2010 Promising Projects

At the corner of Columbia Avenue and 9th Street near downtown Holland, Hope College plans a new acoustically excellent performance space that will house its nationally accredited music department and play host to a diverse offering of local and regional arts programming.
Strengthening the integration of campus and community, the new facility, once complete, will provide the community access to a first-class music venue, one of few in the Holland/Zeeland area and the only one immediately adjacent to the downtown. The extent to which the facility will serve the broader community, attract regional audiences to public performances, and to local restaurants and shopping made the project ideal for Frey Foundation funding.

With philanthropic support, the all-volunteer Oden Community Association (Community Association) came together to repair the one room schoolhouse that serves as the village’s community hall. The facility is the centerpiece of activity in this enclave of less than 100 residents, hosting family reunions, wedding receptions and funeral dinners.

Located just north of Petoskey on the shores of Crooked Lake, the village of Oden has no taxing authority. The Community Association instead mobilized local donors and journeymen to help complete the project. More than just bricks and mortar, the community hall renovation exemplifies the broadly supported, mission enhancing capital project likely to attract Frey Foundation funding.

Currently, families in need access the housing system from several different locations throughout the community with communication between clients and service providers occurring through multiple fax and/or phone calls, with referrals and appointments taking precious days to schedule and execute. With philanthropic support, Community Rebuilders plans to create a Housing Services Center that will co-locate and connect key community housing service providers, under one roof, near downtown Grand Rapids.

In the new space, families will have access to a simplified and accelerated process to prevent homelessness where possible and rapidly re-house where appropriate. This "hub of housing assessment and services" will allow overtaxed staff to focus more on serving clients and less on gathering and transferring information. It will also facilitate interagency collaboration and coordination, and make it possible to target immediate assistance to those who are most vulnerable. The result will be a more coordinated response, expedited service, and a shortened length of homelessness for vulnerable families.

In partnership with the West Michigan Strategic Alliance (WMSA), Upjohn will undertake a comprehensive analysis of the talent system in the west Michigan region as a part of the Talent 2025 initiative. The study will help identify key performance indicators of the local talent system; provide an asset map of high performance talent development systems that articulates key components of success; and provide a performance gap comparison between the desired high-performance talent initiatives and the current performance within the region.

Designed to encourage the development, attraction, and retention of a highly skilled talent pool in west Michigan over the next 15 years, this project is expected to encourage accountability for those responsible for the education and training of the next generation of workers.

First Steps is leading a systems building initiative developed by parents, community agencies, business leaders, healthcare providers, educators, and local foundations on behalf of the 46,000 young children ages 0-5 in Kent County. As context for this effort, the development of a highly skilled work force is a top priority for policymakers and business leaders in Michigan as they seek to rebuild the state's economy. However, a long-term factor critical to that development often is missing from the discussion: the health, early education, and general wellbeing of our youngest residents. Research tells us that an investment in a child's early years pays off for the whole community in higher graduation rates, a better-trained work force, a reduction in crime, and lower welfare dependency.

There are numerous evidence-based early childhood programs and services in Kent County, provided by government agencies, schools, human service organizations, and health care organizations. However, without a system to connect them, children and families do not get the comprehensive support they need. There is unnecessary duplication and there are service gaps so significant that many of the most disadvantaged children receive no services at all. First Steps has become the independent, objective organization entity that, in collaboration with community stakeholders, sets and advances the agenda and priorities for early childhood education and care in Kent County.

After completing extensive literature reviews, stakeholder interviews, and the convening’s of a committed group of community leaders including critical input from parents, the Health Department of Northwest Michigan has launched The Early Childhood Mental Health Initiative - an effort to find a financially sustainable approach to increased mental health services for young children.

Charlevoix and Emmet counties are located in a federally designated medically underserved area of the state. Designed to build upon the community’s current assets to address gaps in services and family supports, The Early Childhood Mental Health Initiative is expected to point a way forward on improving early detection and service delivery to northern Michigan families facing the prospect of developmental and learning disabilities, and other mental health challenges.

In order to address the continuing decline in students’ math and reading skills, the Girls Choral Academy is launching a pilot project that uses a specialized music instruction methodology to positively impact these related skills. Research has evidenced the direct link between intense musical exposure and brain development that influences comprehension of literacy and mathematics. Using the Kodaly music education method, which originated in Hungary, the Girls Choral Academy hopes to positively impact test scores by 15% annually versus the progress of a control group of elementary students.

Support for this effort aligns with the Board of Trustees’ interest in encouraging arts education. This program is not only professionally evaluated and tied to a particular curriculum, but provides sequential learning for students over time. If this model is successful, there could be opportunities to expand it to a greater number of schools in the region.

Founded in 1910, and located on the Kalamazoo River’s ox-bow on property immediately adjacent to the Saugatuck Harbor Natural Area, Ox-bow is a regionally significant arts community. Its students and faculty are drawn from across the country and beyond as well as locally. Students and faculty from GVSU, Kendall and the UICA are among the participants. It has a national reputation as a preeminent school of art and residency program.

Stemming from a strategic planning session held by Ox-Bow’s Board of Directors and Auxiliary Board in 2000 as well as numerous community conversations with students, artists and faculty, Ox-Bow launched the Campaign for the Second Century in July 2007. The campaign includes the renovation of two campus structures, the construction of 3 new ones, a fund for future cabin/studio restoration, and endowments for scholarships and building maintenance. One of the main outputs of a successful campaign is expanded programming capacity for Ox-Bow, specifically allowing for programs beyond just the summer months.

Support for this capital campaign demonstrates the Board of Trustees’ interest in supporting community arts organizations and ensure they have sufficient venues for their work.

The County has had a Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) program which aims to permanently protect farmland from development since 2003. In 2010, the County made one of its first forays into appropriating general fund dollars towards its PDR farmland preservation program. Funding is being sought from area foundations over three years while a specially appointed task force studies all available funding options and can devise a plan for permanent, long-term funding of the County’s PDR program.

Although a long term PDR program is clearly beyond the scope of local philanthropic sources, providing some seed funding while in search of a more permanent solution be devised did win Frey Foundation support. Thus, three years of interim funding was awarded and project organizers hope it will demonstrate the existing program’s effectiveness.

Asian carp (a generic term for three species of non-native carp) have been moving up the Mississippi River and into its tributaries since their accidental introduction into the natural habitat in Arkansas in the 1970s and are wreaking havoc on the native ecology with their voracious appetites which enable them to compete against, and ultimately displace, native species. If established, they may decimate the Great Lakes sport fishing industry valued at $7 billion annually. Recent evidence suggests the carp are poised to invade Lake Michigan through the Chicago Area Waterway System.

The electronic barrier in the Chicago Area Waterway System does not provide a physical or hydrologic separation. Also, studies indicate it will never be 100% effective and carp are already in the Illinois River. Therefore, the likelihood of carp moving into the Great Lakes is much greater and less dependent on an episodic (flood) event such as would be a connection to the Great Lakes basin via the Maumee River watershed. A more urgent response is needed.

To solve the issue cited above, two groups – the Great Lakes Commission and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative – are spearheading a second, complimentary effort to that of the Corps, which will specifically focus on Asian carp and the Chicago canal systems.

The Foundation’s support for this effort is one of its first grants directed at issues encompassing the entire Great Lakes basin.