounding area in downtown Holland. These decisions will have long term implications for Resthaven and this landmark historic building in the heart of the downtown Holland.
Amount Awarded: $10,000 Purpose: To purchase a new Miles of Smiles mobile dental unit. Why this matters: Nearly one in five adults in Ottawa County have not been to the dentist in the past year. Poor oral health can lead to or worsen other health conditions. Miles of Smiles has strong collaborative partnerships with schools and other community organizations that allow the program to reach the most vulnerable members of our community who are unlikely to access dental care elsewhere. The mobile unit is key is bringing these dental services to people right where they are rather than having them come to one specific location. Purchasing the new unit will ensure the program can continue to provide this critical service to hundreds of children and adults impacting their health now and in the future.
Amount Awarded: $5,000 Purpose: Ottawa Thrive is a collaboration of 25-30 organizations representing various nonprofit, government, and private sector partners that have come together to move forward a shared vision of reducing the number ACEs in our community while simultaneously supporting the use of trauma sensitive approaches to better serve and support those who have experienced ACEs. This effort will train 25 “Community Champions” who will be deployed into the community to provide trainings to various organizations and groups that represent targeted audiences and to help educate the broader community regarding ACEs and the various tools to build healthy coping skills through a public awareness campaign. Why this matters: Adverse Childhood Experiences(ACEs) such as the presence of substance abuse, an incarcerated parent, or domestic violence in the home or experiencing varying levels of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse have a lifelong impact on physical and mental health. The long-term negative impact of ACEs become greatest when four or more are present and local data indicates that 14% (or roughly 40,000) of all Ottawa County adults have experienced four or more ACEs as a child. This effort will work to better educate the community about this reality and better equip organizations and individuals with knowledge of community resources and referral options.
The Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area is pleased to announce the awarding of 6 grants totaling $214,000 from the Community’s Endowment in the first competitive grant round of 2019.
“As the needs of our community members grow and change, we are thankful the Community’s Endowment allows us to support the efforts of our nonprofit partners who are directly addressing these needs,” said Elizabeth Kidd, Vice President of Community Impact. “We believe each of these investments will positively impact our community today and for years to come.”
Why this matters: Data from the Ottawa County Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) and Youth Assessment Survey (YAS) reflects the reality that many adults, children and families in our community are struggling with trauma, adverse childhood experiences, mental health, and building healthy relationships amid the challenges and stresses of day to day life. The counseling services and educational programs provided at the new 16th Street location will offer community members access to the support and tools they need to navigate these challenges and find positive paths for the future.
addiction to homelessness to suicide. Providing counseling to students who have had adverse childhood experiences is a critical opportunity to offer the support and tools that can help them overcome the odds and find hope for a better future. Providing counseling on site at school removes the barriers of cost and transportation that often prevent students from accessing these kinds of services.
Amount Awarded: $20,000 Purpose: To support the construction of Critter Barn's new educational farm center where residents and visitors of all ages and abilities will be able to participate in hands-on, interactive learning experiences and witness everyday farm life. Why this matters: The new farm will provide a larger, safer, more accessible facility for children and adults to engage directly with animals and plants and to better understand the important role agriculture and farming have in growing the food we eat.
Amount Awarded: $20,000 Purpose: To move to a larger facility housing KFB's warehouse, office, and volunteer space in one location allowing KFB to serve more daily nourishing meals to children in Holland and neighboring Allegan County rural school districts. Why this matters: Childhood hunger has negative impacts on physical growth and brain development and is a barrier to children engaging fully in learning in the classroom. With three Holland and West Ottawa schools on the wait list for the Sack Supper program and an increase in need at several currently participating schools, the new facility will ensure Kids’ Food Basket has the capacity to keep up with the growing demand for services in our community and provide the nutrition children need to reach their full potential.
Amount Awarded: $4,000 Purpose: To conduct a thorough count of youth experiencing homelessness with the goal of creating a comprehensive strategy to address the needs of youth in housing crisis. Why this matters: While there are several existing local data sources on youth homelessness, the Voices of Youth Count will work to generate a more comprehensive picture of how youth in our county are experiencing homelessness to inform future strategies to best address this need.
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