The Community Foundation is excited to welcome several new members to its various grantmaking committees. The Foundation uses a very decentralized process for making grants throughout the region and annually makes a point of adding new perspectives to its many committees.
Beginning new terms in 2024 are:
Barbara Payton and Brad Dykstra who will join the Blue Water Arts Committee. Payton is a well-known singer, musician and entertainer who recently wrapped up the 2023 Town Hall Series. Dykstra is the principal at Yale High School and has a strong passion for involving his students in arts and culture.
DiMond Carrothers, Kurt Sutton and Jasmine Williams will join the main Grants Committee. Carrothers is a past scholarship recipient of the Foundation and works as an RN at Marwood Nursing and Rehab. She graduated from SC4 with her Associate’s Degree in Nursing in 2022. Kurt Sutton is the superintendent for Yale Public School. Jasmine Williams works for Eastern Michigan Bank and also serves on the Board of the SC4 Foundation.
Kate Bosma joins the Scholarship Committee: Kate was an original participant in the Foundation’s “Complete Your Degree Program” and graduated with a nursing degree from SC4 in 2021.
Giani DiTrapani joins the Equity and Inclusion Committee. When he was younger he was a part of the SONS Talented Tenth Program and and now runs his own business, MonetaryClass.
“Many people are surprised at just how decentralized we are,” said Randy Maiers, President of the Community Foundation. “Our board is actually involved in only a handful of grants each year, while hundreds of other annual grants are approved directly by our committee or our donor advisors.”
In 2023 the Community Foundation awarded over 900 individual grants totaling almost $5,000,000. A full roster of all Foundation committees can be found here, and grant application information can be found here.