The Cook Family Foundation supports collaborative efforts to achieve community goals (read more about our ideas and experience with collective impact).  We actively participate in, and/or fund, several partnerships in Shiawassee County.  They include the following:

Shiawassee Scholars [Learn More…]

Each year a group of approximately 50 eighth graders in Shiawassee Schools are identified as “high academic achievers” and invited to participate in the Shiawassee Scholars program.  This program involves eight public school systems in our community and is operated by the Shiawassee Regional Education Service District (SRESD).  Shiawassee Scholars  provides a variety of support programs and activities to help the students better prepare for their pursuit of a college career.  Students and their parents are invited to educational seminars throughout their high school years, the students are invited to tour a university campus, and each student may apply for a scholarship to pursue an academic/career interest such as a summer camp or advanced learning opportunity.

Shiawassee Great Start Collaborative [Learn More…]

In order to achieve educational success, we need to start as early as possible to ensure that every child is safe, healthy and eager to succeed in school and life.  The Great Start Collaborative brings together agencies, schools, community organizations, local leaders and parents to build a coordinated system of services for young children and their families.  The Cook Family Foundation has been active in early childhood efforts prior to the creation of the Great Start Collaborative and has provided funding for several outreach efforts including an age-specific newsletter that goes to parents with children under the age of 5.

Shiawassee Economic Development Partnership (SEDP) [Learn More…]

The Cook Family Foundation was a founding contributor to the SEDP, a private-public partnership that brings together regional businesses and local government to build Shiawassee County’s economy through business attraction, retention, and expansion.  We believe that the civic health of our community requires a strong local economy, and that nonprofit organizations depend on local businesses for support.  In addition to being the largest private investor in the SEDP, the Cook Family Foundation helped fund the creation of Growing Hometown Futures, an outreach effort to encourage business professionals with local roots to consider Shiawassee County for an entrepreneurial endeavor.

Nonprofit Capacity Building Program Members

Click here to see a list of the Shiawassee County nonprofits that we work with.