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HANCOCK -- Keweenaw Community Foundation (KCF) will open its fall grant applications on Tuesday. The aim is to give approximately $100,000 to initiatives throughout the Keweenaw. $50,000 will go towards its Community Impact Fund. The application deadline is Oct. 15, with an additional deadline for a youth-led community giving initiative.
Director of Programs Madelina DiLisi said organizations interested in receiving funds for community projects can apply on KCF's website. "Organizations can apply for up to $10,000 per project," she said. "They can submit multiple applications for different projects."
A KCF press release detailed the number of funds and sections organizations from which organizations can apply. DiLisi said there is no set amount in each field of interest and any additional funding can be taken from the Community Impact Fund.
"That's what makes this granting opportunity so amazing, because everybody really does have the opportunity to apply," she said. "If we don't have enough in one fund, we have our Community Impact Fund, which was made possible by a generous donor."
The fields of interest where organization can apply are:
• CLK Youth Hockey Fund
• Community Impact Fund
• Copper Shores Community Health Foundation – Community Wellness and Outdoor Recreation Fund
• David Wiitanen and Slim McLean Memorial Youth Hockey Fund
• Environmental Fund
• Houghton County Historical Preservation Fund
• Joe Freed Empowerment Fund
• Keweenaw Cross County Skiing Fund
KCF's press release noted a new grant opportunity which was funded by the Trust for Civic Life. It will empower a Youth Advisory Council to lead a one-time grant campaign. DiLisi said this will be an opportunity for youth in the Keweenaw to make a difference in their community.
"This is really going to be a youth-driven, youth-led granting opportunity," she said. "These are middle and high school kids in Houghton and Keweenaw County. They're going to get together and decide what they want the request for proposals to look like and what that application will look like... they have the autonomy to make that decision as a group to decide what they'll fund."
DiLisi said KCF's mission is to help out the community and this is one of its main ways of doing so. "We have so many amazing non-profits and community organizations," she said. "They are working as hard as possible to make our community amazing in so many ways. To be able to branch out into the community is so important because we know that their time and funding is limited and we always want to provide opportunities, to grow and to do more."
Important dates are as follows:
• Tuesday, Sept. 1: Applications open online
• Wednesday, Sept, 9, 4:30 p.m.: Grant Open House at the Keweenaw Community Foundation
• Thursday, Oct. 15 at 11 p.m. (EDT): Deadline to submit grant applications; the online application form closes.
• Dec. 1, : All applicants will be notified. Selected grant recipients will receive further instructions.
Applications can be submitted online at keweenawcommunityfoundation.org/grants