Believe it or not, you decide. Yes, you determine which local nonprofit organization deserves a building grant from
Erhardt Construction and their project partners. It's all to celebrate the business’ 50th anniversary.
It began in 1962 when Larry Erhardt, Sr. founded the company from a room in his home. Over the years, it grew not only in staff and location, but moreover in projects. They have been quietly building landmarks throughout West Michigan ever since. Some highlights from their portfolio include the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Calder Plaza building, Van Andel Institute, DeVos Place, Van Andel Arena and Plaza Towers.
But it hasn’t all been notable city attractions in the company's 50-year history. It’s also been small projects for local commercial clients as well as more complicated municipal, institutional and infrastructure construction, including schools, parking structures and water and wastewater treatment facilities. One example is the Aquinas College Hauenstein Library (pictured left).
Philanthropy has played a significant role in building the business. Larry, Sr. instilled the spirit of generosity within the corporate culture. Employees are encouraged to volunteer their time to their favorite organizations and are even provided work time to do so. In the past, the staff have volunteered at Heart of West Michigan United Way, built planting boxes for the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans, adopted highways to clean up, and brought their building skills to Habitat for Humanity to name just a few.
“We are here to serve our community, our clients and each other,” explains VP of Operations Taggert Town. It’s a mantra they’ve continuously followed. And, clearly, it has led them to success when the construction industry as a whole has seen consistent decline in its not-so-distant past.
“It’s a big deal to make it to 50 years,” boasts President Ben Wickstrom. He’s encouraged by the local economy and is excited to lead the business into the next 50 years as they stay close to their mission with a diverse skill set critical to their success.
To commemorate the occasion and show gratitude, Erhardt Construction is giving away $50,000 in prizes including a construction grant to a nonprofit organization in Kent or Ottawa counties that has been in existence at least one year. Charities are encouraged to apply for the grant award online and then the public will get to vote once daily for one month to determine which charity deserves the structural improvement. The following top four nonprofits will receive smaller cash awards.
The details of the “
Building our Community” construction give away project were laid out at a press conference held by Erhardt Construction yesterday at DeVos Place. They are thankful to the community where they have enjoyed their success, so in turn launched this new effort that will give back to the local nonprofit organizations that help make West Michigan a great place to live, work and do business.
A gift of this magnitude could be transformational for a nonprofit organization. Bruce Roller, executive director of United Church Outreach Ministry (UCOM), agrees.
“When UCOM moved into its building six years ago, we thought we had more space than we needed. That was when we were doing 12,000 services a year,” says Roller. “Currently, we are doing more than 50,000. We must build additional warehouse space or risk having to turn away substantial donations of much needed food [for our food pantry]."
Bill Reitscha, Michigan Blood’s CEO, concurs. “Michigan Blood would focus on enhancing the donor experience by improving the donor history screening and donation areas to assure optimal confidentiality, privacy and comfort for our donors,” says Reitscha. “While we are currently compliant with all FDA requirements for these functions, we believe several physical changes could make the experience even better for our donors."
UCOM and Michigan Blood are but two of thousands of nonprofit organizations that qualify for the construction award. Encourage your favorite charity to apply and then vote daily so they can win.
Taggert Town is looking forward to the working with the winner. His most proud moment is handing over the keys to a client – especially when one is not accustomed to the journey a construction project takes you on. In fact, the entire staff is invigorated since they had input on the prize structure for the “Building our Community” campaign. But, only the top five organizations win awards.
“They are all winners,” explains Wickstrom. “One will receive a facility improvement and four others a cash award, but all of them will receive greater public awareness.” So, get your vote on and start building our community.
CONTEST TIMELINE
May 16-June 11: Contest Registration Opens
June 18: Round 1 Voting begins
July 9-13: Top 5 Contest Finalists Announced
July 23: Round 2 Voting Begins
August 17: Round 2 Voting Ends
August 23: Contest Winner Announcement
PRIZES
Grand Prize $45,000 construction or renovation project
First Runner Up $2,000 cash donation
Second Runner Up $1,500 cash donation
Third Runner Up $1,000 cash donation
Fourth Runner Up $1,000 cash donation
Jennifer Wilson is Rapid Growth Media's Do Good Editor and the Editor in Chief of Women's Lifestyle Magazine.