News

AAACF is issuing both Grants and Loans in response to the COVID crisis. As our nonprofits, partners, and community strive to support those in need, we are working with them to support Washtenaw County.

Here are important messages for individuals and organizations alike as we all focus on taking care of our community during this time of crisis.

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 and the Washtenaw Coordinated Funders are excited to be co-funding, in partnership with the Michigan Health Endowment Fund, to bring the Catchafire platform to Washtenaw County!

The Ypsilanti Area Community Fund (YACF) welcomed a packed room at the Eagle Crest Clubhouse on November 19th to hear an update and exciting plans for continuing the “community voice” work begun this year. YACF is working toward their Impact Statement.

On November 13th, a group of past Aquademics champions gathered together to celebrate the establishment of the Aquademics Scholarship at AAACF to celebrate the lasting legacy of the program and to encourage the continued pursuit of academic excellence by local youth of color.

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.