Joe Gentry

In 2005, First Federal of Northern Michigan (FFNM) moved from a Savings and Loan institution with partial public ownership to a fully public-owned publicly traded stock corporation with a NASDAQ listing. The board of directors decided at the time of this historic move it was in the best interest of the communities served to establish a foundation to give back to the communities in which FFNM was located in and serving. With a one-time donation of cash and stock in the amount of $679,940, the First Federal Legacy Foundation was formed. In the first year (2005) of the foundation’s existence, $33,997 in grants were made in FFNM’s communities to nonprofits and governmental agencies.

In 2018, FFNM was sold to mBank and the foundation’s focus remained steadfast ­– support the communities that were core to FFNM prior to the sale to mBank. Nicolet Bank purchased mBank in 2020, and the foundation became a step further removed from the communities once served by FFNM. During 2020, the foundation board including Chairman Marty Thomson, President Mike Mahler, Secretary Kathy Brown, Treasurer Eileen Budnick, and myself began discussion of winding down the foundation.

The original plan was to disburse all assets by the end of 2024. With this plan underway, the board elected to pursue larger, more impactful grants benefiting the former FFNM communities. With this mindset, the foundation offered support for the Culligan Plaza refresh in the amount of $100,000, supported the new Boys and Girls Club location in the amount of $85,000, and made other large-scale gifts such as the Thunder Bay Theatre rebuild donation following the fire of 2020. The focus was to support opportunities that would have a lasting impact in the former FFNM communities. In 2022 and 2023, many other large awards were made, including adding to the FFNM endowed scholarship fund at the Community Foundation of Northeast Michigan that will provide two $1,000 scholarships annually in perpetuity.

Midway through 2023, the foundation’s assets were reduced to a level that made dissolution of the foundation now instead of 2024 as planned. At the foundation’s final meeting on Dec. 19, the board disbursed grants ranging from $495 to Lydia’s Gate Women’s Shelter to $20,000 to the Alpena Youth Center’s expansion of daycare services. In the last four years, the foundation has made donations in the amount of $482,857. Many of these grants were centered near and about Alpena where the bank held its headquarters for 60 years.

Chairman Thomson expressed his appreciation to the communities that the bank served and expressed his hope that through the foundation the grants provided helped give back in a meaningful way. Mahler, foundation president since 2005, indicated that in 19 years the foundation has donated $918,564 to local nonprofits, governmental agencies and other charitable organizations. These donations include everything from supporting food pantries, school programs, local governmental organizations, i.e., fire departments and law enforcement departments, even assisting stocking brown trout in Lake Huron. In retrospect, the beneficiaries of the foundation’s grants are diverse and numerous.

At the final foundation board meeting, Mahler thanked the FFNM communities for the outreach and all the good work being done by so many nonprofits and organizations making northern Michigan a great place to live. Thomson finished by extending appreciation to the dozen or so foundation board members who have served the Foundation over its 19 years.

It was a bittersweet board meeting on Dec. 19, knowing that the foundation was being dissolved. However, it was reassuring to know that over the past 19 years the foundation has made a positive impact on the communities once served by FFNM.

Joe Gentry is the executive director of the United Way of Northeast Michigan. Reach him at jgentry@unitedwaynemi.org or 989-354-2221.