Kalamazoo Foundation for Excellence seeks new board directors

The Kalamazoo Foundation for Excellence (FFE) is seeking two new volunteers to join its board of directors, representing the neighborhoods and faith-based organizations sectors. Applications are now open.

The “Neighborhood Stakeholder” position is open to residents of Kalamazoo city neighborhoods with organized neighborhood associations. The FFE prioritizes applicants from neighborhoods where at least 51% of households have incomes at or below 80% of the area median income, and aims to ensure representation from various neighborhoods on a rotating basis. Currently, Northside and Oakwood neighborhoods are represented on the Board.

The “Faith-Based Organization Stakeholder” position seeks a City of Kalamazoo resident who is a local minister or layperson actively engaged with a local religious institution or faith-based provider of religious and social services.

As board directors, these volunteers will share the responsibility of governing and stewarding the FFE organization and its endowment to ensure its long-term sustainability in supporting Kalamazoo residents. Their duties include overseeing the board’s operations, recommending funding allocations to the city commission, and supporting projects aligned with the community vision outlined in the Imagine Kalamazoo 2025 Strategic Vision and Master Plan.

The FFE Board comprises 15 voting members, including the city manager and mayor, two city commissioners, an at-large resident, three representatives from Kalamazoo’s officially recognized neighborhoods, and representatives from various sectors including housing, healthcare, faith-based organizations, education, business/banking, arts community, and affinity organizations.

To be eligible for the “At-Large City Director” position, applicants must be registered voters of the City of Kalamazoo. Stakeholder directors must be residents of the City of Kalamazoo or employees, officers, directors, or executives of a stakeholder business or entity in the City of Kalamazoo.

Interested individuals can find more information about the positions and access the application on the Kalamazoo Foundation for Excellence website.

Community members may complete the online application form here or by completing and returning the PDF version. Paper applications are also available at the Kalamazoo Public Library branches and in the City Manager’s Office on the second floor at City Hall.

Please return paper applications to: Kalamazoo Foundation for Excellence, 241 W. South St. Kalamazoo, MI 49007. Questions can be directed to Steve Brown at (269) 337-8047 or browns@kalamazoocity.org.  

Online applications are open from January 2, 2025, until 11:59 p.m. ET on January 31, 2025. The application takes about 10 minutes to complete.  

The FFE celebrates Kalamazoo’s diversity through fair treatment regardless of age, ancestry, citizenship, color, disability, ethnicity, familial status, gender identity, genetic information, height, marital status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex/gender, sexual orientation, veteran status, and/or weight.  

The Foundation for Excellence is a unique innovation by the City of Kalamazoo and philanthropy to address systemic challenges to the prosperity of the city. Its mission is to support the goals of the City of Kalamazoo, fund aspirational investments in the city, and empower Kalamazoo residents to achieve the lives they want for themselves and their families.