News

The EmpowerMENt Fund, seeded with $1M by an anonymous donor, supports efforts that uplift young Black males in Washtenaw County while promoting their educational success. The EmpowerMENt Fund recently made grants to Mentor2Youth and Washtenaw My Brother's Keeper (WMBK).

This spring, AAACF is sharing fresh ideas for Washtenaw County and a focus on the future during this season of blooming and renewal. In this issue learn about Forging New Paths: Impact Investing Blog by Jillian Rosen, Empowering Young Black Men: WMBK & Mentor2Youth Grants, The Value of Sharing Knowledge: The Free College Movement, and Buhr Foundation Transition Continues Philanthropy for Community.

Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation (AAACF) is investing in strengthening arts & culture nonprofits in Washtenaw County. We seek to activate the artistic and cultural identity of all people in Washtenaw County and ensure a fundamental level of access to arts and culture for everyone.

James W. (Jim) and Marla J. Gousseff loved the Ypsilanti community where they had resided since 1963—deeply engaging during their lifetimes and leaving a lasting impact through a $1.8 million estate gift to the Ypsilanti Area Community Fund (YACF), the sole affiliate fund of AAACF, realized in December 2020.

Looking Back & Moving Forward , Gousseff Transformative Gift to Ypsilanti, WMBK's Documentary Premiere, AAACF Welcomes Dorcas Patterson!

A new year ushers in exciting developments at AAACF! 2021 will be filled with opportunities for youth in Washtenaw County and new ways for AAACF to connect with you virtually. Here are some announcements for beginning this year.

Early in the year, AAACF Board and Staff began planning for the creation of new core values for AAACF (existing values were approved in 2003) connected to embarking upon a new five-year strategic plan (our current strategic framework runs through December 2020). The pandemic actually intensified our pursuit of these endeavors, as we feel an even greater sense of responsibility to our community and to examine our work in context of a changed society.

When AAACF CEO Neel Hajra announced the new $250,000 investment in Michigan Women Forward to create a Washtenaw-specific initiative to provide loans and technical support to women-led businesses in Ypsilanti and rural communities during the Community Conversation, he also shared that this impact investment follows careful planning and responds to groundbreaking research.

Autumn always brings winds of change and this season at AAACF ushers in major new announcements and developments. Just as the color of fall leaves depends on factors from the months preceding, each new major endeavor we are sharing now represents months and years of prior work and planning: New Core Values for AAACF, Highlight Reel from Community Conversation, Groundbreaking Report on Local Capital Flow, and Announcing the EmpowerMENt Fund.

Reimagining Capital in Washtenaw County: A Community Conversation Starter Tuesday, September 15 from 3:30-5:00 PM online. How do community and financial capital intersect in Washtenaw County? How can we support neighborhoods during challenging times? A line-up of community leaders will share thoughts virtually.