Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan’s Pontiac Funders Collaborative announces more than $120,000 in grants to 15 Pontiac nonprofits
The Pontiac Funders Collaborative, an initiative of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, today announced 15 grants totaling $122,500 to build capacity among local leaders and organizations working to improve the quality of life in Pontiac through positive, community-driven change. Now in its third year, the funders collaborative has granted $3.8 million through 75 grants in support of economic growth and prosperity in Pontiac.
The Pontiac Funders Collaborative is a group of regional funders working in close partnership with nonprofit organizations and local government in Pontiac. The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan manages the fund.
“We are grateful that we can bring our community partners together to activate the power of their networks and strengthen their capacity to fulfill their missions,” says Sonia Plata, co-chair of Pontiac Funders Collaborative Advisory Council and Flagstar Bank Foundation director. “This collaboration is vital to ensuring local residents, organizations and nonprofits have a voice in shaping Pontiac’s future.”
The 15 grants were made through the collaborative’s Capacity Building for Nonprofits grant program, which aims to strengthen internal capacity and professional development while also encouraging collaboration. The program offers three grant opportunities:
- Professional leadership development: For individuals working in civic, nonprofit or community organizations to participate in professional development activities.
- Organizational development: Support for small and midsize nonprofit organizations seeking to improve their capacity to better serve the community.
- Collaboration development: For small and midsize nonprofits to more effectively cooperate, communicate and coordinate for consensus-building, shared policies, practices and projects.
“Our community partners work every day to ensure Pontiac is a great place to live and remains an essential city to our region’s culture and economy,” Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan President Richard (Ric) DeVore says. “The Pontiac Funders Collaborative is a strong example of working with the community to determine needs and help enhance residents’ quality of life.”
The 2022 grant funds will support individuals and nonprofits in Pontiac working on issues including health and human services, arts and culture, economic development, and education. Grants include the following.
- 2 as 1 Forever Inc — $2,500 for learning the key principles of relationships that promote human flourishing and gain access to hands-on tools to help families discover and invest in social bonds that matter
- Accent Pontiac — $5,000 for Rolando Ybarra, Accent Pontiac’s Assistant Percussion Teaching Artist to participate in an intensive music education teaching artist practicum offered by the Teaching Artist Training Institute
- Baldwin Center — $15,000 for a comprehensive facilitated discussion between the Baldwin Center, Hope Shelter and Jay Shop to develop an administrative services collaboration
- Center for Success Network — $10,000 for leadership training for team members to attend Next Level Nonprofit training, which offers tools and strategies to increase internal capacity
- Centro Multicultural La Familia, Inc — $10,000 to increase fundraising capacity for a capital campaign to build a BIPOC community center
- Chosen Kingdom Builders Inc — $5,000 for three team members to obtain their professional builder’s licenses
- Chosen Kingdom Builders, Inc — $10,000 for professional support to create comprehensive, forward-thinking bylaws for the organization
- Dr. Gary Burnstein Clinic — $10,000 to create a 3- to 5-year organizational strategic plan in 2023, engaging new community-based board members
- E-Community Outreach Services — $10,000 to support improved protocols and training for employees and volunteers in case management
- Hope Against Trafficking — $5,000 for staff professional development to meet the changing needs of survivors
- Identify Your Dream Corporation — $5,000 for support of strategic planning
- Oakland County Pioneer and Historical Society — $10,000 for support to update the organization’s long-term strategic plan to reflect current economic, cultural and demographic conditions
- Oakland Hope — $5,000 for development of individuals within Oakland Hope’s existing workforce for future management positions
- Sheriff Pal Program — $10,000 to create a long-term fund and board development plan, launch a community advisory board, and build a validated assessment and survey tool
- The Art Experience, Incorporated — $10,000 to support the further build out of a HIPAA-compliant, robust, case-management software program
About the Pontiac Funders Collaborative
Members of the Pontiac Funders Collaborative include Ballmer Group, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, Flagstar Bank Foundation, General Motors, New Economy Initiative, the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, PNC Foundation, Tauber Family Foundation, William Davidson Foundation, and the Vera and Joseph Dresner Foundation. For more information visit cfsem.org/Pontiac.
About the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan
The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan is a full-service philanthropic organization leading the way to positive change in our region. As a permanent community endowment built by gifts from thousands of individuals and organizations, the foundation supports a wide variety of activities benefiting education, arts and culture, health, human services, community development, and civic affairs. Since its inception, the foundation has distributed more than $1.4 billion through more than 85,000 grants to nonprofit organizations throughout Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Monroe, Washtenaw, St. Clair, and Livingston counties. Visit www.cfsem.org to learn more.