We seek to partner with organizations and groups that strongly and directly align with our vision, mission, and funding priorities.

• 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 in the past.

• 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.

You may be eligible for SJF funding if:

• You are one of the types of organizations listed 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.

PLEASE NOTE: Each grant applicant will be asked to provide a copy of their organization’s nondiscrimination policy with their Application. An organization will not be eligible to receive grant funds if their nondiscrimination policy is not inclusive of the information listed above. If an organization’s board policy is not compliant, it may be updated during the grant application process in order to be considered for a funding decision. If you have questions regarding this, please contact our team.

We provide funding for:

• General operating support

• Multi-year funding requests

• Specific projects or programs

• Collaborations or collective action efforts

• Capacity building

• Capital campaigns — A limited portion of our grant funds go towards capital campaigns.

We DO NOT provide funding for:

• Individuals looking for personal funding

• Political or lobbying campaigns

• Organizations that exist to influence legislation or voting

• Organizations, programs, or projects that primarily benefit communities outside of Kalamazoo County, Michigan

• Event sponsorships

• 501(c)(3) Private Foundations

• 501(c)(7) Social Clubs

• 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)

• 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

• 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

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• 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

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