Dow communityGives Grant

The Dow communityGives Grant encourages volunteerism among K-12 youth in the Great Lakes Bay Region. Teams can earn a $1,000 grant for expenses like uniforms, travel, or classroom needs, or donate it to a nonprofit. This initiative, supported by the Dow Chemical Company and local community foundations, emphasizes community engagement and the importance of giving back, while providing youth with hands-on volunteering experiences.

Dow communityGives, a component of DowGives, creates an opportunity to encourage volunteerism in youth, grades K-12, in the Great Lakes Bay Region. Youth can earn a $1,000 grant to use toward expenses like uniforms, travel costs or classroom needs, or they can choose to donate it the nonprofit of their choice.
By promoting volunteerism, communityGives emphasizes the importance and value of community engagement to our region’s youth, and promotes a sense of community, along with a desire to give back.
The Dow Chemical Company is collaborating with the Midland Area Community Foundation, the Bay Area Community Foundation and the Saginaw Community Foundation for grant implementation and administration.
Volunteer Project/ Activity:

• A group must have a minimum of 10 youth participants.
• Volunteer project/activity must be a minimum of three hours in length with youth committing to three consecutive hours of volunteering.

The project/activity cannot directly benefit the applicant. For example, a baseball team cannot clean a park where it plays baseball.
Completed project/activity must equal 50+ volunteer hours (example: 17 youth x 3 hours volunteering = 51 total hours).
Demonstrated Need:

• Must be able to explain what the grant funding will be used for and why it is needed
• .Examples: team uniforms, group supplies, etc.
• Other:

All participants must sign the provided Volunteer Photo/Media Release Form. Groups can receive a maximum of one communityGives Youth Volunteer Grant annually.

Eligibility

Eligible Groups:

• Must be made up of youth in the K-12 age range.
• Mr. Smith’s 5th grade class
• JV Football
• Traveling baseball team
• Church youth group
• National Honor Society, etc.Must be located in Saginaw County
• .Must be affiliated with a 501(c)(3) or school district (public or private).
• Must complete an approved volunteer activity within 12-weeks after application is approved
• .Must show demonstrated need.Volunteer Activities:Must take place in the Great Lakes Bay Region and cannot be fundraising related
• Must involve a minimum of 10 youth volunteers
• Must be a minimum of three consecutive hours in length
• Must result in a minimum of 50 cumulative volunteer hours within two consecutive days
• Must not benefit the organization or school that the youth group is affiliated with

Ineligibility

Grants usually do not support operating budgets, basic municipal services, basic educational functions, endowment campaigns, previously incurred debt and sectarian religious programs.
The foundation does not give grants to individuals, including requests for utility payments and food.