2024 West Michigan Youth Program

The Gerber Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for infants and young children by focusing on their nutrition, care, and development. This mission has consistently guided the Foundation's philanthropic efforts throughout its history, establishing a clear strategic priority. The grant program specifically supports a variety of youth programming within a four-county area of West Michigan: Lake, Muskegon, Newaygo, and Oceana Counties. This geographical focus underscores a commitment to local community impact, ensuring that funding directly benefits children in these specific regions. The program's target beneficiaries are infants and young children, with an overarching impact goal to improve their overall well-being. The Foundation seeks to achieve measurable results through grants that are generally limited to one-year commitments and are typically under $10,000, with an average grant size of less than $5,000. These financial parameters suggest a strategic approach to support numerous smaller, impactful programs rather than a few large-scale initiatives, allowing for broader reach within the targeted communities. The Foundation's priorities and focus areas are comprehensive, encompassing critical aspects of child development. These include health and nutrition, with a specific mention of dental issues, early childhood services and literacy, and parenting education. Additionally, the Foundation supports education in broader subjects such as Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts/Agriculture, and Math (STEAM). Life experiences are also a key focus, including camp scholarships, agricultural science education, 4-H, and FFA programs, demonstrating a holistic view of child development that extends beyond academic learning. The eligibility criteria for grant applicants reflect the Foundation's strategic priorities. The Foundation primarily funds programming, though capital campaign requests are considered on a very limited basis. This preference indicates a focus on direct service delivery and immediate program impact. Agencies must be located in or directly serve youth from one of the four specified counties and must be a public non-profit with a 501(c)(3) determination letter from the IRS or a governmental entity. These requirements ensure that grants are directed to established and accountable organizations capable of delivering the expected outcomes in alignment with the Foundation's mission and theory of change.