Michigan Philanthropy Oral History Project

The Michigan Philanthropy Oral History Project was initiated in 2006 as an innovative partnership between CMF, StoryCorps, Michigan Radio and the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership at Grand Valley State University to create an oral history of Michigan philanthropy. The first two years of the project have been generously supported in part by the John E. Fetzer Institute.

Project Goals are to:

  • Capture the diverse and inspiring stories of foundation leaders, youth grantmakers and community members engaged in or affected by philanthropy in Michigan
  • Raise the public’s awareness about Michigan philanthropy by broadcasting selected stories recorded by StoryCorps on Michigan Radio
  • Contribute to scholarly research about Michigan philanthropy by making the recordings available to scholars through digital archives, symposia, publications, articles and other means in partnership with the Johnson Center

Oral histories have been collected across the state by teams of StoryCorps Door-to-Door facilitators in the following locations:

  • CMF 34th Annual Conference, Kalamazoo, 2006
  • CMF Summer Youth Leadership Conference, Ann Arbor, 2007
  • Charlevoix-Traverse City area, 2007
  • Grand Rapids Area, 2008

All oral histories selected for radio broadcast will air on Michigan Radio, stations WUOM 91.7 Ann Arbor/Detroit, WFUM-FM 91.1 Flint and WVGR 104.1 Grand Rapids.

For more information on the project, contact Melissa Freye, communications manager, at mfreye@michiganfoundations.org.

Materials

  • John Frey - Ellie Frey StoryCorps Broadcast [MP3]
    Ellie Frey spoke with her father, John Frey, about how the practice of giving has changed over generations. He’s in his late 60s and she’s in her early 30s. The family runs the Frey Foundation, a philanthropic organization founded by John Frey's parent's in 1974. Originally broadcast on Michigan Radio, October 2007.
  • Katelin Griffin - Breannah Alexander StoryCorps Broadcast [MP3]
    Breannah Alexander and Katelin Griffin are members of a council of youth groups that offer grants to community service projects around the state. They talked about what philanthropy means to them as young people. Originally broadcast on Michigan Radio, October 2007.
  • Russ Mawby - Kari Pardoe StoryCorps Broadcast [MP3]
    26 year old Kari Pardoe brought her 78 year old mentor to the booth. He’s Russ Mawby and he was the head of the WK Kellogg Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the world, for over a quarter century. During their conversation Russ asked Kari how getting involved in a youth advisory committee for a foundation in her hometown changed her. Originally broadcast on Michigan Radio, October 2007.
  • Jomie Goerge - John Colina StoryCorps Broadcast [MP3]
    John Colina and his daughter Jomie George give money to programs that benefit children through their Colina Family Foundation. They spoke with one another at the Storycorp booth in Kalamazoo. Originally broadcast on Michigan Radio, October 2007.
  • Project Fact Sheet [PDF]
    More information about the structure and format of the oral histories, the process and archives.

Links

  • Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership
    An academic center that enhances the impact of foundations and nonprofit organizations, improves the quality of community decision-making, and develops the habit of civic engagement among students and faculty at Grand Valley State University.
  • Michigan Radio
    Public radio from the University of Michigan: WUOM Ann Arbor, WVGR Grand Rapids, and WFUM Flint.
  • StoryCorps
    National project to instruct and inspire people to record each others' stories in sound.