2025 Grantmaking Update

The staff and board of the Stryker Johnston Foundation are very grateful for the grace and patience that was extended to us in 2024. 

The pausing of our responsive grantmaking was a challenge and an opportunity for us as a foundation to truly reflect on the future of our grantmaking and the collective impact we would like to make in Kalamazoo. The pause was essential to build future equitable grantmaking precedents that fully support the growth of our impact and partnerships in Kalamazoo County. This intentional pause led our team in asking how to change the traditional philanthropic responsive grantmaking model and how to strategically change our processes to be proactive, intentional, and fully informed of the current state of barriers for our grant partners and the community. The impact of this approach is that we are a foundation addressing the system of philanthropy and the obstacles of this field, coupled with the historical effects of systemic oppression in this country. We are hopeful that this intentional approach to changing grantmaking will impact the organizational sustainability of work, directly impacting the intergenerational poverty of our grant partners and community. 

Below you will find details about our new strategic grantmaking process. We are grateful to have received and implemented feedback from our grant partners to help inform this process.

Strategic Grantmaking Approach

• Interact more with community organizations and current grant partners, providing needed support and connecting them to resources. 

• Regular check-ins and more well rounded and intentional relationships with grant partners.

• Frequent conversations about the present and future work of grant partners

• Proactively connect with the community to find those who are doing work that is most strongly and directly aligned with SJF’s focuses and priorities.

• Eliminate traditional application process (receiving application information directly from community organizations and grant partners through conversations and necessary provided documents)

Process for Current SJF Grant Partners:

• Grant Program Team utilizes information from grant partner check ins to gain insight on the work happening and the financial need

• Grant Program Team utilizes insight to confirm strong and direct alignment between SJF and grant partners

• Grant Program Team tracks grant periods to confirm when grant renewals are needed

• Grant Program Team invites grant partners to submit strategic application via the SJF grant platform, Fluxx

• Operations Team assists with reviewing documents for compliance

• Grant Program Team provides funding recommendations to board 

• Operations Team follows process for administering grant agreements and providing payments

Process for Prospective SJF Grant Partners:

• Community organizations are welcome to submit inquiries to the Stryker Johnston Foundation Grant Program Team at grants@strykerjohnstonfoundation.org

• Grant Program Team engages with community organizations interested in SJF partnership to determine strong and direct alignment with SJF funding priorities and focuses

• Grant Program Team utilizes information from community organization engagement to gain insight on the work happening and the financial need

• If a community organization is strongly and directly aligned, the Grant Program Team invites the organization to submit strategic application via SJF grant platform, Fluxx

• Operations Team assists with reviewing documents for compliance

• Grant Program Team provides funding recommendations to board 

• Operations Team follows process for administering grant agreements and providing payments

Decision Making/Approval Process:

• Grant Program Team will meet with organizations to confirm alignment using SJF alignment criteria below

• A legally registered 501(c)(3) Public Charity (NOT classified as a 501(c)(3) Private Foundation), or you have a confirmed fiscal sponsor that is a legally registered 501(c)(3) Public Charity; OR

• A Governmental agency; OR

• An educational institution (school, college, university).

• Your organization, program, or project mainly serves the community of Kalamazoo County, Michigan. 

• You have a board approved nondiscrimination policy. This policy  shows your organization’s commitment to equal opportunity for all people. It is inclusive of race, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, disability, and any other legally protected status. We expect this policy to cover staff, board, volunteers, and clients of your organization.

• We partner with organizations and groups that work to change the systems and root causes that lead to intergenerational poverty.

• We focus on supporting organizations that are led by and serve Black people, people of color, and other communities that have been left out or left behind.

• We only fund work that serves the community of Kalamazoo County, Michigan.

• We partner with organizations and groups that:

Prioritize diversity, inclusion, and equity efforts;

Are actively being and becoming anti-racist and anti-oppressive; and

Are led by and accountable to the people most impacted by the issues their organization works on.

Alignment:

• Organizations whose work disrupts and dismantles systems and root causes that lead to intergenerational poverty. 

• Both fiscal sponsor and sponsee must be aligned with SJF. 

• Operations Team will facilitate the collection of necessary documents via Fluxx, our grant management system, to help Grant Program Team determine funding recommendations

• Grant Program Team will gain clarity on what the aligned organization's funding need is 

• Grant Program Team will use data to determine funding recommendation 

• Grant Program Team will present funding requests for aligned organizations to the SJF board quarterly during board meetings and/or outside of that timeframe for special approval meetings based on grant partner need

• SJF board approves funding requests

We anticipate and understand that there may be questions and curiosities about what we’ve outlined above. We welcome it all. We have set aside time to connect and address anything that may be coming up for our community as a result of the shift that we’ve made. Please contact the grants team at grants@strykerjohnstonfoundation.org should you desire an opportunity to connect.

Grants Management System

Grant partners with a current SJF grant can log in and view their information in our new Grants Management System (Fluxx). 

Organizations that do not have a current grant, but have previously applied for grants with the Stryker Johnston Foundation, should reach out to Laura Winther, Grants Manager, at lwinther@strykerjohnstonfoundation.org to update organizational information and obtain login information for their account. 

If your organization has not applied for grants with the Stryker Johnston Foundation in the past, please contact the Grant Program Team at grants@strykerjohnstonfoundation.org.