Our Mission The Saginaw Community Foundation has one mission: to fulfill donor wishes and enable community initiatives to come to life, now and forever. We accomplish our mission by providing strategic leadership in our community, growing our endowment, practicing impactful grantmaking and stewardship of our resources, human and financial. Inner Circle We thank our corporate sponsors for their generous support of Saginaw Community Foundation general operations. Chairman’s Circle President’s Circle Friends Circle Apple Mountain Bierlein Companies Foundation Burt Watson Chevrolet, Inc. Chemical Bank Consumers Energy Covenant HealthCare Dornbos Printing Impressions The Dow Chemical Company Dow Corning Corporation Fabiano Brothers, Inc. Glastender, Inc. HORIZONS Conference Center The Iles Schropp Group at Merrill Lynch Merrill Technologies Group Michigan Sugar Company Morley Companies, Inc. Network Services Group Rehmann Shaheen Development St. Mary’s of Michigan Spence Brothers Tri-Star Trust Bank Wolgast Corporation Confirmed in compliance with National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations This annual report was written and designed in-house at Saginaw Community Foundation. Printed on 100% post-consumer recycled content paper. Contents Year-in-Review .......................................................... 4 Endowment Impact .............................................. 23 From our CEO/President and Board Chair ........ 6 Our Volunteers ...................................................... 24 The Next Generation of Inventors ...................... 8 Tribute Gifts ............................................................ 25 Community Support for Moms ...........................10 Financial Review ....................................................26 A Place to Talk and be Heard ................................12 Current Funds .........................................................28 Child on Top of a Greenhouse ..............................14 2015 Grants .............................................................. 32 Canine Connections ...............................................15 A Community of Supporters ...............................36 A Sense of Community for Area Youth ..............16 Leadership ...............................................................42 Making Dreams Come True ..................................18 Committees .............................................................43 The Future of Saginaw County ...........................20 Foundation Staff .....................................................43 Dancing Heroes for Kids ....................................... 22 171 Scholarship 78 85 Community Initiatve/ Agency Special Project 25 66 Unrestricted Designated 49 34 Donor Advised Field of Interest Year-in-Review Here we present a snapshot. A quick look. A glimpse. It’s what’s happening behind the scenes at Saginaw Community Foundation. We are thankful to all the donors who made gifts during 2015 to Saginaw Community Foundation. Later in this report you will find a complete list of contributors (see page 36) as well as a detailed financial review (see page 26). Types of Funds Funds Defined Agency Enables nonprofit organizations to establish funds for their 173 benefit within the foundation Scholarship Community Initiative/Special Project 79 Established to provide support for specific community projects Community or initiatives Initiative/ 85 Designated Special Project Established by people who want to support a specific Agency organization or accomplish a specific purpose Donor Advised Enables donor to be personally involved in grantmaking, Unrestricted subject to board approval Designated Field of Interest 25 Administered by the foundation to benefit a general field 65 of interest Field of Interest Scholarship Provides financial support for students seeking higher Donor education Advised 34 Unrestricted Administered by the foundation to meet the urgent and 49 changing needs in Saginaw County Where Donors Have Directed Their Gifts by fund type, 2014 vs. 2015 2014 (total: $10,580,616) 2015 (total: $5,356,173) Agency $143,574 $138,598 Community Initiative/ $1,055,561 Special Project $788,420 Designated $1,577,767 $133,662 Donor Advised $7,382,693 $3,753,745 Field of Interest $19,776 $184,476 Scholarship $398,367 $354,970 Unrestricted $2,878 $2,302 4 Assets by Donor Interest Area 2014 2015 $353,382 Animal Related $324,547 Arts & Culture $4,914,808 $4,582,286 Community $1,556,037 Improvment $1,693,125 $21,348,985 Education $21,427,862 Environment $144,386 $147,584 Food/Nutrition $899,215 $829,844 $1,604,323 Health $1,547,045 Housing $774,153 $728,480 Human Services $5,078,316 $4,894,472 Mutual/Membership $14,955 Benefit Organization $14,396 $10,763,745 Nonclassifiable* $11,911,711 Philanthropy $1,748,138 $1,746,797 Public Benefit $1,535,179 $1,480,547 Public Safety $304,188 $382,240 Recreation $2,181,226 $2,174,313 Religion $323,076 $295,353 Science/Technology $37,970 Research $37,035 Youth Development $2,851,835 $2,687,705 *Defined as funds that support more than one interest area Asset Growth Five-year history, 2011-2015 2015 $57,266,717 2014 $56,865,264 2013 $48,410,402 2012 $41,787,699 2011 $38,474,707 5 A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT & CEO AND BOARD CHAIR Friends … We hope you enjoy the Saginaw Community Community foundations are recognizing Foundation’s 2015 Annual Report, Community the importance of taking on a community Threads. And, as you read the report, we hope leadership role to help build healthy, produc- you also recognize the threads that have been tive places to live. As local communities face sewn throughout the community. For example, unprecedented economic and social challeng- the Saginaw Teen MOPS story found on page 11, es along with political discourse hampered by one could say that with the help of a grant from polarization, trust of traditional civic institu- SCF, the Saginaw Teen MOPS program was able tions is at new lows. Community foundations, to thread information to teen moms in a safe given their unique attributes inclusive of their supportive environment. Or, SCF was the thread independence, flexible resources and local re- that provided scholarships to kids to participate lationships, are well-positioned to perform this in Camp Invention, found on page 9. Lastly, page role. In fact, at their best, they take on tough 23 talks about the SCF Impact Challenge, and issues, engage residents, pursue cross-sector how agencies threaded their way through the solutions to local challenges, and marshal year to raise money for their agency endowment resources from public and private sources to funds and then placed in the running for addi- build strong communities that support and tional funds. Just as a skilled seamstress brings nurture healthy, resilient children and families together pieces for a final custom creation, to help create opportunity for all. However, Saginaw Community Foundation uses many acquiring the skills and competencies to do “threads” to weave a better and ever improving this work requires community foundations experience for the entire Saginaw Community. take deliberate, intentional steps to advance their community leadership practice. The Saginaw Community Foundation has one mission: to fulfill donor wishes and enable community initiatives to come to life, now and forever. We accomplish our mission by provid- ing strategic leadership in our community, growing our endowment, practicing impact- ful grantmaking, and stewardship of our resources, human and financial. During 2015, the SCF Board of Directors and staff felt that as an organization, we wanted and needed to strengthen our efforts in strategic leadership. Reneé S. Johnston (left) Heidi A. Bolger (right) 6 Earlier in 2015, Saginaw Community Foundation find ways to was selected as one of nine community founda- tions to participate in the Michigan Community Leadership Network (CLN), a CFLeads sponsored activity for community foundations in the state with theirconnect people and of Michigan. The program is designed to help community foundations focus on how they can strengthen their community leadership capacity. help them fulfill Over the past year, members of the Saginaw CLN their potential. team, which was comprised of two staff, two board members, and a community leader, met with – Steven J. Stowell representatives from other Michigan community foundations to work together to build capacity, explore new approaches, share leadership expertise and promising practices, and advise each other in the midst of action. Our first CLN task, identifying a Learning for Action Question, would become our driving force throughout the year – how could SCF maximize our ability to influence community change? Therefore, we have our work cut out for us in Immediately, we learned from peer advice 2016 and it’s very exciting! As we “thread” our that it was essential we connect more with the way through the new year, we look forward to residents of our community to understand what making an impact just as we have for the past change needed to happen in order to know 31 years. We also look forward to the powerful how to influence that change. Through resident conversations we plan to have with county engagement activities, community foundations residents and the positive transformation we were able to gain the trust that was most neces- hope to see for SCF and the community. Our sary to have the impact they wanted to make in approach will afford the opportunity to weave the place they call home. a bond