Cook Family Foundation

Photo credit: Michael D-L Jordan/David-Lorne Photographic Twenty-five of the most academically accomplished high school seniors from the Shiawassee County area recently made a trip to Ann Arbor. (See below for the full listing of all thirty-nine nominees, which includes those nominees unable to attend the trip.)

Thirty-nine of Shiawassee County region’s most  academically accomplished high school seniors have been nominated for scholarships to the University of Michigan by the Cook Family Foundation.  One of these students will be selected to receive a four-year, full-tuition, scholarship from Bruce and Jacqueline Cook.

In order to assist them with their college selection, twenty-five of the nominees recently attended an overnight trip to the University of Michigan where they met with admission officers, took a tour of the campus and stadium, heard a presentation for a professor, and had the opportunity to spend time with students from the Shiawassee County area presently enrolled at the University of Michigan.

“We want to make sure the leaders and the best among local high school students seriously consider the University of Michigan for the next level of education,” said Foundation President Bruce Cook.  “We are committed to the academic success of local students, and are committed to building partnerships with our public schools and our oldest public university.”

Each of the nominees will receive at least a $3,000 scholarship to the University of Michigan from the Cook Family Foundation.  The Cook Family Foundation annually provides a scholarship to any student from the greater Shiawassee region admitted to the University of Michigan.  In addition to scholarships to help students attend the University of MIchigan in Ann Arbor, the Foundation now also provides scholarships to Shiawassee area students with a 3.7 GPA or higher, who are admitted to UM-Flint or UM-Dearborn.  For assistance applying to UM, or for more information on scholarships, contact the Foundation or visit their website at: cookfamilyfoundation.org.

If they apply and are admitted to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, the following students will be considered for the Bruce and Jacqueline Cook scholarship: from Byron: Ella Coulter, Abigail Franzmeier, Rachel Reed, and Anya Wasilenski; from Chesaning:  Reed Frasier, Nicholas Healey, and Hayden Williams; from Corunna:  Stephen Bender, Kalon Boilore, Claire Buckley, Colin Lavery and Collin Munro; from Durand:  Zachary Hinojosa; from Laingsburg:  Grace Elfring, Grant Goetschy, Reece Kramer, Caiden Palaziola, Alyse Rowley, and Ethan West; from New Lothrop:  Hannah Beaucamp, Eva Harden, Isabel Henige, Luke Henige, Dillan Morell, Haley Vincke, and Madison Wheeler; from Ovid Elsie: Koralyn Bailie, Wyatt Wilcox, and Dominic Wilkinson; from Owosso:  Kendall Anderson, Ellie Feldpausch, Aaron Jafri, Jillian Klaver, Joseph Marcotte, Jack Smith, and Kyra Waldner; and from Perry:  Elyse Bawks, Grace O’Neill, and Lillian Warren. 

This is the seventeenth year of the Bruce and Jacqueline Cook scholarship, which is funded entirely by its namesakes.  Past recipients of the Bruce and Jackie Cook Scholarship have included Elizabeth Tolrud from Owosso in 2021, Mason Collard from Owosso and Kyah Ribble from Perry in 2020, Autumn Zwiernik from Laingsburg in 2019, Tyson Moore from Corunna in 2018, Elizabeth Hoornstra from Chesaning in 2017, Mitchell Lawrence from Byron in 2016, Nick Miller from Laingsburg in 2015, Nolan Wendling from New Lothrop in 2014, Emily Feuka from Perry in 2013, Sam Whaley from Perry in 2012, Adam Stewart from Laingsburg in 2011, Valerie Foster (Micol) from Byron in 2010, Adam Dingens from Corunna in 2009, Randy Piper from Owosso in 2008, Dan Frechtling from Perry in 2007 and Kendra Frye of Owosso in 2006.

Change will come whether we want it to or not. The last year has challenged us all to adapt to some severe changes. Rather than let external forces determine the future, the Cook Family Foundation is taking several steps to set the direction of our philanthropy in the years to come.  First, the board recently revised and reaffirmed our mission and vision. Second, and perhaps most importantly, we have adopted three values to guide our decisions.  (Read these statements here).  Third, we have hired a new staff person to add capacity to our work.

The purpose of the Foundation remains unchanged: to serve as both a resource for the greater Shiawassee community and be a catalyst for positive change.  While our vision and mission builds on our history of grant making around education, the environment, and the arts, we have restated both to emphasize our commitment to community stewardship and our desire to collaborate with nonprofit and other organizational partners.  As we continue to navigate change, these statements serve as north stars.

To more clearly communicate to the community we serve, guide our grantees, and remind ourselves of our legacy and commitments, we have also articulated three values:  1) Be Inclusive; 2) Have Integrity; and 3) Make True Impact.  These values help clarify and expand our purpose.  They also serve as helpful tools to evaluate decisions and our behaviors as the staff and board of the Foundation.

Inclusiveness is an aspirational value to serve the community without bias and to strive to create opportunity broadly. Integrity reminds us of our responsibility to use our resources for the public good and be transparent and open in our work. Impact provides a ruler to evaluate our grant-making.  Together, we hope to use these values to provide a stronger, more responsive philanthropy.

The statement of values comes at an important time for the Foundation, as we begin to more actively involve the fourth generation of the Cook Family in our governance.  Bailey Cook Leppert, great-granddaughter of the founders Don and Florence-etta Cook, joined the board in 2020 and took a leadership role in working with family members of all three living generations to define these values.  They reflect our family legacy, several decades of grant-making, and the goals we have for the future.

Meet Kerry Dutcher! Kerry, a long-time Owosso resident, joins the Foundation after a successful career in healthcare administration. She is excited to help the Foundation grow, and we are delighted to welcome her to the team!

As we continue to grow and prepare for the future, we have added capacity to better serve the community and our grantees.  Our new office manager, Kerry Dutcher joins our long-time Associate Director Yvette Collard.  Together, these two professionals will support Cook Family members and serve our stakeholders.

The last year has been challenging for all of us, and provided an opportunity to re-examine our purposes.  We hope to use the lessons of 2020 to inform and shape our work. In the years ahead, the Foundation will continue to be cognizant of changes in the community and the world. Guided by our mission, vision, and values, we will continue to make course corrections, adaptations, and improvements.  Your help and feedback is appreciated.