News

Although their rites of passage and other school activities have been impacted by the pandemic, young people are showing their resilience and creativity as they adjust to a new reality and continue working toward their goals. We are encouraged by a future generation of Washtenaw County leaders. We share as illustration two existing programs that continue to evolve and demonstrate the potential of our young people.

In 2018, AAACF began increasing its focus on older adults through the Glacier Hills Legacy Fund, building on decades of work through the Bach Fund and others. Washtenaw County values the wisdom, experiences, and contributions that older adults bring to our community. We began sharing a sobering call to action: the number of local seniors in poverty will likely double by 2040. Our community must be prepared for (and better yet, reverse) this long-term trend.

As another month begins, AAACF will maintain the weekly electronic updates we began in April. We’ll continue to share pandemic response news and information, along with updates from activities that occur annually around this time.

We recognize that this report is being released during an incredibly challenging time and that many people and organizations in Washtenaw County are facing dire economic hardships. AAACF has been sharing news of granting more than $1 million in response to the pandemic (our dedicated COVID-19 page continuously updates grantee listings, with forthcoming updates on up to an additional $500,000 in nonprofit loans) to provide a source of hope to all in our community. In this same spirit of hope—and in the comfort many of us now find in familiar traditions and activities, we share our 2019 Annual Report.

This week, we recognize key components of “community” in the Community Foundation. Although we have adapted in many ways to this crisis, we have also maintained important fundamentals such as working with hundreds of community volunteers comprising all our committees.

In this week’s update, we focus on action through recent grants for communities most impacted by this pandemic, according to data both quantitative and qualitative. Building on our previously shared collaborative, community-driven and research-based approach, AAACF has deployed more than $1 million in grants to date.

In this week’s update, we examine the nexus between institutions and individuals. Engagement with both organizations and people informs every aspect of our work, and here we highlight three examples.

As April has begun and the pandemic continues, we are going to issue regular weekly updates on our community responses and activities. This week highlights on Data-Driven Responses, Collaborative Responses, Personalized Responses, and Thoughtful Responses.

For more than a half century, thousands of community members have invested in Washtenaw County through endowment gifts large and small. Because of that loyalty to community, the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation (AAACF) can give significantly in this time of crisis. In the past two weeks, AAACF has already deployed more than $475,000 across our community.

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.