Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan Marks Impact of 25 Years of Service to Region

Detroit, MI, June 05, 2009 --(PR.com)-- The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan marked its 25th year working to improve the quality of life in southeast Michigan by announcing 25 special anniversary grant awards. The $625,000 in grants came as a welcomed surprise to the 25 nonprofits agencies from throughout the Community Foundation’s seven county service area, when each was presented with a check for $25,000. These special grants were part of more than $3.2 million in grants approved today at its annual meeting.

“These anniversary grants presented today are representative of the impact the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan has made in our first 25 years,” said Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan president Mariam C. Noland. “The Community Foundation has worked with nonprofits, communities and the people of southeast Michigan to improve the quality of life for all in this region. As we reflect on our accomplishments, we look forward to having an even greater impact in the future.”

“What started with a vision, a Board of Trustees and a borrowed office has grown to one of the largest and arguably most successful community foundations in the country,” said Joseph L. Hudson Jr., founding chairman and trustee, who worked for years to create a community foundation in southeast Michigan. “We continue to build endowment – community capital - through the generosity and commitment of thousands of individuals and organizations that have collaborated with us throughout the past 25 years. These permanent assets will enhance the stability of nonprofit organizations and help meet our region’s needs for generations to come.”

“We recognize that this is a time of unprecedented challenges for our region,” said Allan D. Gilmour, chair of the Board of Trustees. “Nonprofit organizations are experiencing greater demand for their services, while needed resources have declined. In response, the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan has become even more flexible and responsive in our grantmaking. We have increased the latitude, size and duration of our grants and provided more rapid responses to time-sensitive issues.”

The Community Foundation has created unique partnerships with local, regional and national foundations and corporations to help improve the quality of life in southeast Michigan. Since its founding in 1984, the Community Foundation has granted more than $360 million to charitable causes throughout the seven counties of southeast Michigan and beyond. The combined total of grants they have made and assets that it holds now exceed three-quarters of $1 billion.

In 2008, the Community Foundation authorized the second-largest dollar amount of grants in its history – more than $38 million through nearly 3,000 grants – despite the local and national economic downturn.

The Community Foundation highlighted organizations from throughout its seven-county region that demonstrate the Foundation’s key areas of impact from its first 25 years. These areas of impact and the organizations receiving the $25,000 special anniversary grants are as follows:

Building Endowment
- JVS
- Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan
- ACCESS (Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services)

Strengthening Cultural Organizations
- ArtServe Michigan
- Cultural Alliance of Southeastern Michigan

Promoting Quality
- New Center Community Mental Health Services
- Neighborhood Service Organization

Enhancing Our Natural Resources
- Downriver Community Conference
- The Greening of Detroit

Sustaining Communities
- WARM Training Center
- Michigan Suburbs Alliance

Supporting Seniors
- Presbyterian Villages of Michigan
- Catholic Social Services of Washtenaw County

Broadening Capacity
- Mosaic Youth Theatre
- Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings

Promoting Social Equity
- Sphinx Organization
- New Detroit Inc.

Investing in Youth
- LACASA (Livingston Area Council Against Spousal Abuse)
- Common Ground

Building Regional Economy
- Southwest Detroit Business Association
- Wayne State University/Adams Entrepreneurial Fellowship

Encouraging Healthy Living
- CARE (Community Assessment, Referral and Education)
- University of Michigan School of Public Health

Strengthening the Nonprofit Community
- Michigan Nonprofit Association
- NEW (Nonprofit Enterprise at Work)

The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan is a permanent community endowment built by gifts from thousands of individuals and organizations committed to the future of southeast Michigan. The Foundation works to improve the region’s quality of life by connecting those who care with causes that matter. 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 $360 million through more than 33,000 grants to nonprofit organizations throughout Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Monroe, Washtenaw, St. Clair and Livingston counties. For more information, please visit www.cfsem.org.

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