News

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.

Especially during these challenging times, we want to highlight accomplishments of our local youth, virtual gatherings, and grant opportunities. In this e-news issue: Youth Council Year-End Celebration & Senior Send-Off, Virtual Community Conversation (9/15/20), Washtenaw County's 2020 Young Citizens of the Year, and AAACF Grantmaking Opportunities for Summer & Fall.

We are writing to share an update about AAACF’s grant programs. Since the start of the pandemic, grantmaking Committees and staff have been working together closely to provide responsive funding to emergent needs on an ongoing basis. This summer and fall we will have a number of grant programs and funding opportunities available that focus on continued community relief and the start of community recovery. Please read through the program descriptions below carefully because each program has a different request and decision making process generated by grantmaking Committees and staff that are in alignment with the availability of funding and priority areas.

Although this is the last of the weekly updates instituted during the pandemic, AAACF will continue to share important news throughout the summer and beyond. We will also continue to update our dedicated COVID-19 response webpage.