Charitable programs in Southwest Michigan awarded thousands of dollars in grants

BUCHANAN, Mich. -- The Board of Trustees for Michigan Gateway Community Foundation announced they approved several grants to charitable programs in Berrien and Cass Counties.

Officials say the foundation was established with gifts from citizens, ranging from a few dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the income generated by these gifts is used in grant making.

• $25,000 from the Unity Fund to the City of Buchanan for the construction of a handicap accessible boat ramp on the Saint Joseph River.
• $25,000 from the Walter Schirmer Jr. Fund to be used for the Northstar Revitalization Plan to help with improved housing in the northside neighborhood of Buchanan.
• $8,000 from the Ann S. Cone Fund for Families & Youth in support of the Positive Parenting Program. This is provided by the Berrien County Health Department and supports families in the City of Niles.
• $3,221.38 from the Ann S. Cone Fund for Families & Youth to the Niles District Library for the purchase of a Playaway system for audio book access for their patrons.
• $5,000 capacity building grant awarded to Berrien County Cancer Services to build a new website and landing pages to assist cancer patients access their services.
• $3,000 from the George W. Romney Fund to Junior Achievement of Berrien & Cass County in support of Junior Achievement programming at Sam Adams Elementary School in Cassopolis.
• $7,660 from Buchanan Education Fund and the Buchanan Area Fund awarded to Buchanan Community Schools for executive leadership coaching.
• $2,235 from General Funds awarded to Cassopolis Band Boosters for the purchase of 4 bass drums.
• $9,210 capacity building grant from the Walter Schirmer Jr. Fund awarded to the Roti Roti Art Center of Buchanan to support consulting work aimed at building a strategic plan, future staffing models and board training.
• $10,000 from the George & LaVonne Sullivan Endowment, Niles Area Fund, Cass Community Fund and Michigan Gateway Community Foundation General Fund to support the Southwest Michigan Regional Chamber in their efforts to address population decline, job creation and the creation of marketing materials, landing pages and community tours to promote the region of South Berrien and Cass Counties.

For more information on Michigan Gateway Community Foundation, or to make a contribution visit www.mgcf.org, or call 269-695-3521.

MGCF has two annual grant cycles from unrestricted grant sources, Feb. 1 and Aug. 1, and one mini-grant cycle for youth-led initiatives due Nov. 1.