| The impact of the Pokagon Fund on a handful of tiny | | | | Michigan, and in North Liberty, Ind. |
| southwest Berrien County towns may test the notion | | | | The remaining 90 percent supports municipalities and |
| that philanthropic help can boost optimism and a | | | | not-for-profits providing programs in the townships of |
| community's sense of its own worth, and as a result, | | | | New Buffalo, Chikaming and Three Oaks. Since |
| the community will thrive. | | | | November 2007, the fund has granted over $3.4 million |
| The southern half of Berrien County is unlike the | | | | in funding in health, human services, art, education, |
| northern half. When the Benton Harbor-St. Joseph | | | | recreation, and environmental preservation. |
| area was a thriving manufacturing-and-merchandising | | | | The Pokagon Fund has worked closely with local |
| center, the southern half of the county was a thinly | | | | not-for-profits. It has developed baseball and softball |
| populated farming area with a scattering of | | | | parks, and funded libraries, school programs, and food |
| manufacturers, and the banks and retail businesses | | | | pantries, and provided heating assistance. |
| that supported them. In the early 1980s, all the larger | | | | Each month, Executive Director Mary Dunbar publishes |
| manufacturers moved out. | | | | a list of funded requests on the Pokagon Fund's Web |
| Summer tourism jobs replaced manufacturing jobs -- | | | | site. This past summer's projects have included $2,400 |
| at significantly less pay and usually with no benefits. | | | | to |
| Tourism grew into second-home ownership. New | | | | New Buffalo Township for voter registration booths; |
| Buffalo Mayor Gary Ramberg confirmed more than | | | | $4,078 to the River Valley School District to pay guest |
| 70 percent of property tax bills are mailed out-of-state. | | | | speakers and for field trips for students -- with the |
| Most full-time residents have seen little economic | | | | intent of fostering job placement after high school; |
| improvement since 1980. New Buffalo Area Schools | | | | $20,000 to Chikaming Township for a permanent |
| still reports the second-highest percentage of pupils in | | | | recycling station; $4,500 to St. Mary of the Lake |
| the county qualifying for free and reduced-price school | | | | School in New Buffalo for new textbooks and a new |
| lunches due to low family incomes. | | | | social-studies curriculum, and more than $300,000 to |
| The new Pokagon Fund is filling gaps local | | | | the city of New Buffalo to improve public parks. |
| governments, schools and not-for-profit organizations | | | | The Pokagon Fund recently awarded New Buffalo |
| cannot fill. In the process, it is expanding the definition of | | | | $52,000 to have Landscape Architect Planners, a |
| "local community" and taking the edges off local | | | | Lansing company, assist the city, New Buffalo |
| rivalries. | | | | Township and neighboring communities in developing a |
| The foundation wasn't required by state or federal law | | | | nonmotorized transportation plan. |
| as a condition of opening the Four Winds Casino in | | | | "One of the things we are doing is sometimes giving |
| New Buffalo Township. | | | | unsolicited grant awards," Dunbar said. "In summer, |
| "The Pokagon Band's philosophy is that we share | | | | when gas prices were so high, we gave $5,000 each |
| ourselves, our culture, our language, the root of who | | | | to three agencies, and we asked them to give out gas |
| we are," said Tribal Chairman John Miller. "One of the | | | | gift cards, because people were having a hard time |
| ways we can do that, we discovered in New Buffalo, | | | | getting to work. The people who live here year round, |
| particularly in establishing the Pokagon | | | | it's a low-income population. If there are things we can |
| Fund, that goes beyond the traditional revenue sharing | | | | do to defray people's expenses and make ends meet, |
| between the city, the township, the band. We intended | | | | that's always a good thing." |
| for revenue sharing to develop a relationship of | | | | The seven-member Pokagon Fund board is |
| cooperation between the tribal nation and the local | | | | composed of two members appointed by the tribe, |
| units of government. | | | | one appointed by the city of New Buffalo and one |
| "The real why is the Pokagon Band's greater sense of | | | | appointed by New Buffalo Township. They choose |
| responsibility -- that our tribal nation needs to work with | | | | three at-large members from community applicants. |
| the local communities to help them develop, as well. | | | | The board is planning a 2009 project to teach |
| And that takes funding. The Pokagon Fund is the | | | | budgeting, board development, grant writing and related |
| mechanism that could help meet that objective." | | | | skills to area not-for-profits. |
| The Four Winds Casino opened in August 2007, and | | | | "We think funding is important, but we want them to be |
| the Pokagon Fund began funding grant proposals three | | | | the best stewards of themoney they can be," Dunbar |
| months later, using 2 percent of the electronic-gaming | | | | said. "While the majority already are, we think if we |
| revenue from the casino. Ten percent of all funding | | | | make them stronger not-for-profits, they'll be better |
| goes to communities in and around | | | | stewards of the money. They'll deliver services better |
| Pokagon Band land trusts in Dowagiac and Hartford, in | | | | and everybody wins that way. |