Michigan Colleges Alliance
Michigan Colleges Alliance (MCA) is a public charity based in Detroit, Michigan. It supports the shared capacity of independent, four-year colleges and universities in Michigan, with work focused on college access, affordability, and career outcomes for graduates.
Michigan Colleges Alliance at a glance
In short: Michigan Colleges Alliance gave $3.5M across 15 grants in 2025 (avg $230K), mostly in Michigan. 7% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $3,451,872
- -18.0% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 15
- +0.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $230,125
- -18.0% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $118,311
- Total assets
- $5,734,708
- +0.9% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 7% first-time grantees (1 of 15, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Michigan (100% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Michigan Colleges Alliance
- Contact
Mailing address: 2200 Hunt Street Suite 403, Detroit, MI 48207
Phone: (248) 356-3114
Website: https://michigancolleges.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Michigan Colleges Alliance funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Kalamazoo College ($1.1M). Together the top 10 received $3.2M.
Grant Size Distribution
72 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was in the $100–250K range: 22 grants of 72 (31%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
All reported 2025 grant dollars went to recipients in Michigan. MCA describes its member colleges and universities as located throughout Michigan.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 15 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Michigan Colleges Alliance open to new grantees?
7%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 1 of 15 grantees (7%) were first-time recipients. With only 15 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 7 points. First grants averaged $71K; repeat grants $241K. How we count
Medians: $71K first-time, $122K repeat.
- 93% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+0%). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2019–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $2.4M (2019) to $4.2M (2024). In 2025 it made 15 grants totaling $3.5M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Kalamazoo College Kalamzaoo, MI | Education | $1,068,691 |
| Hope College Holland, MI | Education | $683,785 |
| Olivet College Olivet, MI | Education | $314,761 |
| Aquinas College Grand Rapids, MI | Education | $305,808 |
| Albion College Albion, MI | Education | $242,826 |
| Adrian College Adrian, MI | Education | $152,752 |
| University of Detroit Mercy Detroit, MI | Education | $126,461 |
| Spring Arbor University Spring Arbor, MI | Education | $118,311 |
| Madonna University Livonia, MI | Education | $91,032 |
| Calvin University Grand Rapids, MI | Education | $70,888 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $5,734,708 | $5,249,980 | $5,242,556 | $3,451,872 | 15 | $220,283 |
| 2024 | $5,681,820 | $5,733,784 | $5,909,740 | $4,210,741 | 15 | $213,480 |
| 2023 | $5,549,215 | $5,230,377 | $5,216,099 | $3,796,027 | 14 | $97,052 |
| 2022 | $5,177,739 | $4,811,451 | $4,854,426 | $3,462,542 | 14 | $141,307 |
| 2021 | $6,335,799 | $4,843,154 | $4,913,095 | $3,763,628 | 14 | $166,043 |
| 2020 | $5,551,892 | $3,838,330 | $3,526,776 | $2,553,261 | 14 | $167,331 |
| 2019 | $5,000,034 | $4,020,903 | $3,744,389 | $2,352,314 | 14 | $112,982 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
MCA’s stated mission is to strengthen the shared capacity of leading independent, four-year colleges and universities grounded in a liberal arts and sciences tradition, broaden college choice and access in Michigan, and foster career outcomes for MCA graduates.
Its work includes raising scholarship and operating support, building awareness of educational options, and connecting students with Michigan career opportunities. The 2024 filing says scholarship qualifications specified by donors are communicated to member colleges and universities; those colleges award scholarships in accordance with the qualifications and report recipients to MCA.
The 2025 grant recipients include colleges with varied missions. For example, Kalamazoo College says its mission is to prepare graduates to understand and live successfully in a diverse, complex world and provide enlightened leadership. Hope College describes its mission as educating students for leadership and service in a global society through liberal arts programs in the context of the historic Christian faith. Aquinas College describes itself as rooted in the Catholic Dominican tradition, providing a liberal arts education with a global perspective and an emphasis on career preparation, leadership, and service.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, MCA reported 15 grants totaling $3,451,872. Grants ranged from $37,280 to $1,068,691, with a median of $118,311. The reported purposes for the listed largest grants were education.
The largest 2025 grants included $1,068,691 to Kalamazoo College, $683,785 to Hope College, $314,761 to Olivet College, $305,808 to Aquinas College, and $242,826 to Albion College. Other notable awards were $152,752 to Adrian College, $126,461 to University of Detroit Mercy, and $118,311 to Spring Arbor University.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Robert P Bartlett as president, Marcie Morin as COO, Cyrus Mistry as chairman, Judy Paputa as treasurer, and Daniel Graf as secretary. Listed trustees are Lizabeth A Ardisana, Charles Ash, Vicki Baker, Sheila Bauer, and Steven Benscoter.
Michigan Colleges Alliance is led by Robert P Bartlett, President on every filing since 2019; 2 of 33 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Robert P Bartlett
President
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$306K (2019) → $571K (2025)
Cyrus Mistry
Chairman
Trustee → Chairman, 2022
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Bob Jorth
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Brian Lennon
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Dan Musser III
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Dan R Gaydou
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Doug Peterson
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Gale Halsey
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
James B Nicholson
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
James Meeks
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Joel Schellhammer
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
John R Bourbeau
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
John S Jackoboice
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Larry E Ott
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Lizabeth A Ardisana
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Michael Schmidt
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Roger Jansen
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Steven Benscoter
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
JoAnn Chavez
Trustee
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Sheila Bauer
Trustee
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Darren Riley
Trustee
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Tarita Johnson
Trustee
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Barb Runyon
Trustee
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Charles Ash
Trustee
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Vicki Baker
Trustee
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
David Wiltjer
Trustee
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Matt Wey
Trustee
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Don Tuski
Trustee
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jason Byrne
Trustee
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Seth Bushouse
Trustee
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Marcie Morin
COO
On filings since 2022
40 hrs/week
$162K (2022) → $208K (2025)
Judy Paputa
Treasurer
Treasurer → Trustee, 2020
Trustee → Treasurer, 2022
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Daniel Graf
Secretary
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (17)
- Former: Jorge Gonzalez (2021–2025) — Trustee · Filing note: Ended
- Former: Matthew Scogin (2021–2025) — Trustee · Filing note: Ended
- Former: David H. Casterline (2019–2024) — Trustee
- Former: Jeff Abernathy (2019–2024) — Chair
- Former: Karen Mulligan (2019–2024) — Senior Vice President
- Former: Claire Trainor (2023–2024) — Trustee
- Former: Andrea Luxton (2019–2023) — Trustee
- Former: Derick Adams (2019–2023) — Trustee
- Former: Jerry Jung (2019–2022) — Trustee
- Former: Dan Graf (2019–2021) — Secretary
- Former: Jeffery Noel (2019–2021) — Trustee
- Former: John Felice (2019–2021) — Trustee
- Former: Marcie Levey (2019–2021) — COO
- Former: Margaret Trimer (2019–2021) — Trustee
- Former: Mauri Ditzler (2019–2020) — Trustee
- Former: Nancy J. Moody (2019–2020) — Trustee
- Former: Robert McRae (2019) — Trustee
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $571K, to Robert P Bartlett (President). 2 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about Michigan Colleges Alliance
How much does Michigan Colleges Alliance give each year?
Michigan Colleges Alliance gave $3.5M across 15 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $4.2M across 15 grants.
What is Michigan Colleges Alliance's typical grant size?
Michigan Colleges Alliance's median grant in 2025 was $118,311, and its average grant was $230,125, across 15 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Organizations receiving their first grant from Michigan Colleges Alliance that year got $71K on average.
Where does Michigan Colleges Alliance give grants?
Michigan Colleges Alliance gives mostly in Michigan: 100% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990 went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Grand Rapids, MI (2 grants), Adrian, MI (2 grants) and Detroit, MI (2 grants).
Does Michigan Colleges Alliance give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 15 grants with a stated purpose on Michigan Colleges Alliance's 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Education" (15 grants).
Who are Michigan Colleges Alliance's largest grantees?
Michigan Colleges Alliance's largest 2025 grantees include Kalamazoo College ($1,068,691), Hope College ($683,785) and Olivet College ($314,761), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 60% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Michigan Colleges Alliance?
Michigan Colleges Alliance reported $5.7M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $5.2M.
What does Michigan Colleges Alliance fund?
MCA’s stated mission is to strengthen the shared capacity of leading independent, four-year colleges and universities grounded in a liberal arts and sciences tradition, broaden college choice and access in Michigan, and foster career outcomes for MCA graduates. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Michigan Colleges Alliance?
Michigan Colleges Alliance has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Check michigancolleges.org for current guidelines, or contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.
What is Michigan Colleges Alliance's EIN?
Michigan Colleges Alliance's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 38-1332962. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(8)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS February 25, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS March 10, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS March 14, 2023)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS April 22, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 12, 2025)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS April 23, 2020)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 13, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Michigan Colleges Alliance funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/michigan-colleges-alliance-morg_3dd8048bc5554724967c4a862b944182
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_381332962_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Michigan Colleges Alliance funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/michigan-colleges-alliance-morg_3dd8048bc5554724967c4a862b944182},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-11. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from Michigan Colleges Alliance's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
Michigan Colleges Alliance down — hundreds of funders to go?