Checking in on our past grant recipients.
Since our inception in 2016, Impact100 Oakland County has pooled and awarded over 1.4 million dollars to nonprofits serving Oakland County. Let’s take a look at how our grant dollars are making an impact in our community!
2021 Recipients
In October of 2021 membership voted to award three grants of $91,000 to HAVEN, Eton Academy and HOPE Hospitality & Warming Center. Contracts and disbursement schedules were finalized between Impact100 Oakland County and each recipient by the end of December. The first round of grant disbursements was distributed by our President and Co-Vice President on January 11th.
HAVEN received their full balance in this first disbursement, which will allow them to secure a transportation van and hire a Transportation Advocate to support survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual assault. Transportation continues to be an ongoing concern for survivors who often do not have a vehicle or means to attend appointments necessary to achieve independence from their abuser.
Eton Academy received 50% of their grant dollars to fund The Post-Pandemic Learning Recovery Initiative. This program is a specialized, no cost, after school tutoring program. It is designed to support the academic growth and achievement of Oakland County students who have been negatively impacted by the pandemic but may not be able to afford specialized tutoring services to support their learning.
HOPE Hospitality & Warming Center also received 50% of their grant dollars in their first disbursement. The funds will cover a new position at HOPE, The Peer Advocate. The Peer Advocate with lived experience works closely with HOPE to ensure that individuals seeking shelter feel welcome, understand expectations, and learn about all services offered through the shelter. They also help HOPE better serve the individual in a more personal, targeted manner allowing for a more speedy resolution of homelessness.
2020 Recipients
As a part of our financial stewardship on behalf of membership, we require nonprofits to provide interim and final reporting on their project’s progress against their original application. Here’s a look at where our 2020 recipients stand:
DAPCEP – Combatting the COVID-19 Slide: STEM Academics for Southfield Youth
This project was designed to augment anticipated learning losses exacerbated by school closures due to the pandemic. DAPCEP is an educational organization providing high quality and standards-aligned science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programming to youth in metropolitan Detroit. With Impact100 Oakland County’s funding, DACPEP was able to update their website & create three new virtual STEM courses that occurred afterschool & on Saturdays. They enrolled 200 students to Black Engineer of the Year Conference and hosted three new virtual summer camps. 94% of participants said they learned new things in their courses not covered at school and 100% of participants indicated they wanted to take more classes focused on STEM subjects. Most importantly, students learned the academic content needed to pursue academic and career opportunities in STEM and DAPCEP was able to mitigate the effect of the pandemic by engaging students in academic instruction designed to bolster traditional instruction.
Families Against Narcotics – COMEBACK Quick Response Team
FAN’s COMEBACK QRT connects a person who has experienced a drug overdose to treatment and other supportive services. This positive, evidence-based intervention program consists of a non-threatening and compassionate team of professionals – a police officer, a peer or family recovery coach and nurse or EMS. This team helps individuals and families find recovery and maintain a healthy environment.
Staffing challenges within police departments and access to EMS data to find overdose victims has presented challenges to program, but FAN continues to reach their project goals and has secured additional funding for continued support of the program. To date, FAN has launched QRT’s in Berkely, Madison Heights, Troy, Oak Park & Farmington Hills. QRT team members have been able to participate in ongoing trainings to further develop their skills and knowledge. FAN’s assembled & distributed comfort kits and fentanyl test strip kits to QRT participants. Over 149 families have been offered services and support through this program. When participants were asked of their perception of law enforcement, 73% of respondents said their perception improved or greatly improved.
FAN recently applied for an extension with Impact100 Oakland County, we’ve granted them additional time through December 2022 to spend their funds due to challenges mentioned above. With help from our grant, FAN’s COMEBACK Quick Response Team has been able to help people transition from despair to hope and decrease the stigma of people with substance abuse disorder.
Oakland Livingston Human Services Agency – Gigabytes for Grand-Families
OLHSA’s mission is to empower families and communities to gain knowledge, skills and resources needed to improve their quality of life. They focus on meeting the basic needs of senior citizens, persons with disabilities and people suffering from economic hardship. As society rapidly shifts to communicate and conduct business online, many in the older generation were left behind as part of the great digital divide. This divide was exacerbated by the pandemic and many grandparents raising their grandchildren faced struggles navigating the virtual school environment with little to no technology to support them.
To date, 13 (of the 25 projected) grand families have received computers and internet and contract negotiations have begun for training courses to use their devices. One unexpected challenge OLHSA has faced is finding program participants. Their program application was submitted to Impact100 Oakland County for participants who had formal kinship agreements to care for their grandchildren. However, many grandparents caring for their grandchildren do not have a formal kinship agreement. They may seek to request an adjustment to their project criteria if this challenge continues.
Current program participants will now be able to monitor the progress at school by accessing the district’s emails, online student portals and assist with virtual classes when necessary. Grandparents can combat feelings of isolation while staying safe at home by attending virtual support groups offered by OLHSA. And above all, the children have had adequate access to the technology required for a quality education and economic mobility.