Editor's note: This story is part of Southwest Michigan Second Wave's On the Ground Battle Creek series.
 
BATTLE CREEK, MI — An event on Monday designed to bring the community together to celebrate the life of Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. and raise funds for the newly-established BIPOC Battle Creek Endowment Collaborative, succeeded on both fronts, says says Dr. L.E. Johnson, Senior Director for Inclusion and Diversity with the Village Network that hosted the event.

“In hand, there’s $40,000 and we have $20,000 in pledges,” Johnson says, adding that additional pledges are welcome. In all, the event was attended by about 300 people.

The BIPOC Battle Creek Endowment Collaborative is an initiative founded by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Community leaders in Battle Creek to enhance financial sustainability and capacity through collective fundraising efforts and resource sharing.

The Endowment Fund got a jumpstart on January 16  when the Battle Creek Community Foundation (BCCF) announced a $22,000 investment, according to a press release.

"John GrapThe Battle Creek Community Foundation has named Mary Muliett as its new president/CEO,This collaborative represents a pivotal moment for Battle Creek's BIPOC-led organizations," said Mary Muliett, President & CEO of the BCCF. "By investing in these organizations' long-term sustainability, we're creating a  model for community investment that will benefit generations to come." 

The inaugural partners in this transformative initiative include BC Diaper Initiative; The Burma Center; Milk Like Mine; VOCES; Washington Heights United Methodist Church; and Neighborhoods Inc. of Battle Creek.

Courtesy Lynn Ward GrayThe idea to focus on the creation of endowment funds resulted from work Lynn Ward Gray was involved in during her time as President of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) Battle Creek Branch. She also is Senior Development Officer with the BCCF which serves as the financial administrator, ensuring transparent and effective management of the funds.

For the past two years, about 30 BIPOC-led organizations in the city have been receiving support and guidance from the Nonprofit Network based In Jackson through a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF). The Nonprofit Network’s mission is to “support nonprofits in building governance, management, and organizational strength,” according to its website.
 
“I sit at that table representing the NAACP,” Ward Gray says. “At one of the most recent retreats with the Nonprofit Network, we were envisioning our collective impact and how we could work together to further our impact. As so often happens, the conversation is about writing grants and finding donors or doing events. I posed to the group the establishment of an endowment as a way to support organizations being helped by the Nonprofit Network.”
 
As that get-together was concluding, Ward Gray says she was hearing discussions about the constant challenge of finding funding to keep the doors open and support the work that each organization is doing.
 
With her BBCF hat on, she posed the question of creating endowment funds to support the work being done.
 
“As you build the endowment it alleviates the anxiety about chasing the next grant or new donors,” Ward Gray says. “We set out on a mission to educate BIPOC-led organizations about endowment funds. At the same time the Village Network was planning this Ball and they offered their event as a platform to raise endowment funds for participating organizations.”
 
The idea was presented to each of the 30 nonprofits and 11 of them decided to participate. BCCF is working with the Village Network and Nonprofit Network to create a back-end link and a repository for the funds collected.
 
“With Nonprofit Network serving as convener, this innovative partnership marks a historic step toward building sustainable financial foundations for organizations serving Battle Creek's diverse communities,” according to the press release.  

“The initiative, rooted in the principles of Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Ujima  (Collective Work and Responsibility), and Umoja (Unity), represents a pioneering approach to collaborative fundraising and community wealth-building. An endowment fund (a pool of  assets that provides long-term financial support for a nonprofit organization for charitable  activities) will be established for each of the eleven participating organizations.”

Dr. Nakia Baylis, President and CEO of the Village Network, says the Dreamer’s Ball is a “testament to the power of collective action and shared vision. We invite the community to join us in building a legacy of support  for these vital organizations."
Johnson says he hopes that the Dreamer’s Ball will be an annual signature event to honor Dr. King. 

“MLK Day is probably one of the most celebrated holidays among those who are into any form of justice and in our community. We have not always had a communitywide celebration of Dr. King and so we felt it was good to leverage the unity around the ideas of Dr. King to host our event in the form of a Dreamers Ball to remember his vision,” Johnson says. 
 
Johnson says Baylis wanted to ensure that the event is as accessible to as many people as possible. Donations to participate began at $5, there also were sponsorship levels that began at $1,000 and went up to $25,000.
  
In addition to hosting the event, the Village Network was also an event partner.
  
Ward Gray says, “We are in an education mode with BIPOC organizations around endowments. The Ball is a way to collectively come together and support one another on Dr. King’s birthday recognize his contributions and let the community know how they can support these organizations.”
 
 Building on mission, honoring a legacy

The Village Network is acting as the initial contributor to the collaborative, with an open invitation to other members to explore their collaborative exchange. As conveners of the collaborative, Nonprofit Network facilitates the partnership between these organizations, fostering collaboration and providing strategic support. 
 
The Village Network was established as a nonprofit organization in January 2023, as a coalition-building organization that helps create and sustain networking for historically, chronically, and systemically under-invested people to achieve economic justice, says Baylis.
 
The synergy between it and the Nonprofit Network and BCCF is highlighted in information about the Dreamer’s Ball.
 
“The Nonprofit Network has been strategically supporting BIPOC Battle Creek nonprofit leaders over the past two years; The Battle Creek Community Foundation has been supporting community-driven mission endowments for the past 50 years; The Village Network of Battle Creek has been organizing nonprofit organizations since its 2019 inception.”
 
Johnson says he wanted to see a different take on the city’s MLK observances. Among the events that were held was one that focused on the state of Battle Creek’s African American community. That will likely take place in February, he says.
 
“I thought it would be beautiful to bring the community together under this idea of celebration. It’s one thing to remember MLK’s legacy and it’s another thing to celebrate it,” Johnson says. “The Dreamers Ball is a signature event to bring the whole community together to celebrate, invigorate, and instigate a positive contagion to give people joy and strength to work towards an equitable Battle Creek where we can all thrive together.”