The Community Foundation aims to improve the quality of life in Newaygo County through strategic focus on education, poverty reduction, and community and economic development. By setting long-term goals like increasing education levels, lowering poverty rates, and maintaining low unemployment rates, the foundation seeks to foster a focused community effort towards generational change, requiring collaboration and support for a robust nonprofit infrastructure.
General grants from the Community Foundation support nonprofit agencies looking to strengthen their organization and address community needs outside the foundation's primary focus areas. While general operating support, matching grants, and strategic projects are eligible, priority is given to initiatives that align with the foundation’s key areas of education, poverty reduction, and community and economic development. The foundation emphasizes funding projects and organizations that offer impactful, measurable results towards long-term solutions for social, economic, and educational disparities. It values organizational strength, collaboration, multi-disciplinary approaches, and inclusivity, especially towards underrepresented communities. Sustainable projects that feature a variety of partners and do not rely solely on the Community Foundation for support are preferred.