Non-profit organizations in northern Michigan are among those hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
Dave Mengebier is the president and CEO of the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation.He says more people depend on nonprofits for essentials during this crisis, but it’s a really tough time for those organizations to raise money.
“A lot of events that non-profits rely on to meet their annual operating budgets — fundraisers, ticket sales, other types of events — have had to be canceled,” he says. “And at the same time, the demand for their services is skyrocketing as more and more people become unemployed.”
In response, the foundation created an Urgent Needs Fund to give grants to food pantries, homeless shelters, and other nonprofits in the region.
Mengebier says so far they’ve raised over $200,000 dollars, but says more is needed.
“Over the intermediate and longer terms, we’re going to have to expand the scope of our grant making, conditioned on our ability to continue to receive donations from businesses, individuals and other foundations to support the fund,” he says.
The Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation supports Interlochen Public Radio.
