Update | Spring 2018

update kalamazoo community foundation | SPRING 2018

BUILDING A VIBRANT COMMUNITY page 6

Any parent can appreciate the importance of early childhood education on their loved one’s development. As a mother, I saw first hand the benefits my children received by attending a high quality pre-kindergarten program.

Here at the Community Foundation, we have been committed to increasing the availability of quality pre-K opportunities for several years through our priorities of equity and education.

During our recent Forecast 2018 event, I had the opportunity as one of the keynote speakers to share about the importance of early childhood education. Quality pre-K not only helps prepare children for continued success in school and academically, but also for success in the workforce.

With this preparation, we know that students who grow up to be workers are able to build vibrant neighborhoods that help everyone reach their full Carrie Pickett-Erway President/CEO

potential. The good news is Kalamazoo County is in the top five percent in the state for pre-K programs.

In addition to myself, Dan Jaqua from Jaqua Realtors and Dwayne Powell Jr. from the City of Kalamazoo presented at the Forecast event respectively on economic development in Kalamazoo County and also entrepreneurship as a way to build a much more vibrant community. Check out some of the highlights of their presentations on page 6.

I hope you enjoy this issue of Update as you follow our progress in making life better for all in the Kalamazoo area. Love Where You Live.

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Give online www.kalfound.org/give

What we fund We fund 501(c)(3) nonprofits for work that fits within our community investment priorities and will benefit residents of Kalamazoo County. We also provide Kalamazoo area students with scholarships for education beyond high school.

(

269.381.4416

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kalfound.org

Mail a check Kalamazoo Community Foundation 402 East Michigan Avenue Kalamazoo, MI 49007-3888 Arrange a planned gift There are many ways for you to plan now for a gift later. To learn more, get in touch with our Donor Relations team at 269.381.4416 or donorrelations@kalfound.org.

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KALAMAZOO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

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What we don’t fund We don’t fund for-profit business development projects, private land purchases or private home purchases.

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Learn more at www.kalfound.org.

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SPRING 2018

linkedin.com/company/kalfound

KZCF takes top honors in financial performance Kalamazoo Community Foundation is No. 1. That’s

Previously, KZCF was ranked in the top 2 percent. KZCF,

according to a national ranking of community

established in 1925, has assets totaling $530 million.

foundation financial investment performance by

Thanks to the power of endowment, the Community

New York City-based Colonial Consulting.

Foundation has awarded a total of $434 million in grants

In a ranking of community foundations nationwide,

to area nonprofits and in scholarships to area students.

KZCF performed in the top 1 percent for the 10-year

The hallmark of the Financial Investment Committee is this

period ending September 30, 2017.

melding of intellectual capital with a practical, disciplined investment approach. While nothing can be guaranteed

“Of course, we’re thrilled to reach this level of performance for the benefit of the community,” says Susan Springgate, vice president for Finance

for the future, we believe that it will bring added value to the community for many years to come.

and Administration. “Our investment strategy is one

Our Financial Investment Committee includes co-chairs

of disciplined asset allocation, regular rebalancing,

Bob Salisbury and Randy Eberts and members Dean

minimizing fees and expenses, and not reacting to

Bergy, Dan DeMent, Sandi Doctor, Si Johnson, Jan Van

near-term market pressures or investment fads.”

Der Kley and Joel Wittenberg.

Kalamazoo Community Foundation Investment Performance FOURTH QUARTER 2017 Qtr 4

YTD

3 Yrs

5 Yrs

7 Yrs

10 Yrs

Actual

4.2%

15.6%

8.4%

10.3%

9.2%

7.4%

Benchmark

3.9%

15.5%

8.2%

9.7%

8.6%

6.4%

Actual

3.4%

12.4%

7.0%

9.1%

8.8%

7.4%

Benchmark

3.5%

12.4%

6.9%

8.9%

8.5%

6.5%

Core Assets Moderate Growth Performance

Income and Growth Performance

Investment performance is net of manager fees and derived from core Kalamazoo Community Foundation assets allocated into its two investment strategies. Historic performance for each is then derived from linkages to prior quarterly returns.

Performance reflects prior changes in asset allocations while benchmarks assume current allocations.

The Moderate Growth Benchmark is a staged index composite benchmark that has the current composition of the Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index (15 percent); Barclays US Treasury 5-10 Yr TR USD (10 percent); DJ US Select REIT index (2.5 percent); MSCI EAFE Small Cap Index (10 percent); MSCI Emerging Markets Value index (10 percent); Russell 1000 Value index (5 percent); Russell 2000 Value index (10 percent); Russell Micro Cap index (5 percent); S&P 500 index (30 percent); and the NCREIF Fund Index ODCE (2.5 percent).

The Income and Growth Benchmark consists of the S&P 500 index (50 percent) and the Barclays US Aggregate Bond index (50 percent).

SPRING 2018

KALFOUND.ORG

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Remynse: the power of endowment Clarence L. Remynse, born in 1904,

Remynse's gift allowed the

helped Mr. Remynse with his

was seriously injured as a teenager

Community Foundation to create

estate planning.

when accidentally struck in the

a permanent resource to help

head by a baseball bat at school.

graduating high school students

He missed a year of school

in Kalamazoo County who need

while recovering, but eventually

financial assistance to pursue a

graduated from Kalamazoo

bachelor's degree full time. Currently,

Central High School and then

the Clarence L. Remynse Scholarship

from Kalamazoo College.

is the largest scholarship fund at

His friends and business associates

the Community Foundation..

“He was highly respected” in the community, said Kirkpatrick, “and a very detailed person.” Kirkpatrick grew up two blocks from the businessman. “Mr. Remynse had no side,” the trust officer reflected.

He was referring to a now outdated expression for treating everyone

believed that his shy and quiet

“He had no side”

the same regardless of how they

demeanor was a result of this

“He was a very practical person,”

may be different from you. Kirkpatrick

accident, which left a scar that

recalled banker Fritz Kirkpatrick

and DeMent knew that Mr. Remynse

made him self-conscious.

(with what was then called First

wanted to make a difference once

American Bank), during an interview

he was no longer around. And it

by attorney Dan DeMent (formerly

was clear to them that Mr. Remynse

with DeMent & Marquardt) for

wanted to impact the future by

a cable television show in 2004.

helping young people succeed in

Kirkpatrick and DeMent both

their studies.

Remynse went into the family business — the Remynse Construction Company — and eventually became its president and owner. He established a reputation as a hard worker with a hands-on work style. Meanwhile, he also became a downtown Kalamazoo developer and owner of numerous properties.

Scholarship criteria The Remynse scholarship provides up to $7,500

“Mr. Remynse,” as everyone

a year and is for high school seniors who reside

referred to him, knew the impact

in Kalamazoo County or attend a Kalamazoo

he wanted to have after he was

County high school.

gone: he wanted to make a difference in the lives of children.

He didn’t have children of his own; in fact, he never married. But he would end up helping more than 1,000 area students pursue their college dreams.

The gift that Remynse gave to the Community Foundation upon his death in 1983 is a striking illustration

Students must pursue a full-time bachelor’s degree in one of these majors: business, education, engineering, math, psychology, science, pre-law or pre-med. Candidates should demonstrate leadership and involvement in school/community activities along with academic achievement.

This scholarship is also based on financial need and is renewable.

To learn more about this scholarship, please visit kalfound.org.

of the power of endowment.

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KALAMAZOO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

SPRING 2018

This is the power of endowment; this is the legacy of giving.

A powerful legacy

experience,”

“I’m guessing that Mr. Remynse

she says. “It

had no idea of the magnitude

also inspired

of students who would benefit

me to persevere

from his scholarship,” says Nancy

in my efforts in

Timmons, scholarship manager. “So

chemistry, an area

far, it has helped more than 1,200

not populated by

Nancy Timmons Scholarship Manager

students. This scholarship requires

a lot of women.”

the student to demonstrate financial need to attend the college of their choice and is renewable for an

Working with the Community Foundation, they crafted a

additional three years.”

She went away for college and,

Laurel Clark

after a few early jobs, returned to the Kalamazoo area — a dream

A committee of dedicated volunteers

that Mr. Remynse had that recipients

makes the award process possible.

of the scholarship would return to

Each winter, the volunteers read

the Kalamazoo area to contribute

While Mr. Remynse accumulated

through applications — without

positively to the community.

“a good-sized estate,” according

knowing the identity of the

to Kirkpatrick, it got even better.

candidates — and make their

Myra P. Whalen, who graduated

recommendations.

scholarship that has stood the test of time.

with Clarence from Kalamazoo Central, became Clarence’s longtime fiancée. She had a 33-year career at The Upjohn Company and when she passed, her estate went to Mr. Remynse. She shared his passion for influencing future

Laurel is currently a research and development project manager at Stryker Medical in Portage

“Mr. Remynse would be happy

and serves as a volunteer on the

to see the impact he and Myra

Remynse scholarship committee.

have made throughout Kalamazoo County,” says Timmons. “This is the power of endowment; this is the legacy of giving.”

“As a student, the Remynse scholarship inspired me to pursue chemistry,” she says. “Today I’m inspired by the students seeking

generations through education,

A full circle legacy

scholarships. Reviewing these

so he added her wealth to his

Laurel Clark, a past recipient

applications and learning these

estate planning.

of the Remynse scholarship, as

students’ dreams makes me reflect

an undergraduate student fell

on my own career. These students

in love with chemistry.

can get a great education, wherever

The Clarence L. Remynse Scholarship consists of both the Clarence L. Remynse and Myra

“[The scholarship] helped me

P. Whalen scholarship funds.

make the most of my college

$9 million

$22 million

endowed gift

earned and granted

they go, and then come back and be part of our community.”

$22 million fund balance

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KALFOUND.ORG

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Grantmaking for community impact Kalamazoo Community Foundation made more than 100 grants from unrestricted funds totaling almost $4 million in 2017. KZCF collaborates and partners with nonprofits throughout Kalamazoo County in a variety of sectors, including food, housing and health. Local nonprofits also received grants and distributions from Advised, Field-of-Interest and Designated Funds. Each grant is made considering the impact it will have to help everyone in our county reach their full potential, considering alignment with our investment priorities of equity and education.

• AACORN Farm, Inc. Skill Building • Arc Community Advocates Educational Advocacy • Arcadia Institute, Where Everyone Belongs • ASK Family Services • Bethany Reformed Church Backpack Buddies • Big Brothers-Big Sisters Mentoring • Black Arts and Cultural Center

• Borgess Foundation Psychiatric Crisis Intervention • Boy Scouts of America HEROES Program • Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kalamazoo • Bread & Roses Alternative Child Care Center • Building Blocks Resident Leadership Development • Bureau of Services for Blind Persons

• Can-Do Kitchen Inclusive Incubation • Center for Transformation Mentoring Ex-Offenders • Cheff Therapeutic Riding Center Sensory Classrooms • Christian Global Medical Healthcare Incorporated • Christian Neighbors, Neighbors Caring for Neighbors

Building a vibrant community Missed the Forecast 2018 event? Here are a few highlights from the event held at Cityscape Event Center.

Real Estate Growth – Dan Jaqua, Jaqua Realtors • Increasing variety of development in housing,

• Remove barriers to starting a business by providing our community the resources it needs to become an entrepreneur and also to positively change in their community.

restaurants, hotels, brownfield redevelopment projects

Philanthropic Giving – Carrie Pickett-Erway,

and commercial spaces in the Kalamazoo area.

Kalamazoo Community Foundation

• With the growing number of new housing developments, it has become even more important that developers offer affordable and equitable access to housing.

• Unrestricted funds have provided KZCF the flexibility to meet the community’s most critical needs. For example Open Doors, a nonprofit geared to helping families achieve housing success, created an Incentive

Economic Development – Dwayne Powell Jr.,

Savings Program funded by KZCF to assist individuals

City of Kalamazoo (pictured on cover)

in saving money with a matching program.

• Many people of color in Kalamazoo still live in poverty and don’t have the resources to make a positive change in their neighborhoods.

• K ZCF is advocating for the Michigan Community Foundation Tax Credit to help restore incentives to increase the pipeline of donors and permanent

• Developing entrepreneurs is important to help empower individuals in low income neighborhoods to find financial independence and also reach their fullest potential.

resources to meet the community’s most critical needs.

Don’t want to miss the next event? Join our email list via our website kalfound.org to learn more about upcoming events and initiatives.

• Research shows 90 percent of entrepreneurs help drive their local economy.

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KALAMAZOO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

Cover photo by Westley Amica III SPRING 2018

All Others $786,300 • City of Kalamazoo Parks & Recreation Supervised Recreation • Communities In Schools of Kalamazoo • Community AIDS Resource and Education Services • Community Healing Centers, Inc., STREET Afterschool • Community HomeWorks Low-income Homeowners • Community Living Options, Camp Amigo • Community Promise Federal Credit Union • Constance Brown Hearing Centers, Access to Hearing • Disability Network SWMichigan Advocacy Academy • Douglass Community Association • Eastside Youth Strong • Ecumenical Senior Center Services and Outreach • Edison Neighborhood Association • Educating For Freedom In Schools • ERACCE • Family & Children Services • Fire Historical and Cultural Arts Collaborative • First Congregational Church Community Spaces • First United Methodist Church Justice for Our Neighbors • Food Bank of South Central Michigan • Friendship Village Strategic Planning • Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan • Girls On The Run of Greater Kalamazoo • Goodwill Industries of SWMI Pathways to Equity • Great Lakes PeaceJam Seeding Change • Gryphon Place • Guardian Finance and Advocacy Services • Healthy House • Irving S. Gilmore Keyboard Festival Piano Labs • ISAAC • Kalamazoo Book Arts Center Education Program • Kalamazoo Collective Housing Rehab • Kalamazoo County ID Program, ID for Everyone • Kalamazoo County Juvenile Home Foundation • Kalamazoo County Land Bank Vibrant Kalamazoo • Kalamazoo County Ready 4s

Civil Rights, Social Action & Other Advocacy $301,900

Education $1,381,400

Unrestricted Grants 2017

Housing & Shelter $169,500 Community Improvement & Capacity Building $285,678

Human Services $513,750

• Kalamazoo Drop-In Child Care Center • Kalamazoo Institute of Arts Inclusive Arts • Kalamazoo Literacy Council, Everyone Needs to Read • Kalamazoo Loaves & Fishes • Kalamazoo Nature Center • Kalamazoo Neighborhood Housing Services • Kalamazoo Public Library Anti-Racism Transformation • Kalamazoo Public Library ONEplace • Kalamazoo RESA, STEM Education in Kalamazoo County • Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra Youth Programs • Kids Moving & Thriving • Lakeside for Children Foundation, Education and Retention • Program • Local Initiatives Support Corporation • Merze Tate Explorers • Michigan Department of Health & Human Services • Michigan Immigrant Rights Center Welcoming Kalamazoo • Michigan United Grassroots Organizing • Ministry with Community Resource Center and Drop-In • Northside Association for Community Development • Northside Preschools • Open Doors Kalamazoo • Open Roads Bike Program Student Engagement

Youth Development $447,500

• OutFront Kalamazoo LGBTQ Advocacy • Parchment Community Library • Planned Parenthood of Michigan Building Equity • Portage Community Center Youth Programs • Pretty Lake First-Time Campers • Prevention Works, Inc. • Project X Young Adult Leadership Development • Read and Write Kalamazoo • Renaissance Enterprises Senior Outreach • Salvation Army Pathway of Hope • SCORE Kalamazoo • Seeds for Success • SHARE Racial Healing Initiative • SLD Read • St. Luke’s Episcopal Church Partners in Housing • United Methodist Church Anti-Racism Team • United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region • Urban Alliance (Employment Solutions) • W.E. Upjohn Institute Refugee Opportunities • WMU Foundation Humanities for Everybody • WMU Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine • YMCA of Greater Kalamazoo Summer Achievers • Youth Advancement Academy Summer Work Program • YWCA of Kalamazoo Maternal Infant Health

SPRING 2018

KALFOUND.ORG

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Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage paid Kalamazoo, MI Permit Number 66

402 East Michigan Avenue Kalamazoo, MI 49007-3888 269.381.4416 kalfound.org

4th Annual Find Your Cause FIND YOUR CAUSE Wednesday, April 18 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

The Foundry

600 East Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo, MI 49007

Vershun Ford, volunteer and outreach coordinator for Gryphon Place Volunteer Services, also adds, “This

Kalamazoo Community Foundation, in partnership with

event allows us to

Gryphon Place Volunteer Services, is hosting its fourth

bring passionate

annual Find Your Cause event to connect volunteers of

people who

all ages with nonprofits throughout Kalamazoo County.

want to help

Approximately 30 agency representatives will be available

[our community]

to meet with interested volunteers.

by meeting face-

“Volunteerism is just one of the ways to simultaneously give back and make an impact in our community,” says KZCF Development Officer Raven Britt. “Find Your Cause provides

to-face with many organizations who need volunteers.”

this platform, and we’re excited to be partnering with

To learn more about the event, visit kalfound.org or call

Gryphon Place Volunteer Services again.”

Gryphon Place Volunteer Services 269.381.1510.