The Cook Family Foundation announces seven grant awards to expand the capacity and effectiveness of local organizations to better serve the residents of Shiawassee County.  The two largest grants – $70,000 to the United Way of Genesee County (serving Shiawassee County) and $50,000 to the Shiawassee Economic Development Partnership (SEDP) – will be matched by the organizations themselves.  

These two capacity building grants will expand assistance to community-based nonprofits, local governments, and private businesses in their efforts to improve the community.  Both are based on cooperative efforts to bring together local stakeholders to increase impact.  The other five grants will improve facilities, equipment, or programs that directly serve Shiawassee residents.  

“We believe in the power of local groups to create a diverse, healthy, and thriving community,” said Tom Cook, Executive Director of the Cook Family Foundation. “Our goal is to help them best use their resources, and leverage more funds where possible, to carry out their missions.”  Each of the grants awarded will be matched by other donations, initiate new revenue generating activities, and/or will help bring in funds from outside Shiawassee County.  

The United Way of Genesee County (serving Shiawassee County) has been working with local groups and employers in Shiawassee County for the last six years to respond to emergency needs, provide safety and security to vulnerable residents, and promote early childhood educational success.  A half-time staff person has coordinated these efforts. This $70,000 grant over the next two years, will enable the United Way to create a full-time position to better coordinate the delivery of basic needs, support local nonprofits, maintain a robust volunteer resource center, and promote corporate social responsibility and employee giving. 

“Shiawassee County is a special community and this matching grant to create a full-time dedicated team member will allow us to advance work with our partners in very measurable ways,” said Jamie Gaskin, CEO of the United Way of Genesee County. “We are excited about being more involved with addressing food insecurity, working with the unhoused community and building resources to support struggling families.”

The Shiawassee Economic Development Partnership (SEDP) grant will enable this public-private partnership to continue to assist local governments and community-based nonprofits apply for grants from a variety of sources. In the first year of the initiative, SEDP helped bring in $4.69 million in new grants to Shiawassee County. This complements other efforts by SEDP to coordinate private investment with local land use and development initiatives to support well-planned growth. 

In total, these seven grants from the Cook Family Foundation equal $274,000 and include the following grants to specific local organizations:  

SafeCenter – A $44,000 grant for the repair of a driveway and drainage system that currently causes flooding of the driveway and impacts to facilities.  The grant will be matched in part by the SafeCenter’s funds and will enable the organization to better support the SafeCenter’s clients and staff that share the site. Special attention will be paid to use green infrastructure to minimize the amount of stormwater.   

Shiawassee Family YMCA – A $45,000 grant to help the Y upgrade their exercise equipment for families and adult members. The grant will be used to leverage other grants and gifts for equipment as the Y remodels its facility to better serve all families, especially youth from infant to high school.

Lebowsky Center for Performing Arts – A $40,000 grant to update lights and audio technology. This grant will leverage a grant from the Michigan Arts and Culture Council (MACC) to upgrade the network and video monitoring system. These improvements will enhance the quality of productions, save energy, and lower operation costs. 

Shiawassee Arts Center – A $15,000 grant to partner with the Friends of the Shiawassee River and others to provide river-related art experiences including an “Upcycle Art in the Park” to repurpose trash collected during the Friends annual river clean-up.  

Great Start Preschool Scholarship – A $10,000 grant to the Shiawassee Regional Education Service District will allow for the continued assistance to families who need help in affording preschool. These funds are more than matched by donations from the United Way, Raise Up Shiawassee donations on Giving Tuesday, and other contributions from service clubs, businesses and individuals. 

More information on the Cook Family Foundation’s grant process can be found on our Grants page.