At the July 2021 board meeting, the Steelcase Foundation board of trustees approved a one-year $450,000 grant to Heart of West Michigan United Way (HWMUW) in support of its 2021 Annual Campaign. HMWUW provides critical funding and partnership support to community agencies working to reduce poverty with the vision of creating a thriving community for…

At the July 2021 board meeting, the Steelcase Foundation board of trustees approved a three-year $105,000 grant to Grand Valley State University (GVSU) to expand its Storytime GR programming. For over 10 years, Storytime GR (formerly Storytime in the Park) has been providing free books and ice cream to families in an effort to ensure…

At their July 2021 board meeting, the Steelcase Foundation board of trustees approved a two-year $50,000 grant the African Resource Center (ARC) to support its Future Now! program, which supports African immigrant students and their families as they adjust to life in their new county. FutureNow! programming includes support to increase English and math skill…

At their April 2021 board meeting, the Steelcase Foundation board of trustees approved a three-year $150,000 grant ($50,000 annually) to support Solutions to End Exploitation (SEE) as it partners with the Calvin University Center for Social Research to develop a “labor trafficking indicator scaling” tool to identify and document the prevalence of labor trafficking in…

At their April 2021 board meeting, the Steelcase Foundation board of trustees approved a three-year $310,750 grant to Rende Progress Capital (RPC) ($73,000 in year 1, $149,000 in year 2, and $88,750 in year 3) to build capacity by hiring additional staff to serve more loan customers and increase its customer base. Rende Progress Capital’s…

At their April 2021 board meeting, the Steelcase Foundation board of trustees approved a one-year $250,000 to Grand Rapids Media Initiative and Film Incubator (GR-MiFi) to produce a 90-minute documentary on Dr. Todd E. Robinson’s 2012 book A City Within A City: The Black Freedom Struggle in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The description of the book…

At their January 2021 board meeting, the Steelcase Foundation board of trustees approved a three-year $75,000 grant ($25,000 annually) to support Streams of Hope to increase capacity of its CirclesGR program. The grant will support three cohorts of Leaders for 18 months through programming and support services. CirclesGR, part of Circles USA, is an evidence-based…

At their January 2021 board meeting, the Steelcase Foundation board of trustees approved a two-year $50,000 grant to The Diatribe to support The 49507 Project, an artist and youth-led community celebration commissioning Black and Brown artist to bring large-scale murals to prominent buildings on the southeast and southwest side of Grand Rapids. Youth will learn…

At their January 2021 board meeting, the Steelcase Foundation board of trustees approved a three-year $75,000 grant ($25,000 annually) to increase capacity of the female floor of Covenant House Michigan – Grand Rapids’ facility. The grant funds will assist with hiring and training costs to add a second caseworker and two resident advisors to support…

Back in 2017, the Steelcase Foundation Annual Report entitled, Remove Obstacles, Foster Justice took a deep dive into the Foundation’s efforts to address longstanding systemic inequities in our communities. While the words a few years old, the report’s opening statement from Steelcase Foundation Board Chair Kate Pew Wolters and President Julie Ridenour expounded on the…