President Mack opened the meeting with Rotarians introducing their guests (welcome Luke and Kent!), followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
Tom Petzold offered a thoughtful reflection that focused on our being teachers in all things.
Announcements followed:
Ross Childs told us about Go Blue, Go Green (Sparty on!). The aim is to raise scholarship funds for local students going to NMC, U of M, or MSU. They’re hoping to raise enough to support ten scholarships at $2,000 each. Volunteers are needed for the August 21st event. If you can help, please contact Ross at (231) 590-2482 or krccons@charter.net.
Andrew Kohlmann needs help with a ‘bug count,’ as he put it. The Adopt-A-Stream project with The Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay, learn more HERE The goal is to study the health of the ecosystem we usually go to Kids Creek. Waders, nets, and bugs. A nice little Saturday. Come help him out on June 12 or June 19. Reach out to Andrew andrew@image360tc.com or Kathy tcrotary2822@gmail.com
Sharon Zimmerman gave us an update on Rotary Camps and Services. The Discovery Center is about halfway to its $2.1M fundraising goal. There will be increased activity at the pier this summer and there are plenty of opportunities to partake. Head to discoverycruisestc.com and experience all that they have to offer! Also, GOREC is going to have educational offerings this summer. Discover the changes and improvements for yourself: head to https://www.rotarycharities.org/about-us/our-affiliates/rotary-camps-services to learn all about it!
President Mack shared with us the results of the survey regarding the future of our club. The majority of those who responded favored the proposed changes. Some of the changes will go into effect on July 1st. President Mack also let us know that we’re in discussions with the Park Place about in-person meetings, which may be able to happen as soon as next month.
Jennifer Casey introduced our speaker, Natalie Gingras Hazen, of Gingras Global.
The organization was founded in 2011 and is based in the Detroit area. Gingras Global guides impact enterprises and investors by focusing on having a positive social impact to go with financial success. Through their work, they’ve been able to help impact investors save $5M in costs and increase the capital funding for impact enterprises by 78%.
They offer services such as design guidance, fund administration, and reporting platforms. The organization generally focuses on social, economic, or environmental opportunities. Whether it’s their proprietary assessment and reporting systems or coaching services, they’ve had a tremendous impact on communities. Just one example is creating 6,800 jobs over 10 years.
Natalie told us about some of the opportunities they’ve had here in Michigan. They helped revitalize a dormant historical building with the Battle Creek Community Foundation. This has resulted in a major boost to the downtown area. She also told us about Monte Holland. He is a fashion designer that experienced tremendous success and then found himself starting over. He had the talent and client base, but needed investment to grow a new business. With Gingras Global’s help, he was able to do just that and is thriving.
Natalie also told us about some of the funds offered for impact investing. She focused on the Makers Environmental Fund. She started it in 2017 as a pilot. She told us about four of the organizations their support focused on: Welding Concept Training, Inc., Detroit Training Center, Pingree Detroit, and Detroit Sewn. Natalie raised $550,000 and was able to deploy more than $376,000 over just 24 months. Part of the work was helping those formerly incarcerated learn new skills. Through that work alone, recidivism costs for the State of Michigan were reduced by an estimated $3,174,000. Version 2 is in the works and will be a $20M nationwide initiative.
Jennifer Casey then presented the Wheels of Hope certificate to Natalie and President Mack adjourned the meeting.
