News

The Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation’s Short-Term Cash Flow Loan Program makes short-term (up to 180 days) cash flow loans of $5,000 - $50,000. The loans will be made on a rolling basis from a revolving fund of $500,000. This program has been initiated as part of AAACF’s philanthropic response to the COVID-19 health pandemic and economic crisis and complements AAACF’s grantmaking to support COVID-19 response, relief, and recovery efforts. Since the crisis began in mid-March, AAACF has granted over $470,000 to local nonprofits in support of response and relief efforts and will continue to do so throughout 2020 and beyond.

Nonprofits provide essential services to those who need them most, but resource and capacity constraints continue to threaten the health and sustainability of such organizations. To address these constraints, Michigan Health Endowment Fund (The Health Fund), Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, Washtenaw Coordinated Funders, and Catchafire have come together to roll out “One Michigan”, a statewide initiative aimed at enabling nonprofits to get access to talent in abundance, and in the process, “on-demand” capacity building support.

Capacity Building for Social Movements: Grants for “capacity building” have been a central focus for AAACF for decades. Capacity building is an equivocal concept because there can be both tangible and intangible outcomes across multiple levels, from micro to macro. The Nonprofit Quarterly says: “It can be helpful to think of capacity building through the lens of who (e.g., people, organizations, networks), what (e.g., knowledge, skills, processes), and how (e.g., training, peer learning, technical assistance).”

In the spirit of a new year and decade, we’re largely looking forward in this newsletter. 2019 was another strong year, thanks to our generous community! This spring, we will share news of gifting, granting and investment performance—as well as new staff hires, as we expand our abilities to serve Washtenaw County.

The Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation (AAACF) recently awarded over $1 million in grants from the Glacier Hills Legacy Fund (GHLF) to support vulnerable seniors and their caregivers in Washtenaw County. The GHLF was established through the generosity of Ann Arbor's Glacier Hills Senior Living Community and Trinity Health Senior Communities of Livonia, MI.

AAACF is pleased to announce that we are now accepting applications! Available Grant Programs Include the Anna Botsford Bach Fund for Seniors Grant Program and the Youth Council Grant Program.

The 2019 Year-End E-News is released now. See the new Youth Council members that now span county wide! Read updates on YACF, a Legacy of Learning, and much more.

We are pleased to introduce the new Youth Council members who are joining the committee this academic year! They represent a wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives across Washtenaw County, which are critical to the thoughtful decisions of the Youth Council. These local high school students oversee annual grants of $80,000+ and volunteer in the community.

In this issue read highlights of the Stern Legacy Celebration, learn about CultureMakers, and stay up to with year-end deadlines and reminder.

The 2019 CED "In Our Neighborhood" grant program is now open! There are countless groups and connections between individuals that together make up our community in Washtenaw County. These "neighborhoods" that we live in are both literal (defined by geography) and figurative - some of us might be members of "neighborhoods" that are based on our vocation or social identity. "Arts and Culture" form the connective tissue that makes these neighborhoods thrive, allowing us to access our individual creative spirit, meaningfully connect with others, support economic activity, and give voice to our many and diverse experiences.