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ALPENA ─ The Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan (CFNEM) and its affiliate foundations are joining hundreds of community foundations across the country in celebrating National Community Foundation Week, today through Wednesday, according to a CFNEM press release. This is a time to recognize and raise awareness of how these philanthropic organizations strengthen local communities.
Since its founding in 1974, CFNEM has worked to inspire and facilitate charitable giving that creates lasting, positive change across northeast Michigan's communities, the release stated. Through the generosity of local donors, the foundation now manages more than 550 charitable funds and has awarded nearly $66 million in grants and scholarships to support human services, education, health, environment, the arts, community improvement, and more.
According to the release, CFNEM's work touches every corner of Northeast Michigan in many ways, including the following:
- Working alongside other community foundations bordering Lake Huron to protect and improve the health of our lake.
- Engaging the next generation of philanthropists through its Youth Advisory Council (YAC) program, using grantmaking, leadership, and service to help young people learn about giving back.
- Supporting mothers and babies through Rx Kids in Montmorency County and working to help the program expand into additional counties.
- Strengthening the capacity of local nonprofits through its support of the Leadership Learning Lab cohorts, which provide in-depth leadership training for nonprofit staff across the region.
- Helping women give collectively for greater impact in Northeast Michigan.
- Encouraging community philanthropy and planned giving to provide for a bright and vibrant future in our region.
"National Community Foundation Week is an opportunity to celebrate what makes our communities strong -- people coming together to invest in a better future," CFNEM Executive Director Patrick Heraghty said in the release. "Every grant we make and every fund we manage represents someone's vision for a stronger, more vibrant Northeast Michigan. National Community Foundation Week reminds us that lasting change starts right here at home."
Community foundations are independent, public charities that connect donors' passions with community needs, according to CFNEM. Across the United States, more than 900 community foundations help build and steward local philanthropic resources to improve lives and address the most pressing local issues. CFNEM and its three affiliate foundations serve Alcona, Alpena, Montmorency, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Iosco, Crawford, Ogemaw, and Oscoda counties.
For more information about CFNEM and how you can make a difference in your community, visit cfnem.org.
About the Community Foundation
CFNEM is a charitable organization committed to providing people with ways to support their community now and for generations to come. Led by a volunteer board of local citizens, the foundation oversees a group of permanently endowed funds from a wide range of donors. Gifts of all sizes from individuals, families, businesses, and agencies are invested in a balanced, well-managed portfolio to build endowments, enabling support for students and local community nonprofits.