The Sturgis Area Community Foundation, along with its affiliates, the Constantine Area Community Foundation and the White Pigeon Area Community Foundation, are proud to announce the recipients of the Fall grant cycle. A total of $22,000 in grants have been awarded to local organizations to support their work and advance their missions in local communities.

Meet the Recipients

Children’s Trauma Assessment Group of St. Joseph County

$10,000 – CTAG Forever Home Project (SACF & WPACF)

Children’s Trauma Assessment Group (CTAG) of St. Joseph County is dedicated to supporting children who have experienced trauma. With this grant, they will enhance their assessment facilities by constructing two soundproof rooms and upgrading recording technology. These upgrades aim to create a safe, private environment for trauma assessments and interviews conducted by clinicians and law enforcement. By improving these spaces, CTAG hopes to minimize the lasting impacts of trauma on children in St. Joseph County.

Disability Network of Southwest MI

$5,000 – Ramp Up Program

The Ramp Up Program is a lifeline for individuals with mobility disabilities, providing custom-built ramps to enable safe and independent home access. Volunteers construct these ramps, ensuring that funds are allocated entirely to high-quality materials. The grant will support multiple ramp-building projects in St. Joseph County, directly improving the lives of residents who might otherwise remain isolated in their homes.

Junior Achievement of Southwest Michigan

$2,000 – Financial Literacy for St. Joseph County Students

Junior Achievement (JA) is stepping up to meet Michigan’s new financial literacy graduation requirement by expanding its programs in local schools. JA’s hands-on curriculum equips students with practical skills like budgeting, saving, credit management, and investing. These lessons empower youth to take control of their financial futures.

St. Joseph County United Way

$5,000 – Thanksgiving for All (SACF & CACF)

For many families in St. Joseph County, Thanksgiving can be a difficult time. The St. Joseph County United Way is addressing this with its Thanksgiving for All event, which provides all the ingredients needed for families to prepare their own traditional Thanksgiving meals. This initiative ensures that 500 families can gather around their tables to celebrate gratitude and togetherness.

About SACF Grant Programs

The Community Foundation offers two primary grant programs, each designed to support projects that enrich our County’s social, economic, and cultural landscape.

Community Impact Grants are intended to support larger projects and programs. By backing nonprofit-led initiatives, these grants create lasting benefits in areas critical to our community’s health and vitality. The Community Foundation focuses on funding projects and programs that align with SACF Impact Grant Priorities:

• Housing: Ensuring that all community members have access to safe, quality housing.
• Educational Progression & Workforce Development: Equipping our workforce with the necessary skills and education to thrive in a changing economy.
• Care of Children: Supporting the well-being and development of our youngest citizens.
• Community Development & Placemaking: Enhancing our communities’ physical and social landscapes to make them more vibrant and welcoming places.

SACF’s Micro-Grants programs supports small-scale initiatives and is tailored to support smaller projects that have the potential to make significant impacts. These grants help grassroots initiatives and emerging organizations to pilot new ideas, extend their reach, or simply add that extra bit of support where it’s needed most.

Eligible organizations can access applications to both the Impact Grant and Micro-Grant online at www.sturgisfoundation.org/grants.

The Sturgis Area Community Foundation is a $30M foundation committed to serving the charitable needs of our community and enriching the quality of life for all people in the Sturgis area. Through philanthropic services, strategic investments, and community leadership, the Sturgis Area Community Foundation helps people support the causes they care about now and for generations.

For more information on grants or donor services, email sacf@sturgisfoundation.org.