Benzie County Community Chest needs you to give HOPE to Benzie County. Please show your support, so we may continue funding our amazing partner agencies.
Get Involved
Helping Build Hope
Applying for support
Our service to Benzie County began in 1966. Our mission is to improve the quality of life by promoting the health and wellness of Benzie County residents.
Through active support and service, we ensure and strengthen vital programs. We are a public charity and qualify for IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit status. To be considered for funding, an agency must be a nonprofit IRS 501(c)(3) and must serve Benzie County residents.
Making a Donation
If you are new to Benzie County Community Chest, please consider donating. We carefully consider the needs of human service organizations and grant funds appropriately.
When you give to Benzie County Community Chest your donation is fully tax-deductible. The dollars raised stay in Benzie County. Funds go to strengthen programs that assist needy families and help support projects that promote citizen participation in a community activity.
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About Us
OUR HISTORY
Is it possible that poverty could exist in an area as beautiful as Benzie County? With endless stretch of beaches, crystal clear rivers, and magnificent dunes that extend as far as the eye can see, one can easily be led to believe that we are worlds away from poverty, homelessness and hunger. But nothing could be further from the truth.
Poverty has found a home in Benzie County. It does not discriminate among genders, age groups, or geographical location and it is becoming a rapidly growing concern.
Although the signs aren’t as visible as one might expect, evidence strongly suggest that hunger, homelessness, isolation, lack of adequate health care and a growing population of working poor families is a concern that must be addressed in our community.
Grants Awarded To
Partner Agencies
Benzie Area Christian Neighbors, Inc.
BACN is dedicated to enhancing the quality of lives. The philosophy serving with dignity and respect has become a trademark and its belief that all Neighbors have gifts to give and needs to be met is the premise in which the organization operates.
Benzie County Child Abuse Prevention Council
Assist in strengthening families by building the following protective factors: parental resilience, social connections, knowledge of parenting and child development, concrete support in times of need, social and emotional competence of children.
Benzie County Council on Aging, Inc.
Our goal is to develop and establish a Senior Essential Needs Fund for seniors in Benzie County. The fund will bring peace-of-mind to those in desperate need of shelter repairs, utilities, food, and medical needs.
Benzie County Habitat for Humanity
Habitat’s ministry reaches deeper than just building houses with the needy of our community. It is also about building lives and rebuilding communities. It’s about working together, building partnership between races, religious beliefs, and economic backgrounds.
What Drives Us
Our Mission
Our mission is to improve the quality of life by promoting the health and wellness of Benzie County residents.
Community Chest
Board Of Directors
Nancy Coalter
President
Bill Dundon
Vice President
Brooke Trentham Popp
Executive Director and Treasurer
Happy Residents
Testimonials
When the Community Chest funded BACN’s food and education programs in February, little did we know the changes that would occur in one short month. This support allowed us to purchase extra food, in bulk, for the drive-up pantry and kept our GED students learning virtually, with a certified instructor. Five received their GED in June despite these challenges! My gratitude for all involved with Community Chest for their ongoing support to build a whole and healthy Community.
We admire the good deeds from BCCC Board of Directors for supporting Benzie County nonprofits to help improve the quality of life to disadvantaged residents, in Benzie County.
We were able to significantly increase our capacity and meet school demand for our Junior Historians program in area elementary schools, thanks to a generous grant from the Community Chest. In addition to helping to fund an education intern, their support also covered transportation costs for field trips to the Benzie Area Historical Museum and the One-Room Schoolhouse Experience at the Drake School for several elementary school classes. Their investments in our children, education, and arts and culture will leave a lasting legacy in our community and beyond. We are incredibly grateful for their support of our education program and a recent capital project.
We are so grateful for your long-standing support of our community and those in need!
Thank you to the Benzie County Community Chest team for the support. Since March 1, 2020, NMSH has been able to house three families and four individuals who were previously sleeping on the streets or in shelters. This work is possible because of you!
This grant helps the friends of the Benzonia Public Library to support the library’s mission: Preserving yesterday, enriching today, inspiring tomorrow in our community.