Athens Area Community Foundation

Established in 1925, Kalamazoo Community Foundation provides funding to programs that enrich education and learning and enhances economic and community growth. Located in Kalamazoo, Mich., the organization also provides funds for programs that engage residents and youths in community activities. It also helps people in achieving their charitable and financial goals and uses a financial investment model. Kalamazoo Community Foundation invests mainly in early childhood learning and school readiness, economic and community development, individuals and families and youth development.

The founder of the Fetzer Institute, John Earl Fetzer, was familiar with the call of the sacred within the secular. Trained as an electrical engineer, John E. Fetzer began his career in 1931 by designing, building and operating his own radio station that he then expanded into a Michigan-based, multi-state broadcasting empire including radio, television, cable and closed-circuit music transmission. As a private operating foundation, the Fetzer Institute uses the bulk of its income to actively run its own programs or services. The institute does not accept unsolicited proposals, but occasionally offers fellowships requests for proposals and awards that are open for application. It convenes working groups to discern areas of future activity. It then invests in the wisdom and the questions that emerge from these dialogues. Institute meetings include dialogue, inquiry, reflection and contemplation as well as attention to measurable outcomes. This approach enhances traditional models, transforming individuals, organizations and communities.

Established by Will Keith Kellogg, better known as the inventor of the cornflake and founder of the Kellogg cereal empire, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation was created to help people help themselves through the practical application of knowledge and resources to improve their quality of life and that of future generations. It is a nonprofit organization that focuses on building the capacity of individuals, communities and institutions to solve their own problems. The foundation s grants are awarded in four areas: health, food systems and rural development, youth and education and philanthropy and volunteerism. Its recent grantees have included the Social Venture Network, Denver Health Community Voices and the Academy for Educational Development. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was established in 1930 and has headquarters in Battle Creek, Mich. During his lifetime Kellogg donated more than $65 million to the foundation, which now receives its income primarily from investments made by its own trust.