CFHZ Responsive Grant Program

The Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area (CFHZ) offers a Responsive Grant Program that provides strategic, flexible funding to address a wide spectrum of community needs in the greater Holland/Zeeland area of Michigan. CFHZ is a well-established community foundation that supports local nonprofit organizations, governmental entities, and schools through this open-funnel grantmaking initiative. Their approach emphasizes responsiveness to community-identified priorities and allows for funding across diverse focus areas, such as arts and culture, community and economic development, environment, education, health, human services, housing, seniors, and youth. The Responsive Grant Program supports various types of requests including capital investments, new program development, and expansion or enhancement of existing programs. Capital requests can receive one-time funding of up to $40,000, typically for property purchases, construction projects, remodeling, expansions, or significant equipment purchases. For new or expanded programming, applicants can apply for multi-year funding over a period of up to two years with a maximum total of $60,000. The program is structured to provide targeted assistance where it can make a meaningful impact. Eligibility is limited to nonprofit organizations that have tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, schools, municipalities, and other government entities operating with a charitable purpose within the greater Holland/Zeeland area. CFHZ does not support organizations or requests that fall outside this defined geographic region or scope of charitable service. To begin the application process, interested applicants must first contact Yadah V. Ramirez, Director of Community Impact, via email at yramirez@cfhz.org or phone at 616-994-8862. Following this initial conversation, applicants may be provided with the necessary materials to proceed with submitting their proposal. Applications are evaluated by the Distribution Committee or the Youth Advisory Committee, with support from CFHZ staff. These committees submit recommendations to the Foundation’s Board of Trustees, which makes the final funding decisions. The Foundation advises applicants to expect approximately eight weeks from the application deadline to the issuance of a final decision. The next and final application deadline for the 2025 funding cycle is August 25, 2025. There are no rolling deadlines for this grant, and it is not available on a recurring cycle beyond this current opportunity unless reannounced.