Two local non-profits have been named finalists in Impact100 Traverse City.
During a membership event Aug. 28, Impact100 named the finalist who will compete for three $116,000 grants later this month.
They are the Bay Community Theatre and the Friendship Community Center, both in Suttons Bay.
Other finalists include Northwestern Michigan College Foundation and Thompsonville Area Revitalize Project. The three nonprofits receiving the most member votes at the Impact100 TC annual meeting on September 25 will equally share the $348,000 raised this year.
Impact100 TC President Lindsay Raymond said the organization’s grant process has continued to attract a variety of strong candidates with impactful proposals.
“It is a true accomplishment to be named as an Impact100 Traverse City Finalist!” Raymond said. “These organizations are chosen after a detailed assessment of their initiatives’ transformational impact, sustainability, and financial viability. They are selected from a field of quality applicants, and this honor tells our community that they are doing great things and are worthy of funding!”
“We are so proud of them!” she said.
Since becoming a local nonprofi t, the Bay has been on a transformative journey. The 75-year-old Bay Theatre was set to close in late 2018 when the community rallied to “keep the lights on” and created the non-profit Bay Community Theatre.
Impact100 TC generally strives to select five finalists annually, one for each focus area. This year, our rigorous review process yielded four exceptional finalists, demonstrating our commitment to funding organizations that meet our eligibility criteria and requirements for impact, capacity, and sustainability, ensuring that our members’ investment will make a lasting difference.
Impact100 TC is an all-women, all-volunteer 501(c)3 nonprofit serving Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, and Leelanau counties that has granted over 2.1 million since its inception in 2017. After the Annual Meeting this year, that total will reach over 2.4 million. Each member provides an annual $1,000 donation that is collectively granted in $100,000 increments to support regional nonprofits with transformational funding. Impact100 has over 60 chapters across the United States and beyond that have awarded more than $123 million to nonprofi ts in their communities since 2002.
Since its founding, “The Bay” has been open 364 days a year, served as many as 17,000 visitors each year, and held countless special movie and live events for students, seniors, families, various local non-profits, the Native American community, and many more. The group’s mission is to bring people together to enhance the appreciation and access to cinema and performing arts and to protect the historic Bay Theatre building.
With funding from Impact100, the Bay Community Theatre will replace its obsolete and unreliable film projector with new projection technology. This investment will be critical to furthering our mission to serve thousands of patrons from Leelanau, Benzie, and Grand Traverse county for years to come. This new technology will also allow us flexibility to redesign the theatre’s “front of the house” as well as address important issues identified in recent research.
This funding from Impact100 will be a major step in The Bay’s transformation from dying venue to thriving community center.
The Friendship Community Center serves as the base for LIFT (Leelanau Investing For Teens), which offers a no-cost, out-ofschool program forstudents from grades 6-12 in Leelanau County.
Over 400 middle and high schoolers join LIFT programming 230 days of the year to connect with community mentors and participate in activities that support their development and mental health.
Housed within three school districts, teens spend over 2,725 hours in LIFT’s dedicated classrooms annually. LIFT’s well-loved out-of-school time spaces are the image of thrift and creativity. Tabletops rest on milk crates, couch covers hide stains, and malfunctioning spring-loaded recliners can send an unsuspecting teen flying.
Inspired by research on the impact of the physical environment on mental health, LIFT is updating its classrooms for the first time as a necessary investment in the wellbeing of local teens. LIFT will simultaneously purchase a 12-passenger vehicle to increase accessibility to its programs by providing participating teens with transportation to and from its out-of-school time activities.
