1 minute read
PARTNERS in progress
Next Article
Grand Rapids Community Foundation has the opportunity to collaborate with many local nonprofits leading change. Together, we are influencing our community today and for generations to come. Thanks to our Board of Trustees recently approved an $800,000 grant. Funds to support this gift have come from the Fund for Community Good and field of interest funds.
CITY OF GRAND RAPIDS, $800,000
The project to revitalize the Grand River, years-long in its planning and implementation, will have significant environmental, social and economic impacts–during restoration and for decades afterward. We are partnering with the City of Grand Rapids to embed equity in City and Cityinfluenced policies, practices, contracts and programming related to river restoration.
Specifically, funds will support an equity analyst, a staff position with responsibility to influence how the City conducts bidding for contracts and how it partners with businesses owned by people of color. The grant partnership also supports installing an automated Water Quality Notification System. This will improve trust and relationships with residents and visitors, fostering belonging and access to this place of cultural and historic importance.
Two Field of Interest funds, the Charles Evenson Fund for the Environment and The J. Leslie Livingston Memorial Fund, fuel this grant partnership, with additional support from our Fund for Community Good. Donor partners established the Evenson and Livingston funds to address environmental issues. We are grateful for this unprecedented opportunity to leverage their commitment to our natural resources alongside our commitment to environmental justice and an inclusive economy.
The river restoration project is really a catalyst, especially post-COVID. It’s an opportunity to ensure equity in the development along our river’s edge
Ciarra Adkins, City of Grand Rapids equity analyst.
Micro-local business enterprises (MLBE) are small businesses certified to meet various criteria, including revenue 25% or less than Small Business Administration small business standards. The City’s equity analyst will support MLBEs in their bids on projects as extensive as the river restoration.
CHARLES EVENSON’S LEGACY
Charles Evenson was an businessman and environmentalist who through his estate plans established a field of interest fund in 1988 (1991). The Charles Evenson Fund for the Environment is used for environmental projects and has distributed millions of dollars in grants to benefit West Michigan.
To learn about Grand River history, revitalization plans and more, visit riverforall.com.
