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Opening Doors of Dialogue
campus-community engagementcommunity developmentdialogue+1 more
Who can apply: Participating campus-community settings working with the GLCA through the initiative.
About Great Lakes Colleges Association
The mission of the Great Lakes Colleges Association is to take actions that will help strengthen and preserve our colleges; and by being a leading force on behalf of education in the tradition of the liberal arts and sciences.
Focus Areas
higher educationfaculty leadership developmenthumanitiesstudent academic successcommunity-campus partnershipsliterary awards and programming
Who They Fund
college/university facultyfaculty liaisons (campus-designated representatives)institutions of higher education (campus units)
Funding Style
capacity buildingprofessional development for faculty
About Great Lakes Colleges Association
Great Lakes Colleges Association Inc. centers its grantmaking on faculty liaison work, course-release support, and research or teaching grants tied to member colleges. In 2024, its largest listed grant went to Allegheny College for campus release time for faculty liaisons plus individual faculty grants for research and teaching, a pattern that shows the foundation investing in the infrastructure that helps faculty carry out academic work. The same structure appears across other member institutions, including Kalamazoo College, Wabash College, and Albion College, where the grants support the same mix of liaison duties and faculty project funding. The foundation’s broader mission is to strengthen and preserve its colleges through actions that support liberal arts and sciences education. Its programs extend beyond campus operations into literary programming, faculty leadership, undergraduate research, and campus-community dialogue. That combination points to a funder focused on institutional capacity, faculty development, and academic programming rather than individual giving. Recent awards also reach colleges in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania, with grants ranging from sizable institutional awards to smaller program-specific support.
What Great Lakes Colleges Association Funds
Faculty leadership and teaching support are central to the foundation’s work. It gave $91,338 to Kalamazoo College and $79,489 to Wabash College for campus release time for faculty liaisons plus individual grants to faculty for research and teaching. Those awards reflect a model that blends institutional support with faculty-level project funding. Humanities and leadership development also appear in its active programs. The GLCA Academic Leadership Fellows Program supports faculty fellows at GLCA member institutions with course replacement costs, a project fund, and mentor stipends. In research, the GLCA–Library of Congress Research Program funds faculty-led teams of undergraduates for intensive summer research in Washington, D.C. Literary programming is another clear line of support. The GLCA New Writers Award recognizes first-volume writers in poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction and brings winners to GLCA member colleges for readings and meetings with students and faculty.
How Great Lakes Colleges Association Gives
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$346K
Total Assets
$20.8M
Total Revenue
$1.4M
Total Expenses
$2M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $12K and $78K, with a median of $38K.
25th Percentile
$12K
Median
$38K
75th Percentile
$78K
Geographic Reach
Regional4 states funded
About 25% of grants go to recipients in OH.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
MICHAEL MCDONALD
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