Our History

In the mid-1980s, community foundations were becoming more numerous in Michigan, fueled by a matching fundraising program launched by the Kellogg Foundation. The long-range planning committee of the Capital Area United Way felt the time was right to establish a community foundation in the capital region. If the United Way was the community’s charitable checking account, it seemed natural to establish a charitable savings account.

In October 1987, the Capital Region Community Foundation was established by the Capital Area United Way and formally incorporated. Our original Board of Trustees was comprised of Capital Area United Way committee members and many community leaders.

In 1990, the Community Foundation hired the foundation's first paid staff member and had six endowment funds. By the end of 1991, the total had grown to 14, with more than $500,000 in assets.

Our 10^th year of existence, 1997, represented great growth for the foundation, with assets climbing to $9.6 million. We also added a finance officer and a program officer to the foundation’s staff.

In 1998, the foundation received its largest gift thus far, a $4.3 million check from the Greater Lansing Foundation. It was also the first year we distributed more than $1 million in grants.

By 2002, the foundation staff had grown to four, and the Community Foundation held assets exceeding $32 million.

In 2006, we began a two-year strategic planning process that resulted in the foundation needing to take a strong leadership role in the community, using its influence, as well as its money, to address community issues in a positive, impactful way. At the end of the process, the board proactively decided to invest in two key areas of concern: economic development and youth programs. We supported economic development efforts by creating Lansing Economic Area Partnership, or LEAP, Inc., in collaboration with community businesses, governmental units, and other civic institutions.

In 2008, the financial markets crashed, and while we fared better than most, we still lost 25% of the value of our endowments. The financial markets improved in 2009, and the foundation increased the size of its impact grant to $75,000, with the goal of making a significant difference with a single program or initiative.

In 2011, as we moved into the renovated Marshall Street Armory, along with several other nonprofits working to improve our community and our state.

In 2015 and 2016, we conducted a community listening tour to find out what the community felt were the region’s greatest needs, and what our role should be in addressing those needs. We analyzed the feedback we received and determined our new strategic leadership initiative, which is to lead placemaking projects to create vibrant communities that attract and retain talent, enhancing economic prosperity in our region.

Since then, we completed placemaking initiatives on the Downtown Lansing riverfront, from conception to completion, starting with Rotary Park in 2019. After COVID-19 in 2023, we completed construction of Play Michigan!, the first universally accessible playground in the region. In 2024, we launched the Fish Ladder Music Park, to be completed in 2025.

In 2021, we received $8.6 million in new gifts and granted nearly $5 million to support causes that matter to donors and to our community.

In 2022, we celebrated our 35th anniversary as an organization.

We are continuously forging new leadership projects and offer many grant opportunities for local nonprofits. As a community leader, the Community Foundation has made a commitment to work proactively, not just reactively, to effectively address our region's greatest needs.

The Community Foundation currently manages and invests over 560 funds totaling over $150 million in assets. Since we began making grants in 1990, we have distributed more than $87 million.