Keweenaw Community Foundation / Houghton, MI

Keweenaw Community Foundation Grants

What We Did In The Past Year

Granting Money

KCF funds are like savings accounts for fields of interest, designated organizations, scholarships or other purposes. There are 65 of these funds, listed on the back page. At the end of our fiscal year on March 31, 2012, the value of these funds was $5,395,803 up nearly 2.5% from the previous year. During the past year, interest earned from these funds produced a total of $128,586 to grant in Houghton and Keweenaw Counties, 29% more than the previous year due to growth of the funds and recovery of the financial markets. Of this year’s total, $60,320 (up 45%) is for fields of interest, such as youth programs and community health; $56,636 (up 18%) is for designated organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity or the Good Will Farm; $8630 (up 37%) is for scholarships; and $3,000 was granted by the Herman Gundlach Donor Advised Fund. The KCF funds will continue year after year to earn granting money for the community because only the income from those funds is spent. The invested money continues earning “For Good, For Ever.” Here are a few examples of the ways the earnings were granted this year:

Portage Community Health Endowment Fund – The CCISD Chapter of Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) received a grant to help send 60 students to a HOSA leadership conference, a regional competition in Marquette where they won 22 medals including 8 gold, and for the top three finishers the state championship in Lansing. Other grants included snowshoes for CCISD outdoor recreation programs; the Keweenaw Family Resource Center “Ready, Set, Grow!” program to support 14 activity sessions for 60 young children and 50 adults at the Tree House Indoor Playground; free cholesterol screening for 650 adults; Portage Health Dialysis Center to buy an additional wheelchair; Aspirus Keweenaw for its “Gentle Exercise” program for seniors; Keweenaw Nordic Ski Club to introduce elementary age youth to the sport of cross country skiing; and Bridge Alternative High School for a “core wellness” nutrition program for students.

Keweenaw Cross Country Skiing Endowment – Grants helped the Keweenaw Nordic Ski Club and the Copper Island Cross Country Ski Club to purchase new grooming equipment.

Copper Country Youth Hockey Endowment – Copper Country Junior Hockey Association received a grant to defray the cost of hockey registration for needy families.

Portage Lake Youth Endowment – Dial Help received a grant for “Winter Solstice Fun” that provided Christmas break activities for middle school students needing help to replace self-defeating behaviors with positive skills, while Bridge Alternative High School received funds to transport students to Lansing with their mural “Must See Attractions Of The Keweenaw.”

KCF Youth Endowment Fund – The Youth Advisory Council used a needs survey conducted in area schools in 2011 to direct applicants to address the needs of youth in the community. Grants from this fund supported the Village of Lake Linden for its Skateboard Park; a CCISD Student Leadership Committee Conference in April 2012; Main Street Calumet for a history-themed fun zone; BHK Child Development Board for its summer Professional Artists Program for youth; Dial Help for its Kayak Youth Adventures program; and Horizons Alternative High School for experiential programs to learn new skills and hobbies for at-risk youths.

Bernard F. Gaffney Scholarship – The 2012 scholarship went to Dylan Turpeinen of Houghton High School who now is enrolled at Michigan Tech.

Faith Lutheran Scholarship – Two scholarships were awarded to Matthew Riutta who now is studying music at Michigan State University, and to Travis Fredrickson who now is studying kinesiology at Michigan Tech University.

Anthony and Patricia Stark Scholarship – Daniel Lauristen received an award to study cello through the Copper Country Suzuki Association.

Heart & Hands Award – This annual award from the Martha and Floyd Heart & Hands Society recognizes exceptional service to peace, justice or the environment by an adult and by a youth who might not otherwise be recognized. This year’s adult winner was Gina Nicholas who donated her award to the Gratiot Lake Conservancy, the Pilgrim River Watershed Project, and the HKCD Bete Grise Tobacco Watershed Project. The youth winner was Maria Sliva who donated her award to Ministry to the Poor in Mexico.

The Keweenaw Community Foundation Youth Advisory Committee announces grant recipients:
March 8, 2012

The Youth Advisory Committee has just announced its grant recipients: Congratulations to the Hancock Student Leadership Committee, Main Street Calumet, Inc., BHK Child Development Board, Dial Help, Village of Lake Linden, and CCISD/Horizon Alternative Education.

The Youth Advisory Committee will be granting again in the Fall of 2012, to be placed on the Keweenaw Community Foundation’s request for proposals list to be notified of all future grant opportunities please contact our office at (906) 482-9673.

The Herman Gundlach Donor Advised Fund Granted $8,500 in 2011:

The Herman Gundlach Fund granted $8,500 in total during 2011. This grant reflects many of Winks special interests, which he supported throughout his life. As in his life, Herman Gundlach continues philanthropy and support of the entire Keweenaw through this endowment. This is his legacy-giving forever.

These organizations were the recipients of this year’s Gundlach 2011 Grant:

Barbara Kettle Gundlach Shelter
Bay Cliff Health Camp
Boy Scouts of America, Hiawathaland Council
Calumet Theatre
Camp Lahti For Kids
Cho Scholarship Fund
Copper Country Community Arts Council
Copper Country Girl Scouts
Copper Country Humane Society
Copper Country Habitat for Humanity
Copper Country Killer Whales
Copper Country United Way
Elks Lodge 404-Calumet
Finlandia University
Goodwill Farm/Big Brothers Big Sisters
Keweenaw Family Resource Center
Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly
Omega House
Pine Mountain Music Festival
Read to Ride Program
Salvation Army
SKY
St. Peter & Paul Lutheran Church
VFW South Range Post

2011 Field of Interest Grants through the Keweenaw Community Foundation:

The Portage Lake Youth Endowment Fund granted $1,602

$1000 to Bridge Alternative School to help support their mural “Must see attractions of the Keweenaw.”
$602 was awarded to Dial Help to support “Winter Solstice Fun” during Christmas Break 2011.

The Copper Country Youth Hockey Endowment Fund granted $907

$907 was awarded to the Copper Country Junior Hockey Association to help families offset the cost of registration fees to participate in Junior Hockey.

The Keweenaw Cross Country Skiing Endowment Fund granted $1188

$708 was awarded to Copper Island Cross Country Ski Club to help equip an ATV with safety features for ski trial grooming.
$480 was awarded to the Keweenaw Nordic Ski Club to help purchase equipment to sustain cross country skiing at Swedetown Recreation Area.

The Portage Community Health Endowment Fund granted $19,119

$1600 awarded to Keweenaw Nordic Ski Club for Cross Country Skis for Kids, For Health and For Life!

$1000 awarded to Aspirus Keweenaw for “Gentle Exercise”

$1785 awarded to Portage Health cholesterol screening of the Community Program

$3000 was awarded to Keweenaw Family Resource Center for Ready, Set, Grow! Program

$3400 was awarded to Bridge High School for Core Wellness Program

$2500 was awarded to CCISD for the purchase of snowshoes for middle & high school students

$5434 was awarded to the CCISD-HOSA Chapter for juniors and seniors to compete in national leadership conferences

$400 was awarded to Portage Health Dialysis Center for patient care

The Martha and Floyd Hearts and Hands Endowment Fund Announces annual grant:

Showing her heart and hands

July 19, 2011

By Stacey Kukkonen - skukkonen@mininggazette.com

HOUGHTON - After being nominated numerous times, Joan Chadde, program coordinator for the Western Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education, was honored with the Heart and Hands of the Keweenaw Award by the Heart and Hands Society.

"She's just an amazing person," said Suzanne Van Dam from the selection committee for the award. "She works really hard at getting lots of people involved in her projects."

Van Dam said along with getting others excited for science and learning, she aims to get youth excited for learning as well, which made her the ideal candidate for this year's award.

Chadde was honored during the Fourth of July weekend. She was lauded for her efforts to teach youth about environmental issues.
"She's gotten area teachers involved with learning about the environment, and science curriculum," Van Dam said.

Chadde was nominated in previous years, and although worthy every year, this particular year she shined among the other nominations. Three people were nominated for the award.

"Joan has been nominated by several people," she said.

The Heart and Hands of the Keweenaw Award is bestowed on individuals who go above and beyond typical work duty, are enthusiastic and get people involved in causes. The individual is usually compassionate, giving of their time and motivated, and Chadde fit those descriptions, Van Dam said.

As winner, Chadde was given $1,000 to give away to a local charity of her choice. She picked the Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative, a program she works with during the school year.

"It's a project that involves area schools and Michigan Technological University," Van Dam said.

Van Dam said she was happy to see Chadde walk away with this year's award.

"Joan is so deserving," she said. "She epitomizes the heart and hands. She gives over and over to so many different people."

PUBLIC DOCUMENTS: Our annual audit, IRS Form 990, and our annual application for the State of Michigan License to Solicit Donations are available at our office during business hours.