About Kalamazoo Youth Development Network
To ensure that all youth have agency within an out-of-school time system that supports youth-driven, anti-racist, and high quality spaces.
Focus Areas
out-of-school timeyouth developmentsocial-emotional learningyouth leadershipfamily engagementarts and music (youth programming)program quality and evaluation
Who They Fund
children and adolescents (youth)
Funding Style
direct serviceprogram supportcommunity-based youth programs
Topics
About Kalamazoo Youth Development Network
A $140,000 grant to Rootead Enrichment Center is the clearest signal of Kalamazoo Youth Development Network’s approach: youth services centered in Kalamazoo, with large awards directed to local organizations working with children and adolescents. The foundation’s public purpose is to ensure that all youth have agency within an out-of-school time system that supports youth-driven, anti-racist, and high quality spaces, and that mission shows up in grants to community-based providers across the city and nearby areas. In 2025, support also went to Community Healing Centers, El Concilio, Speak It Forward, and the Institute of Public Scholarship, showing attention to youth-serving organizations with different program models but a shared emphasis on direct service. The funder’s giving profile is tightly local: every recorded grant in the data went to a recipient in Michigan, with a strong concentration in Kalamazoo. The network also operates active cohort and summer-program funding opportunities tied to out-of-school time, suggesting a role as both grantmaker and sector intermediary. Across the recent grants list, awards range from $20,000 to six figures, indicating a mix of standard program awards and larger anchor commitments.
What Kalamazoo Youth Development Network Funds
Youth services are the foundation’s core lane. A $60,000 grant to Community Healing Centers and a $55,000 grant to El Concilio both went to Kalamazoo organizations with youth services as the grant purpose. Arts and music programming also appears in the record: Helen L Fox Music Center in Portage received $30,000, while Fire Historical and Cultural Arts in Kalamazoo received $20,000. The foundation also supports movement and recreation-adjacent youth programming, including $20,000 to Open Roads Bike Program. Another portion of the portfolio reaches literacy and expressive learning through $20,000 to Read and Write Kalamazoo. Taken together, the grants point to an out-of-school time strategy that includes social-emotional support, youth leadership, and program delivery through local community organizations.
How Kalamazoo Youth Development Network Gives
Typical awards fall in a middle range: the p25 grant size is $20,000, the median is $30,000, and the p75 is $50,000. The 2025 list includes both larger commitments and many standard program awards, which suggests a layered approach rather than a single fixed grant level. The network is an operating grantmaker rather than a funder of individuals, and it does not make program-related investments. The active cohort and summer-program funding opportunities also show that it provides structured, application-based support. Because the recent grants and program opportunities are all in 2025, the data points to current-year activity rather than a long multi-year grant sequence in the available record.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$1.5M
Total Assets
$2.5M
Total Revenue
$2.1M
Total Expenses
$3M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $20K and $50K, with a median of $30K.
25th Percentile
$20K
Median
$30K
75th Percentile
$50K
Geographic Reach
Local1 state funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
ABRA SMITH
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