A community foundation is a tax-exempt public charity created by and for the people in a local area. It enables people with philanthropic interests to easily and effectively support the issues they care about — immediately or through their will or estate plan.



Donors can give to an existing fund or establish a charitable fund at the community foundation by contributing a variety of assets. Those assets are then carefully invested by the foundation. The gift principal never gets spent and the earnings are used to benefit the community through annual grants. Gifts to the foundation will continue to grow and earn resources for the community forever.



Founded in 1925 on the simple idea that it is our responsibility to look after one another, the Kalamazoo Community Foundation is nurtured and sustained by the people of the greater Kalamazoo area. With the help of our donors, we have invested approximately $200 million in the form of grants to nonprofit organizations. The Foundation helps individuals, families, businesses and nonprofit agencies achieve their charitable and financial goals by providing tools and resources that make giving easy, flexible and effective. We are dedicated to preserving what we've come to appreciate most in our community for future generations. We are here to do good work . . . forever.



In the years since W. E. Upjohn’s founding, the Foundation has provided essential funding to programs that encourage individuals and families to succeed, engage citizens and youths in community activities, enrich education and learning, and foster economic growth. The Foundation’s imprint on the community is both broad and deep — you could not walk or drive but a few blocks without coming across a building, program or person that has been touched by its philanthropy.