Community foundation awards nearly $29,000 to local projects.

Community foundation awards nearly $29,000 to local projects.

The Board of Trustees of the Community Foundation for Oceana County (CFOC) recently approved grant awards to a variety of community organizations in support of projects throughout Oceana County. A total of $28,893 was awarded as a result of CFOC’s competitive application process that is overseen by a subcommittee of its trustees.

Highlights of CFOC’s spring grant round include support for:

• District Health Department #10 – $1,800 to provide needed safety items for families in the Oceana maternal and infant health program.
• Hart Main Street Program – $1,654 to install a public, outdoor mural in downtown Hart, depicting recreational activities in Oceana County, called “Oceana At Play.”
• Love INC of Oceana County – $3,000 to help cover the costs of handbooks and childcare for those attending the reNEW Life Skills classes and mentoring program.
• Oceana County Sheriff’s office – $3,000 to support the purchase and install of a Knox Box at all Oceana County schools (39 total, three per school) to allow safety personnel secure access to a school building during an emergency.
• The Right Place/Oceana County Economic Alliance – $3,000 to support the economic development coordinator’s work towards Redevelopment Ready certification for the City of Hart and the villages of Pentwater and Shelby.
• Shelby Public Schools – $3,000 to revitalize the playground at Thomas Read Elementary, removing playground structures in poor repair, and replacing them with pieces that are safe, appropriate and fun.
• Staircase Youth Service – $900 to provide 15 at-risk youth with a one-day-a-week summer program, which promotes positive youth development through consistent interaction with adults, life skills training, and enrichment activities.
• Trinity Lutheran Church – $3,000 towards a new Baby Pantry, providing diapers, wipes and formula to help meet basic needs for families with children ages 0-5. The pantry will also encourage early literacy with a reading room, with free books in collaboration with Read early. Read often and the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.
• United Way of the Lakeshore, Oceana – $1,100 to continue support for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library Program to boost early literacy.
• Village of Pentwater – $3,000 to provide technical assistance to conduct a community assessment towards the creation of a new community master plan, as supported by the LaBarge-Beeber Family Fund.
• Walkerville Public Schools- $3,000 to help build a basketball court for the elementary playground.
• 14 teacher mini grants, totaling $2,439, supporting Oceana County classroom projects, including support from the Mary Ann Peterson and Malcolm Wood Memorial Funds.

GRANT RESOURCES
CFOC is currently comprised of 150+ funds, totaling over $12 million in assets. The individuals and organizations creating most of them are actively involved in deciding which nonprofits and community projects are supported, but some fund creators entrust the CFOC board to manage the contributions as part of CFOC’s competitive application process. The primary funding source is the Community Investment Fund, which supports critical, unmet needs that suddenly arise or to respond to community projects and opportunities as they develop. Other grant resources come from CFOC’s Field of Interest Funds focused on youth, health, parks and environment needs. Several donor advisors also partnered to meet these community and classroom needs.

NEXT GRANT ROUND
Area nonprofits can apply for grants from CFOC in the spring and fall of each year. For the next grant round, applications are due Aug. 29, 2019. Nonprofit organizations interested in seeking grant support from the Community Foundation are encouraged to visit www.oceana- foundation.org/grants to learn more.

The Community Foundation for Oceana County exists to enhance the lives of the people of Oceana by leading, promoting and channeling philanthropy that connects resources with local needs. For more information about the foundation, call Executive Director Tammy Carey at 231-861-8335, log onto www.oceana-foundation.org, or follow the Facebook page.

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