Who We Are
Our community thrives when the residents have the power to shape their future. Civic health is about more than just elections. It's about whether people trust the institutions in their community, whether their voices shape local decisions, and whether everyone, regardless of race, gender, or zip code, has a genuine stake in what comes next.
Our community has a long history of decisions being made for its residents rather than with them. From urban renewal to decades of disinvestment that followed, the gap between institutions and the people they serve didn't happen overnight. Rebuilding that trust means being honest about that history and investing in the leadership of residents who have always had the vision to move this community forward.
The Community Foundation of Greater Flint is committed to that work, because this community's future belongs to the people who reside here.
- Theory of Impact 1: We strive to create a more vibrant and equitable community where everyone can thrive by empowering and promoting social, economic, and political inclusion.
- Theory of Impact 2: Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic, and public life.
How we’re investing in Civic Health:
The measure of a community foundation is how well it represents and reflects the community it serves. Within Genesee County, five communities have endowed community funds: Clio, Davison, Fenton, Flushing, and Grand Blanc. These funds bring together the thinking of local leadership to best meet community needs.
Community Foundation of Greater Flint manages the assets, while local leaders review grant proposals and recommend funding for their community’s nonprofit organizations.
The purpose of the Flint Women and Girls Fund is to encourage the advancement and full participation of women and girls in society by promoting the removal of barriers to their economic, educational, physical, emotional, social, artistic, and personal growth.
For over 30 years, the Neighborhoods Small Grants Fund of CFGF, has worked with Flint residents to identify the changes they want to see in their neighborhoods. We know that lasting change happens when residents have the resources to drive the kind of change they want to see where they live, work, and play.
Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) is a community-based process to plan for and bring about transformational and sustainable change, and to address the historic and contemporary effects of racism. TRHT seeks to unearth and jettison the deeply held, and often, unconscious beliefs created by racism – the main one being the belief in a “hierarchy of human value.”
The TRHT framework has five areas. The first two, Narrative Change and Racial Healing and Relationship Building are the focus areas for the Community Foundation of Greater Flint. The remaining three areas are Separation, the Law, and Economy.
The Greater Flint Taskforce on Racial and Social Equity (Taskforce) is committed to bringing awareness, analysis, and action to the root causes of disparities in order to ensure racial equity within and across organizations and systems to reduce disparities during and following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Taskforce members and sub-committees commit to supporting individuals and organizations to develop and implement processes to challenge existing patterns of institutional power, jettison the hierarchy of human value, and promote equity.