Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan celebrates 50th anniversary | News, Sports, Jobs

“Companies and organizations celebrate anniversaries all the time, so why is this one important? Because we are celebrating something that belongs to and was built by our entire community,” said Patrick Heraghty, Executive Director of CFNEM. “50 years is an early milestone for an organization that supports everyone – our parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and beyond. And so much has been accomplished in those 50 years. That is a cause for celebration!”

Over the past 50 years, CFNEM has awarded more than $55 million in grants to nonprofit organizations in Northeast Michigan and provided scholarships to students from its service area, which includes Alpena, Alcona, Cheboygan, Crawford, Iosco, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Oscoda and Presque Isle counties. More than 530 funds have been raised from generous individuals, families and businesses who have chosen to invest in their community through charitable giving. Most funds are endowed in perpetuity, preserving resources for current and future generations to meet evolving needs.

There are more than 900 community foundations in the United States, including 170 in Michigan. With total assets of $76.5 million, the Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan is the 16th largest in the state and covers one of the largest geographic areas, surpassed only by the Community Foundation of the Upper Peninsula. CFNEM serves as the administrative arm for three geographically affiliated foundations added to its service area in 1997, increasing the number of counties it serves from four to nine. These affiliated foundations include the Iosco County Community Foundation, the North Central Michigan Community Foundation and the Straits Area Community Foundation.

“Our staff and board are incredibly grateful to every person throughout our 50-year history who has chosen to invest in the future of Northeast Michigan, whether through establishing a new fund, making a planned gift or donating to an existing fund,” says Heraghty. “These funds provide individuals with the opportunity to support their community with donations of all sizes and for so many different causes. Generosity and rich stories of caring are the building blocks of the foundation that allow CFNEM to be a community foundation for all.”

Image courtesy Here is a timeline of CFNEM’s progress over the past 50 years.

CFNEM’s impact in the region has been visible and felt in many ways over the years, including:

∫ The Youth Advisory Council program, which supports new generations of philanthropists;

∫ The Northeast Michigan Women’s Giving Circle was founded in 2006 to engage women in our region in collective philanthropy and support important women’s causes;

∫ Community Impact Grants that reach every corner of CFNEM’s service area, for food banks, parks and playgrounds, schools, youth development projects, arts programs, museums, animal shelters, humanitarian organizations, health initiatives, environmental programs and more;

∫ Leading the 2020 U.S. Census to ensure an accurate count of Northeast Michigan residents;

Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan staff include (from left) Christine Hitch, marketing and communications director, Denise McKenna, executive assistant, Patrick Heraghty, executive director, Jennifer Dingman, program director, and DeeAnn Karos, finance director.

∫ Leading the Giving Tuesday movement at the local level through the Giving Tuesday Northeast Michigan campaign, which has raised more than $1.8 million for nonprofits since 2015;

∫ Rapidly established the Urgent Needs Fund as a local response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, providing $174,000 in grants to nonprofits to address unexpected needs that arose in 2020 and 2021;

∫ Providing a scholarship program that awards more than $400,000 annually to local students.

To celebrate its 50th anniversary, Heraghty said the Community Foundation plans several gifts to Northeast Michigan as a “thank you” and additional investment in the region. In June 2024, CFNEM established a new, permanently endowed $25,000 Lake Huron Fund to support the health of Lake Huron and its watershed through grants in Northeast Michigan. In May 2024, CFNEM provided a $24,000 donation to youth advisory boards across the region to support the awarding of youth grants, $12,000 of which was funded by the foundation’s Dolores and Leonard Roznowski Fund. A $10,000 donation to Thunder Bay Arts will be used to create and install a new sculpture along the Alpena Branch Trail celebrating the spirit of giving and community. Additional proactive grants will be announced throughout the Foundation’s 50th anniversary year.

“It’s always fun to look back at our history and see where we’ve been, but it’s also important to look forward,” says Heraghty. “The Community Foundation will outlive us all, so looking to the future and preparing for it is an important part of celebrating a milestone like this.”

Heraghty said CFNEM’s board and staff are in the final stages of a new strategic plan, which happens to coincide with the foundation’s 50th anniversary and is part of their effort to ensure that while the past is celebrated, the focus is on the future.

“As a foundation, we are excited to begin working on this plan,” he says. “There is no doubt that it will make CFNEM stronger and enhance our ability to meet the dynamic and diverse needs of the many communities in our region.”

The Community Foundation has produced a commemorative publication for the 50th anniversary, which can be viewed online at cfnem.org.

“We’re a pretty dynamic organization, so we can fill a lot of gaps and provide a lot of support in a lot of different areas of the community,” Heraghty added. “We’re also a non-political, non-religious organization, which makes us a great venue to educate people about important issues and community challenges or needs.”

“We are one of the few organizations that are flexible and can respond quickly to the changing needs of our community. This will benefit everyone today and in the future,” said Christine Hitch, CFNEM’s marketing and communications director.