“I’ve never forgotten it and I need to return the favor.” Jim Bishop had just finished telling the story of his first involvement with a community foundation. He recalled when he was 17 and had been chosen by the Community Foundation for Muskegon County to receive a scholarship to attend college. That scholarship was a huge benefit to Jim as he went through school. The generosity of someone he had never met planted the seed for Jim’s future charitable giving.
Jim grew up in Muskegon and has lived in West Michigan his entire life. Through Jim’s career in the banking industry, he became aware of the many needs in the community and the organizations working to solve those problems. Banks are naturally involved in giving back to the community so Jim has been surrounded by a culture of giving and improving the community during his entire professional life.
“At the very core it is giving back that benefits all of us in the community.”
– Jim Bishop
Jim always supported his family’s church and specific fundraising efforts but Jim felt that giving back in a broader way was important too. , The Jim Bishop Family Fund, an Unrestricted Fund at the Community Foundation, was established while his kids were still in college.
Jim chose to start an Unrestricted Fund because his family doesn’t have time to analyze all the worthy causes in the community. His goal with their giving is to produce the greatest community impact possible and he believes the Foundation knows which organizations can best achieve that goal.
Jim has also used the fund as a way to spark conversation with his kids about giving back. “It worked perfectly; our kids began asking questions about charitable giving and why we were giving to the Community Foundation.” It allowed him to share with his kids the ways they have been blessed by others and the reasons why they are now being a blessing in return.
Listening to Jim, you can tell how important community is to him. He is proud of the community’s many accomplishments and continues to strive for improvements.
A previous generation of givers invested in Jim and he has never forgotten it; Jim is now returning the favor to others.
