By: Mike Koury | Woodward Talk | Published November 20, 2023
FERNDALE — As part of their yearly donation, Ferndale Pride and the Ferndale Community Foundation will be granting $24,500 to 11 local organizations.
Ferndale Pride and the Ferndale Community Foundation will be donating money that was raised through the annual festival, which was held June 3, and its fundraising events throughout the year.
“It’s really gratifying. When we decided to create this event, that was one of the main goals, was that we would always make sure that nonprofits in the area were receiving something from this event,” Event Director Julia Music said. “That it wasn’t just a for-profit that didn’t share with our community. And we’ve been able to do that every single year, and I think that’s incredibly important. So I’m very happy with the fact that we’re always able to give back.”
From its $24,500 total, $14,500 will be distributed among five organizations: FernCare Free Clinic, the Ferndale Community Concert Band, Ferndale Senior Group, Michigan Stage and the Southeast Oakland Coalition.
“We have about 40 different fundraising events that we put on, as well as the sponsorship of the event itself, so the remaining funds have a formula that has to be shared with the community,” Music said.
Ferndale Pride and the Ferndale Community Foundation also will be donating funds to Affirmations, ACCESS (Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services), the Gender-identity Network Alliance, Matrix Human Services, TGDetroit and Transgender Michigan.
Cheryl Czach, the deputy executive director for Affirmations, stated that the organization received $3,000. The money will be used for youth programs, senior programs and the operations of the building.
“We love it because it’s unrestricted funds, so we can really use it where we need it most,” she said. “It gives us flexibility. Some of it will go towards care coordination. Things like providing food and, you know, we have a monthly food pantry, so providing food and transportation needs and things like that.”
Czach, who will be Affirmations’ new executive director in January, said grants like this are important for funding projects and its overall budget, which is just over $2 million for 2023.
“Money like this that we get from Ferndale Pride really lets us be flexible in how we can use the funds, which is really, really valuable to us,” she said.