Unrestricted Funds Allow for the Greatest Flexiblity
Gifts to unrestricted funds allow Bay Area Community Foundation to respond to our community's most pressing charitable needs and promising opportunities. Bay Area Community Foundation's board of trustees are community leaders who are entrusted to oversee how these funds are used. As needs in Bay and Arenac counties change and evolve, the Foundation is able to asses the challenges that face our community. The flexibility of unrestricted dollars allows us to respond.
How It Works:
- You make a gift to the Community Foundation during your lifetime or through a bequest in your will. You can give cash, appreciated stocks, and other assets or make the Foundation a beneficiary of a life insurance policy or retirement account.
- With that gift, we will establish a named fund in honor of your family, business, or any person of your choice.
- Your fund is endowed and carefully invested over time to keep the principal amount intact while using a portion of the investment income for grants that support programs and projects in our community.
- Our professional staff and committed community representatives determine how to put those dollars to work in order to meet current needs and allow for promising opportunities.
- We handle all of the details. Once you make the gift, your work is done.
- Your gift--and all future earnings--provides a permanent source of community support, helping to do good work forever.
View Recent Grant Projects Supported by These Funds
How To Get Started:
Call us at 989-893-4438 to set up an appointment to meet with President & CEO Diane Fong.
Current Unrestricted Funds:
See the list below of current unrestricted funds established by individuals, couples, families, and businesses that contribute grant funding to local nonprofits each year.
| Fund Name | Fund Description | Fund Type | Donate Now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arthur & Erma Rowley Family Fund | Arthur and Erma Rowley were loving parents who were active in the church and instilled a giving spirit in their sons, Paul and James Rowley. When Erma passed away, Paul and James established this fund in honor of their parents. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Bay County Home Builders Association Fund | The Home Builders Association of Bay County is a not-for-profit corporation that provides services to professionals in the construction and building industry. The Association desires to be prominent in the community, have a positive image, and provide for affordable, reasonable, and quality housing for Bay County residents. To further their commitment to this area, it established an unrestricted fund to support community needs and opportunities both now and for the future. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Bernard & Rosemarie Surath Fund | Inspired through Bernard's connection to the Community Foundation serving on the board of trustees, Bernard and Rosemarie chose to establish an unrestricted fund in 1987 to provide funds for the community's unforeseen needs and opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Boutell Family Fund | The Boutell family has a long history in Bay City and has been active in the Bay City community both through owning numerous business and buildings and by giving back to local nonprofits. The family established this fund in 1993 so that there would always be unrestricted funds available to meet the most pressing needs and promising opportunities of the time. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Carmona Family Fund | Scott and Nancy Carmona established this fund to ensure there would always be unrestricted dollars available to meet the community's most pressing needs and promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Charles Shirley Avery Fund | Charles Shirley Avery established this fund in 1991 to ensure there would always be unrestricted dollars available to meet the community's most pressing needs and promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Community Initiative | The Community Initiative Fund supports projects and programs which benefit Bay County through the Foundation's semiannual grant program. Grants are made in the interest areas of arts & culture, community initiatives, education & youth, environment, health & wellness, human services, and recreation. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| David and Suzann Jensen Family Fund | David and Suzann Jensen established this fund in 2000 to ensure there would always be unrestricted dollars available to meet the community's most pressing needs and promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Dobson Heavy Haul Fund | Dobson Heavy Haul, now known as Dobson Industrial, chose to show the leadership's commitment to the Bay Area community by establishing an unrestricted fund so that there would always be funds available to meet community needs and take advantage of promising opportunities for the area to thrive. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Dr. Donald and Carol Garvin Fund | Dr. Donald Byron Garvin was a dedicated physician who served in the Air Force in 1955 and held practices in Brazil, Indiana, and Bay City, Michigan. After retirement, he returned to Indiana, but while here, he fell in love with the Bay Area community and chose to start an unrestricted fund with his wife of the time to help the area thrive in the future. "I see it as a way to give something back to a community that has been very good to me," Dr. Garvin said. "Although Bay City is an adopted town for me, I think those of us who have lived elsewhere may actually be more appreciative of the potential here." | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Dr. Bernhardt & Suzie Pederson Family Fund | While neither Dr. Bernhardt nor Suzanne Pederson are originally from the area, they lived in Bay City for forty years together, raised their four children here, and made it their home. Together, they established and ran a successful medical practice and actively contributed to the Bay Area. Suzanne was a former board member of Bay Area Community Foundation and also served on the boards of the Bay City Public Schools, the YMCA, Bay City Rotary Club, and more. It was important to them to continue to give back to the community, and so they established this unrestricted fund for their impact to continue on, forever. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Dr. Tyre Jones Fund | Dr. Tyre K. Jones, a board-certified radiologist and doctor, established this fund in 1993 to ensure there would always be unrestricted dollars available to meet the community's most pressing needs and promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Fred C. & Joyce Cook Family Fund | Fred and Joyce Cook have always been active in the Bay Area community, most notably by serving on the boards for Boys and Girls Club and the Bay Area Women's Center. Both of them and their children and grandchildren were raised in Bay City, and they want to help their community thrive. They established this fund in 2002 to ensure there would always be unrestricted dollars available to meet the community's most pressing needs and promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Frederick & Elizabeth Fitzhugh Fund | Frederick and Elizabeth Fitzhugh established this fund in 1987 to ensure there would always be unrestricted dollars available to meet the community's most pressing needs and promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Friends of the Foundation Fund | The Friends of the Foundation Fund ensures that our Bay Area will always have philanthropic resources available to respond to future needs in the community. The Foundation evaluates all aspects of community well-being including arts and culture, economic development, education, environment, health and human services, recreation, and community initiatives. This unrestricted fund allows Bay Area Community Foundation flexibility to allow the Board of Trustees and staff to use their knowledge and expertise to determine which projects or efforts will be most impactful for our community. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| The Greve Family Fund | This fund was established by the Greve family to ensure there would always be unrestricted dollars available to meet the community's most pressing needs and promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Harold R. & Marilyn Kleinert Fund | Harold and Marilyn Kleinert established this fund in 1988 to ensure there would always be unrestricted dollars available to meet the community's most pressing needs and promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Henry & Patsy Schwartz Family Fund | Henry and Patsy Schwartz had always been avid community supporters and workers and chose to open this fund to say thank you to the community that has been good to them over the years. Henry was the owner of Wolverine Knitting Mills which he retired from. Patsy left her mark on the community by sharing her musical talents as an accomplished pianist and active member of the Bay City Garden Club. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Herzog Family Fund | The Herzog family has given back to the Bay Community in many ways, first through recommending individual grants through their donor advised fund and now in perpetuity through this unrestricted fund which allows the Community Foundation flexibility for the Board of Trustees and staff to use their knowledge and expertise to determine which projects or efforts will be most impactful for our community. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| H. Hirschfield & Sons Co. Fund | H. Hirschfield Sons Co. scrap yard was in the Hirschfield family for more than 110 years after being founded by Herman H. Hirschfield in 1892. The company was passed on to his son Joseph in 1911 and then to Joseph's son Robert in the mid--1970s. Robert operated this family business until he retired in 2004 and sold it to OmniSource Corporation. While Robert was CEO, he established this fund to demonstrate the family's and the company's dedication to giving back to the community. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Hubert Stacy, Jr. & Rita Smith Family Fund | Hubert Stacy, Jr. and Rita Smith sailed the Great Lakes for years but always called Bay City their home. They were actively involved in supporting education, local beautification, industrial development, and library services. They were passionate about making this area thrive. "You can't expect to attract people to a community unless you can show them a lively, innovative town in which to live," they said. They chose to establish this fund so that there would always be funds available to seek out improvements and seize opportunities for this Bay Area. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Independent Bank Endowment Fund | Priding itself in being able to serve the members of its community, Independent Bank believes in giving back to its communities both financially and with volunteer hours to local projects. Independent Bank established this fund in 2002 to ensure there would always be unrestricted dollars available to meet the community's most pressing needs and promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| James & Elizabeth Rowley Family Fund | James and his wife Elizabeth Rowley established this fund in 1987 to give back to their community. Having met in high school, James and Elizabeth shared much of life together, including raising three children. Elizabeth had a thirty-year career as a clinical social worker at Catholic Family Services and in private practice and was actively involved in their church, the League of Women Voters, and many other organizations. She passed away in 2014 from cancer. Her spirit of helping others, and that of her husband's, continues on with this unrestricted fund to benefit the community and meet future needs and promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Jerrold & Martha Smith Fund | Jerrold and Martha Smith established this fund in 1993 to ensure there would always be unrestricted dollars available to meet the community's most pressing needs and promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| John D. & Joan S. Morley Family Fund | In 1991, John and Joan Morley heard of the "wonderful things" the Community Foundation was doing and chose to establish this fund so the Community Foundation could continue its work and to ensure there would always be unrestricted dollars available to meet the community's most pressing needs and promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Lawyers & Judges Fund | Bay County's lawyers and judges in 1989 joined together to create this fund, with an initial challenge from Brian Kennedy of Patterson, Gruber, Kennedy, Gill and Milster. Many lawyers, judges, and firms invested to bring resources to our community to meet the needs of the time and set aside finances for the opportunities of the future. | Unrestricted Fund | Donate Now |
| Leonard & Esther Kessler Fund | Through Quality Transparent Bag, Inc., this fund was established in 1994 in honor of Leonard and Esther Kessler to ensure there would always be unrestricted dollars available to meet the community's most pressing needs and promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Mae and Fred Lowe Family Fund | In 2003, Mae and Fred Lowe established this fund to ensure there would always be unrestricted dollars available to meet the community's most pressing needs and promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Margaret C. Thompson Family Fund | Believing in the power of community, Margaret C. Thompson set up a fund through her trust to ensure there would always be unrestricted dollars available to meet the community's most pressing needs and promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Marian Olfer Endowment Fund | Remembered by her family as a positive and strong woman, Marian enjoyed music and played the organ for several years. She was passionate about giving back to the community and established this fund to ensure there would always be unrestricted dollars available to meet the community's most pressing needs and promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Martin D. Jaffe, M.D. Fund | Martin Jaffe was known for his deep intellectual curiosity, tremendous love of sweets (especially ice cream), and heartwarming sense of humor. After serving time in the Navy and Air Force and earning his degrees from University of Michigan, Martin and his wife Ruth returned to Bay City, where he was raised, to establish his own Internal Medicine practice. He is remembered as a beloved physician who always took time to listen to every patient to fully understand and make a diagnosis. He and his wife have given back to this community in countless ways, and this fund will serve as a legacy of that generosity by contributing grant dollars to support Bay County’s most pressing needs and promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Maynard L. Jr. & Donald M. Smith Fund | Maynard and Donald Smith were brothers who both had a love of sailing and jazz. Established by Maynard in memory of his brother Donald, this fund ensures there would always be unrestricted dollars available to meet the community's most pressing needs and promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Ralph & Shirley Isackson Family Fund | Ralph Isackson was a highly respected Bay County Attorney, and his wife Shirley was active in Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization of America. They established this fund in 1991 to ensure there would always be unrestricted dollars available to meet the community's most pressing needs and promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Richard C. and Lois A. Niemann Family Fund | Richard and Lois Niemann established this fund in 2010 to ensure there would always be unrestricted dollars available to meet the community's most pressing needs and promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Rudolph Family Fund | The Rudolph Family established this fund in 2000 to ensure there would always be unrestricted dollars available to meet the community's most pressing needs and promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Serenus & Hilma Johnson and Raymond & Betty Johnson Fund | Together, Serenus and Hilma made a strong team, running a business and raising five children. When their youngest son, Raymond, joined the company, it became "Serenus Johnson and Son," and father and son worked there until retirement. To give back to a community that supported their business and family for so long, Raymond established this fund in his parents' honor in 1988 to ensure there would always be unrestricted dollars available to meet the community's most pressing needs and promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Simon & Wilda Fisher Family Fund | Simon and Wilda Fisher cared and provided for so much for their three daughters. In their memory, their daughters established this fund to pay it forward to future generations and to ensure there would always be unrestricted dollars available to meet the community's most pressing needs and promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Terry & Jerry Drake Fund | Terry and Jerry Drake were well-known in Bay City as the owners of an Italian restaurant, Terry and Jerry's O' Sole Mio. It was a must-go-to place for family gatherings and special celebrations, and residents remember fondly their great hospitality. They loved their community and chose to give back to it by establishing this fund through their estate. Unrestricted fund allow the Community Foundation to respond to the time's most pressing needs and promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Theodore J. & Helen A. Putz Family Fund | In memorial to her parents Theodore J. and Helen A. Putz, Lois Niemann and her husband Richard established this fund in 2001 to celebrate her parents' commitment to this community. The community was very supportive of the Putz Hardware Store, a 103-year-old family business that saw three generations of owners. This fund gives back by providing support for the community's pressing needs and promising opportunities for both now and the future. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Thomas & Elaine Gavin Family Fund | Thomas and Elaine Gavin established this fund in 1987 to provide for their community. Unrestricted funds allow the Community Foundation to respond to the time's most pressing needs and promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Tom and Shari Niemann Family Fund | Tom and Shari Niemann were involved in many local organizations and were proud to share their town of Bay City with visitors. Their passion for the community lead them to establish this unrestricted fund so that there would always be funds available to meet the area's pressing needs and respond to promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Vernon F. and Ruth Short Family Fund | Vernon and Ruth Short were passionate about supporting the community in which they made their money. They established this fund so that there would always be community resources available to meet the time's most pressing needs and promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Walter G. & Carol A. Weinlander Fund | Walt and Carol Weinlander always believed they should give back to the place in which they live. They chose to start an unrestricted fund at the Community Foundation because they believe in the younger generations to decide the greatest needs and best opportunities for the community. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
| Willard & Mary Van Tuyle Family Fund | Willard Van Tuyle served in the Navy during World War II, and his wife Mary was a founding member of Studio 23. Both were passionate about the Bay City community where they lived and established this fund to ensure there would always be unrestricted dollars available to meet the community's most pressing needs and promising opportunities. | Unrestricted | Donate Now |
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