Philanthropy

Consumers Energy is strengthening its commitment to rural Michigan communities by announcing a new competition to provide funding for projects that will help energize towns in the Lower Peninsula. The “Put Your Town on the Map” competition will provide a total of $15,000 to three initiatives that are designed to build a stronger sense of community. Up to 10 finalist communities will compete for the funding at the 2019 Small Town and Rural Development Conference on April 17 in Thompsonville, Mich.

Major League Baseball (MLB) and Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital curriculum, content, and professional development for K-12 classrooms, today announced the launch of a new, multiyear partnership that brings Major League Baseball’s dynamic content into Discovery Education’s Science Techbooks. The partnership launched during a special event in the Baltimore County Public Schools’ Deep Creek Middle School, during which Nicole Sherry, Head Groundskeeper for the Baltimore Orioles, worked alongside area students as they analyzed turf samples taken from Baltimore’s Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Lockheed Martin is now accepting applications for its new 2019 Lockheed Martin STEM Scholarship program through Tuesday, March 12, 2019.

2018 proved to be an active year in Corporate Social Responsibility with issues related to sustainability, globalization, advocacy on social issues and multiple natural disasters in the forefront.

The Brydges family, of Florida, adopted Dalton and Dawson from foster care with the support of Rachel Adler, a Wendy's Wonderful Kids adoption recruiter. Rachel did all she could to find the boys their forever family. "To me, family is so important," she shared. "And to know that there are kids who don't have that and might not have the chance to have that...I thought how awesome that I get to do that work."

Starbucks and VolunteerMatch are empowering volunteers to follow in the footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and find ways to do good this MLK Day of Service.

I had the exciting opportunity to interview Amiko Foster of Youth Finance Institute of America (YFIA), a California-based nonprofit that provides personal finance education programs designed to teach finance life skills to youth in disadvantaged areas. Since launching their program in 2015, YFIA’s entirely volunteer-based staff has been able to serve over 1200 youth to date.

As national parks face issues with unmanaged waste during the government shutdown, Keep America Beautiful, the largest community improvement organization in the United States, and Nestlé Waters North America, one of the leading beverage companies in North America, announced today that they are teaming up to help mobilize affiliate organizations and volunteers across the country to clean up these shared public spaces.

The Freeport-McMoRan Community Investment Fund (CIF) recently selected the recipients and awarded grants totaling $100,000 for various improvement projects in Safford, Arizona.

The Greenlee County Community Investment Fund (CIF) recently selected the recipients and awarded grants totaling $300,000 to local communities and non-profit organizations.