Regardless of the season, the Saginaw Community Foundation is aware of the changes around us and preparing for the future. Last winter, the Saginaw Community Foundation Board of Directors voted in support of a community improvement initiative. This initiative will focus on the efforts of the community at large to prepare the Saginaw County community for the future.

In the past, the foundation has assisted volunteer groups in making improvements and enhancements to the landscape of the community. Community-based groups – such as Friends of Hoyt Park, Deindorfer Woods Neighborhood Association and Kochville Township – took initiative to make their communities a better place. In fact, the true inspiration for the Board of Directors Community Improvement Initiative was the collaborative neighborhood revitalization project with The Dow Chemical Company, Habitat for Humanity and our region’s community foundations.

Annually, the foundation will set aside $30,000 to challenge the community to identify community improvement activities. This new initiative will help us proactively address community improvement needs in Saginaw County. It also will encourage each community to take things into their own hands.

The long-term goal is to broaden awareness of the foundation’s role in the community. Also, if this initiative stimulates other funders to do something similar or leverage our efforts by giving matching funds, it can help the foundation stretch its dollars toward further community improvement.

Just as our donors look to the foundation to put their donations back into the community, the foundation is looking to the community at large to help put that money to good use with the Board of Directors Community Improvement Initiative. Just like the seasons, change is inevitable. It is up to us, as a community, to take initiative, collaborate and make the changes we want to see in Saginaw County.