In many ways, the fact that charitable giving has laid the bedrock now supporting Grand Rapids striking renaissance seems fairly obvious. Just read the names identifying the buildings at the heart of the city's redevelopment: the Van Andel Institute, DeVos Place, the Wege Center, Secchia Hall, the Cook Research Institute, Meijer Gardens.
But rebuilding a city requires more than big checks from the wealthiest families and individuals. Indeed, as Grand Rapids is demonstrating, it involves an unyielding culture of giving and commitment to shape big ideas, mobilize people and resources, and achieve real results. The city owns a unique philanthropic spirit unlike most American cities and behind it all is a solid group of nonprofit foundations striving to make investments that measurably improve the lives of people and the places where they live.
The Grand Rapids Community Foundation is Michigan’s first community foundation. Established in 1922 with a $25 gift from the president of the Grand Rapids Association of Commerce, the foundation today makes millions in dollars worth of grants each year to perpetuate the "moral, physical, and mental welfare of the city and its people."
The foundation can accept gifts from a broad range of donors, including private citizens, corporations, government agencies, and other foundations. The funds are then invested to specifically address an ongoing or pressing community need or challenge.
“Revitalization goes beyond appearances and extends to the infrastructure that makes Grand Rapids a desirable place to live and work," said Laurie Craft, a program director for the Community Foundation. "That means a healthy environment, a qualified workforce, a community that is welcoming to people of diverse backgrounds, cultures, and orientations, and housing that is affordable and attractive in neighborhoods where people want to live.”
“I think this is attainable," Craft added, "and we have a lot of nonprofit and commercial entities that are working hard to achieve it.”
For example, the Community Foundation has invested more than $1 million from Michigan State Housing Development Authority to spur economic development in the central city and maintain quality residential opportunities for people of all income levels.
In the past year, the foundation also has made significant investments in some of the city's more prominent civic organizations, including a $35,000 grant to Dwelling Place, a nonprofit housing development firm, a $45,000 award to the Grand Rapids Alliance for Neighborhood Development, a $150,000 grant to the Inner City Christian Federation, and a $300,000 award to Grand Valley State University's Community Research Institute. The foundation also made a significant contribution to the new Grand Rapids Art Museum now rising on Monroe Center.
The foundation also manages a major scholarship program, a mentoring program, and a youth committee that has their own fund and makes grants. Still, there is plenty more to do, according to Craft, and achieving results requires a combination of nonprofit and for-profit entities to keep the momentum going – not just one or the other.
David Van Andel, chairman and chief executive officer of Van Andel Institute, agrees. He also notes there are several different ways for individuals and businesses to give of their time, talents, and treasure. There is, of course, the traditional giving to the needy. But the list does not stop there.
As an example, Van Andel cites the Van Andel Insitute, which received the biggest charitable donation his parents Jay and Betty ever made. That gift, Van Andel said, has a variety of direct and indirect positive effects for the community.
First, there is the building itself, a $70 million facility that has anchored the development of Health Hill, the resurgence of surrounding neighborhoods, and the evolution of Grand Rapids modern economy. Next, there is all the advanced science going on in the place, and the contribution to human knowledge about how to identify and fight diseases like cancer. Finally, there are the discoveries that will be commercialized over time and applied in the real world to improve the quality of life for countless human beings.
“What we found recently is that philanthropy can also spur on different segments of economic growth,” Van Andel said.
Yet, even as charitable giving plays such an important role in civic life, Van Andel expresses concern for the future of philanthropy in GR.
“The first generation of philanthropists are passing away and they need to be replaced. But with who – we don’t know who,” Van Andel said. “We’re getting to a point where the next generation needs to step up.”
The Frey Foundation invests as heavily in the future of philanthropy as it does the arts, children, land protection, water quality, and urban redevelopment.
“I continue to feel that philanthropy is extremely important for community and state,” said Milt Rohwer, president of the Frey Foundation. “It is society’s risk capital, which often means the difference between a rather ordinary project and an exceptional one.”
A family foundation established in 1974 and emdowed by the estate of Edward and Frances Frey, Frey targets its giving primarily in the Grand Rapids area and Emmett and Charlevoix counties in northern Michigan. In Grand Rapids, Frey funds a wide variety of community initiatives. Recent gifts include a $100,000 grant to transform the old Grand Rapids fire house into the new home of the Hispanic Center of Western Michigan; a $10,000 grant to the Midtown Neighborhood Association to develop a revitalization plan; and a $750,000 grant to support renovation of the Civic Theatre. Frey also approved a $120,000 gift to the Heart of West Michigan United Way to enhance its annual fundraising campaign and strengthen local philanthropy.
“As far as the future is concerned, the near term is bright in the sense that there is a very large national trend of increased investment from community and family foundations,” Rohwer said. “Things are improving, but the job is not done and probably never will be.”
The Steelcase Foundation is another local organization focused on improving the local quality of life, especially where the company's employees live. Given that broad mission, the foundation provides grants in a wide variety of areas: arts and culture, education, environment, human services, health, and community and economic development.
The foundation recently made capital grants to support the renovation and expansion of the Grand Rapids Ballet and the new engineering facility on the campus of Grand Valley State University. It supports the Land Conservancy of West Michigan's work to protect privately held parcels of natural lands deemed important to the health of the local environment and the Michigan Land Use Institute's campaign to modernize mass rapid transit in the metro area.
The foundation also is committed to multi-year initiatives that seek long term systemic change for some of the community's toughest problems. Examples include programs such as the Vision to End Homelessness, coordinated by the Grand Rapids Area Housing Continuum of Care, and the Education Reform Initiative, an effort designed to improve the performance of inner city schools.
“We really need to increase human capacity and potential,” said Susan K. Broman, executive director of the Steelcase Foundation for 10 years.
Other prominent foundations intensely active in the area include the Wege Foundation, established in 1967 by Peter Wege, and the Dyer-Ives Foundation. Wege is a leading funder of local efforts to promote sustainable development and expand public transit. Recently, the foundation also has focused intensely on funding a coalition of business and environmental groups that is pursuing $20 billion in state and federal funding to restore the Great Lakes ecosystem. That could translate into a significant investment for modern sewers, clean rivers, and safe beaches in west Michigan.
The Dyer-Ives Foundation was established in 1961 to support initiatives that enhance the sense of community in the central city of Grand Rapids. Most recently, the foundation granted $15,000 to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now to promote energy policies that support affordable housing; $10,000 to the Community Media Center for the Dirk Koning Memorial Garden; and a $25,000 gift to the Neighbors of Belknap Lookout to develop a plan for promoting walkability and green space in the area. Dyer-Ives also supports organizations such as Growing Opportunities for Women, the Lesbian and Gay Network of West Michigan, and the West Grand Neighborhood Association.
The names of the charitable organization listed above, along with several other smaller local foundations, typically are not advertised as the muscle behind the heavy lifting of Grand Rapids revival. But they are undeniably essential to the vibrancy of the city and its civic spirit.
Photographs by Brian Kelly - All Rights Reserved
Photos top to bottom:
Van Andel Institute will dramatically expand the south facade of this building
Dusk at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park
Entry - Van Andel Institute
The DaVinci Horse - Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park
Cook-DeVos Center for Health and Sciences - Grand Valley State University