The Berrien Community Foundation has announced nearly $140,000 in For Good Grants to close out the year, supporting physical and mental health, youth well-being, and access to essential services throughout Southwest Michigan.
BCF program manager Susan Matheny tells us 28 organizations are receiving grants. She says the foundation noticed a trend with this round’s applications.
“Many of our most recent For Good Grants rants were addressing the basic building blocks of a healthy community,” Matheny said. “You know, basic needs, education, health, both mental and physical. I think there was a considerable amount of those kind of projects.”
Matheny says that’s not surprising, given the funding landscape nationwide. Of course, the BCF also wants to support the arts, recreation, and education.
“The Boys and Girls Club was awarded a grant to work on their STEAM/STEM education programming for youth. Bridgman Public Schools had a project to really expand their school-based social work services.”
Other grant recipients include Meals on Wheels of Southwest Michigan, the Ferry Street Resource Center in Niles, and the Benton Harbor Public Library. We have a list of the recipients and how they’ll use their grants below.
Matheny says one often-overlooked need is being addressed with a grant to the Disability Network Southwest Michigan. It’s going to use its funding to help install ramps at the homes of disabled residents.
“So it improves our community members ability to access their own home and to access the outside world. From what I understand, there’s always a wait list of people who need ramps.”
The BCF awards For Good grants twice per year, and the grants come in two forms. They are major grants, which run up to $15,000, and minor grants, which run up to $1,500.
Over the years, Matheny says the Berrien Community Foundation has given out several million dollars in For Good Grants.
Highlights of some of the programs receiving grant support include:
· Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Southwest Michigan – STEAM Day – Expanding youth access to STEAM education and enrichment opportunities.
· Bridgman Public Schools – Student Success Project – Providing school-based social work services, essential school supplies and suicide prevention programming.
· Corewell Health Foundation – Southwest Michigan – Behavioral Health Unit Renovation – Modernizing facilities to ensure safe, high-quality mental health care.
· EliStrong Foundation – Family Grants – Assisting families of children battling pediatric cancer with costs not covered by insurance.
· Ferry Street Resource Center – Building Bridges to Opportunity and Sustainability – Providing emergency assistance and life-planning coaching to households in need.
· Girl Scouts – Heart of Michigan – Growing Tomorrow’s Leaders – Expanding Girl Scouting opportunities in Coloma and Watervliet.
· Grounded Incorporated – Grounded Hangouts – Creating safe, supportive mental health and wellness spaces for children.
· InterCare Community Health Network – Healthy Youth Program – Teaching youth about healthy food and wellness choices.
· Meals on Wheels of Southwest Michigan – Medically Appropriate Meals – Expanding access to nutritious, medically appropriate meals for seniors.
· Neighbor by Neighbor – Pathway to Home – Assisting families and individuals at risk of homelessness with emergency housing support.
· St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church – Community Food Pantry – Supporting food access to families and individuals experiencing food insecurity.
· Stevensville United Methodist Church – Riverside Weekend Backpack Program – Providing weekend meals for students attending Riverside Hagar #6 School who are facing food insecurity.
In addition to the grants listed above, the following grants were also awarded:
· Benton Harbor Public Library – Library Support Café – Providing access to a safe indoor space and community support for unhoused individuals.
· Berrien Artist Guild, Inc. – Audio Equipment Upgrade – Replacing outdated audio equipment at the Box Factory Mainstage.
· Curious Kids’ Museum – Curious Kids on Main Street – Supporting the renovations at the museum’s new facility on Main Street in St. Joseph.
· Disability Network Southwest Michigan – Ramp Up program – Funding for ramp-building materials to improve home accessibility, safety and independence for individuals with disabilities.
· Five Pines Ministries – Snow Tube Replacement – Funding the purchase of new snow tubes for use on Five Pines’ “Grandpa’s Snow Tubing Hill.”
· Greater Bridgman Area Chamber of Commerce and Growth Alliance – Salute the Troops Playground – Supporting the development of an Armed Forces-themed playground with educational elements in Bridgman.
· Harbor Country Rotary Foundation – River Valley Elementary Literacy Support – Improving book access for students at River Valley Elementary School.
· Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes – Berrien County Financial Literacy Programming – Supporting financial literacy programming in Berrien County schools during the 2025-26 school year.
· Krasl Art Center – Ceramics Studio Equipment Purchase – Funding the purchase of equipment to allow the center to recycle and reuse clay.
· Lake Michigan College – Digital Scenery Project – Supporting the rental of digital scenery equipment and animated projections for “Big Fish, the Musical.”
· Michiana Public Broadcasting Corporation – General Support for PBS Michiana – Providing general operating support for WNIT.
· Paws of Hope – Preventative Care and Adoptive Readiness – Funding testing, vaccination and spay/neuter services for rescued animals.
· School of American Music – “My Name Is” Project – Supporting a participatory, intergenerational music project.
· St. Joseph Today – The “I *Heart* St. Joe” Podcast – Funding the purchase of audio/video equipment and marketing materials to produce a podcast.
· Tarragindi Initiative – Old Jailhouse Archaeological Dig 2026 – Providing funding for a local PhD archaeologist to supervise a dig where the 1830s county jail used to sit at The History Center at Courthouse Square in Berrien Springs.
· The Region of Three Oaks Museum – Warren Building Preservation – Assisting with renovations needed for a recently donated building to serve as the museum’s satellite campus.
