Back to News

2021 Strategic Leadership Grant Awards

The Community Foundation designed Strategic Leadership Grants to support projects and programs related to these three strategic goals:

Advancing Educational Attainment (Education)
  •  Life-long literacy, including STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) and financial literacy
  •  Educational equity (opportunities for every student to achieve their full potential)
Fostering a Dynamic, Local Economy (Community and Economic Development)
  •  Workforce supports, including affordable daycare, housing, and transportation
  •  Business supports, such as entrepreneurship development and capacity of local community and economic development partners
Enhancing Community Trust and Promoting Prosperity for all (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion)
  • Through cultural competence, dignity, and social justice, catalyze community to embrace inclusive prosperity and promote the development of spaces where all voices are valued

The following list highlights only a few of this year’s Strategic Leadership Grant recipients. Through their vital work, these organizations are helping to address challenges and opportunities here in Muskegon County.

Preschool for All (PK4ALL): To give more children access to high-quality early education, this pilot program will open four free preschool/daycare classrooms through a partnership between Muskegon Public Schools, Muskegon Heights Schools, and the YMCA/Goodwill.

Early Literacy Coaching: Through this effort, the MAISD will place a literacy coach in every public school district to help ensure that children in our county can enjoy all things that result from becoming confident, lifelong readers and writers.

Read Muskegon Literacy Collaborative: Focused on addressing the root causes of illiteracy, this program helps families and neighborhoods work together to reduce poverty and build advocacy, employability, and leadership skills.

Muskegon Community College’s Office of Diversity: This office will serve as a hub of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion resources for local groups and businesses seeking DEI training, staff development, shared workshops and seminars, and other opportunities.

Below is a full list of this year’s programs that were supported with grant dollars:

  • Community-based Play & Learn program expansion, Great Start Collaborative and MAISD
  • Tune Up afterschool youth orchestra, West Michigan Symphony
  • Driving Great Futures bussing and transportation access to youth services, Boys & Girls Club of the Muskegon Lakeshore
  • Love Lives at Tanglewood Park book clubs and cultural competency training, AgeWell Services of West Michigan
  • Visual, Cultural, & Data Storytelling information collection, Coalition for Community Development
  • Homeownership counseling and redevelopment for Wood-Manz Streets, Lakeshore Region Community Development Corporation
  • Affordable living community for seniors, Samaritas
  • 8th Street Youth, Sports, and Activities Football Park, Muskegon Heights Police and G.U.N.S.
  • The Kolbe Detox Center, Catholic Charities of West Michigan

To learn more, click here.