County Gives Final OK to Nonprofit Funding

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At its June 1, 2011 meeting, the Washtenaw County board of commissioners gave final approval to allocations for $507,500 in children’s well-being and human services funding for 2011. Additional funds in 2012 and 2013 were also approved, contingent on the board’s approval of those budgets later this year. In total, the county allocated $1.015 million through 2013.

The allocations for these awards were recommended by a coordinated funding review committee. The process is being managed by the joint county/city of Ann Arbor office of community development, which is coordinating the funding efforts of the county, the city of Ann Arbor, the United Way of Washtenaw County, and the Washtenaw Urban County. The Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation is participating in other parts of the effort. [.pdf of funding recommendations]

During public commentary, 10 residents spoke in opposition of Planned Parenthood of Mid and South Michigan, urging commissioners not to provide funding to that organization. Two people spoke in support of funding Planned Parenthood. Commissioners did not change the allocation for Planned Parenthood – a total of $67,440 was allocated to the nonprofit, including $53,040 from the county.

The county board of commissioners approved the coordinated funding process at its Nov. 3, 2010 meeting. Commissioners had been briefed on the effort at an Oct. 7 working session, and most recently discussed the process at its May 4 meeting. The Ann Arbor city council, at its meeting on Tuesday, May 31, approved its portion of the human services allocations.

Also on Tuesday, the city of Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County office of community development released a 16-page report that attempts to quantify the economic impact of the 37 local nonprofits that are funded by the county and city. In 2011, the combined investments from the city and county in those nonprofits totaled $2.7 million. According to the report, those funds leveraged more than $34 million in non-local revenue.[.pdf of nonprofit investment report]

This brief was filed from the boardroom of the county administration building at 220 N. Main St. in Ann Arbor. A more detailed report will follow: [link]