Battle Creek/Kalamazoo
Seeding Grants represents a crucial step toward more equitable funding of programs and partners. The one-year, unrestricted investments of $60,000 each went to six organizations in Battle Creek and Kalamazoo led by Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC).
The grants sprung from United Way BCKR’s learnings through the Catalyzing Community Giving work in Battle Creek. CCG is a partnership with BIPOC-led organizations and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation equipping communities of color to tackle immediate need and the root causes of systemic inequities.
Seeding Leaders was inspired from our Seeding Grants program, which fostered conversations on the needs of marginalized leaders in the community, spanning from professional development to well-being and rest.
The Seeding Leaders pilot provided 10 $2,500 mini grants to non-profit leaders from organizations with an annual budget of less than $250,000 to support their resilience, wholeness, and success as a leader. Given the overtaxing and under resourcing of marginalized leaders, this process focused on those who identified as Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color, People with Disabilities, LGBTQIA+, and Immigrants.
In partnership with the City of Battle Creek, the United Way is administering $500,000 of the City of Battle Creeks Federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.
Through this open ARP Seeding Health grant process, local nonprofit partners are invited to submit 3-year funding requests to support efforts to addresses the negative impacts of COVID-19 by creating or increasing equitable access to healthcare for nonprofit employees in the City of Battle Creek.