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.
The grant program under the Ice Mountain Environmental Stewardship Fund supports projects or programs with goals to conserve, enhance, and/or restore the Muskegon River Watershed. It focuses on improving the watershed’s quality and value, including promoting education for responsible utilization of the natural resources within the watershed. The program encourages reversing degradation, fostering collaboration among organizations, and leveraging funding sources to achieve these objectives. With an annual provision of up to $50,000, the fund seeks to sustain the natural resources that are dependent on the waters of the Muskegon River Watershed.