Rotary Charities commits $450K to five impactful projects in Northern Michigan

What’s happening: Five projects in Northern Michigan have received significant financial boosts thanks to the Rotary Charities of Traverse City. It’s a wide-ranging group of recipients, with each project aiming to improve and add to the fabric of their communities in distinct ways. They include building non-motorized trail infrastructure, developing a community music school, park renovations, sustainability efforts, and bolstering the local childcare workforce.

Community assets: Three $50,000 grants have been awarded as part of the organization’s Assets for Thriving Communities grant program, the application information of which is available online. The first contributes $50,000 toward a nearly five-mile extension of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail, increasing universal access to the lakeshore. The second contributes $50,000 to the Traverse Symphony Orchestra for the development of a Community Music School. And a third $50,000 goes to the Village of Kingsley toward their significant renovation project of Brownson Memorial Park.

Systemic change: Two $150,000 grants have been awarded as part of the organization’s Systems Change Accelerator grant program, the application information of which is available online. The first contributes $150,000 toward the SEEDS Ecology & Education Center’s Organic Waste Diversion project, which aims to reduce the amount of waste sent to ten Northern Michigan counties by 33 percent. The second contributes an additional $150,000 toward the United Way of Northwest Michigan, which will strengthen and grow the early care and learning workforce of Northern Michigan.

What they’re saying: “We’re thrilled to support each of these initiatives, and congratulate those who have put so much time and effort into community engagement, careful planning, and intentional partnerships,” says Sakura Takano, CEO of Rotary Charities of Traverse City. “In this cycle, we’re funding two initiatives that are taking a systems approach to address complex problems. Creating solutions to the childcare crisis and building better systems for waste management requires going beyond the simple and quick fixes to truly address the problem. The level of commitment to bringing this work to fruition is indicative of the importance of these issues to our community.”

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