The Fremont Area Community Foundation is seeking applications for its General Community Grants program that are available to nonprofit agencies seeking to increase their organizational strength.

The community grants are strategic and responsive, allowing to partner with organizations and programs meeting critical local needs.

Focus Areas

• Community and economic development: The goal is to reduce the local unemployment rate below the national average while preserving rural character.
  • Grant applications are required to meet one of these focus areas:
    • Small business development
    • Entrepreneurship development
    • Workforce development
    • Capacity of local community and economic development partners
    • Natural resources promotion and utilization
• Education: The goal is to increase the proportion of Newaygo County residents with high-quality degrees, technical certificates, or other credentials to 60 percent by the year 2025.
  • Grant applications are required to meet one of these focus areas:
    • Early childhood investments (kindergarten readiness)
    • STEAM education opportunities
    • Literacy programs
    • Remediation opportunities
    • Creating positive college and career-oriented culture (community/parental involvement)
• Poverty to prosperity: The poverty to prosperity focus and intention is to move people upward and out of poverty. The goal is to reduce the poverty rate in Newaygo County below the national average over the next 10 or more years.
  • Grant applications are required to meet one of these focus areas:
    • Self-sufficiency (personal development or skill-building with individuals)
    • Asset development (personal asset development of individuals)
    • Social capital and empowerment (increase supportive relationships and networking of individuals)

Grantmaking Guidelines

• Serve residents of Newaygo County
• Community need supported with relevant local data
• Alignment of grantmaking priority areas
• Alignment with measures indicated on the Newaygo County Area Dashboard
• Specific program goals
• Long-term impact
• Realistic implementation plans
• Feasible budget projection
• Sustainability
• Collaboration with community partners

Eligibility Criteria

• Grants are available to nonprofit agencies.
• Things the Foundation will not fund:
  • Grants to individuals, the purchase of property, sponsorships of one-time or special events, existing obligations, religious programing requiring affiliation and/or religious instruction, or projects that began prior to award notification.

For more information, visit Community Grants.