Grants Overview
Hello, grantseekers! Thank you for considering Michigan Gateway Community Foundation (MGCF) as a potential partner for your work!
MGCF has two annual grant cycles from unrestricted grant sources, February 1 and August 1, and one mini-grant cycle for youth-led initiatives due November 1st.
To help you get to know us better, we recommend checking out our “About” section to give you a sense of our mission, history, and focus areas.
We also encourage prospective grant applicants to contact us for an appointment before completing an application. The consultation process is meant to assist the potential applicant in understanding the Community Foundation’s grantmaking process and application requirements. Donor-advised funds, Agency Funds, and Scholarship Funds have separate distribution timelines. Contact the Foundation for information regarding these.
An expression of interest or the provision of an application should not be considered a guarantee of funding. All grant requests go through a complete review before making any funding decision.
Our staff is always happy to assist applicants. After reviewing our grant application, please get in touch with us to go over any questions you may have. If you submit a draft of your proposal at least ten business days before the due date, we will evaluate it and give you feedback on ways you might strengthen the proposal before you submit it for review.
To learn more about our youth-led mini-grant cycle, visit the Youth Advisory Council page found under Key Programs or by contacting Jennifer Popielski at jpopielski@mgcf.org.
In general, grants are made to projects that will benefit South Berrien and Cass Counties, Michigan.
In making grants, the Community Foundation attempts to understand the specific objectives of each grant request and the long-term benefits the community will receive from the initiative. All eligible grant applications are carefully considered by review committees whose membership includes a broad representation of the community.
Successful applications will be for projects which:
promote the development or strengthening of community assets,
will have a positive long-term impact on program participants and/or the community,
lead to the prevention of recurring needs,
promote cooperation among area organizations with related or supportive missions, and
will be financially sustainable without continuing grant funding.
The Power of Grants
How Your Support for the Foundation Helps People, and How They Help Others
Susan Jacquez-Dean, M.D., grew up in Buchanan, Michigan, graduating from Buchanan High School in 1994. With the help of a Unity Health Education Fund Scholarship, she attended the University of Michigan, graduating with a BS in Microbiology in 1994. She graduated from Rush Medical College in Chicago in 2002 with continued support from a scholarship grant from the Unity Fund.
After completing her residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin, she did her Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, graduating in 2007. Today, Dr. Jacquez-Dean is board-certified in General Psychiatry and will soon take her Child Boards.
“Because I am trained in adult and general psychiatry, I see both parents and children. I treat the whole family, which is very rewarding. I do a combination of inpatient and outpatient consultation work. I am very grateful for the support that the Michigan Gateway Community Foundation has given me throughout my training, and if there are any high school/college students interested in a degree in medicine, I would be happy to talk with them.”
- Dr. Susan Jacquez-Dean
