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Random people, random topics, talking on random sidewalks in the City of Saginaw, Michigan.
Phil: [00:00:00] Okay, you ready to do this? This, this-
Renee: Do I have a choice? You've already got me in the chair. I can't get up. Seriously.
Phil: I love this because, like, and I just wanna say this on camera, this is completely impromptu. My, my 9:00 AM podcast canceled on me just as we were heading to the 9:00 AM podcast, and I was like, "Okay, who can I immediately grab that would be willing to sit down and, and record?"
Phil: Mm-hmm. And I looked over at the Morley building and I said, "Renee Johnston."
Renee: We got this.
Phil: We got this.
Renee: Yes.
Phil: So here we go. Renee Johnston, Sidewalk Talks. Take one. Renee Johnston.
Renee: Oh,
Phil: goodness. Good to sit down on a sidewalk with you.
Renee: On a sidewalk. On a 50-
Phil: Yeah ... degree- It's so cold ... morning. I mean, now it's not 'cause the, the sun is warming us.
Phil: Yes. But we were over here in the corner with Tony Sara, and, uh, both Tony and I looked at each other during the interview and we saw we were [00:01:00] shivering. It's time to wrap this up. Like, finally- No, but this
Renee: is fun ...
Phil: finally. It's-
Renee: This is
Phil: fun. It is. It is very fun. Yeah. It, like, it's very s- much like Saginaw.
Phil: Like, it's casual. It's a vibe. Like, you get to kinda go around from different landmarks, and so Saginaw is always kind of, I guess- But
Renee: can I just tell you something really funny? Yes, please. What, what this kind of reminds me as you put me in this beach chair-
Phil: Uh-huh ...
Renee: here in the middle of the sidewalk in Morley Plaza, we typically have a gentleman who brings his lawn chair-
Phil: Oh,
Renee: really?
Renee: and sits in the middle of our parking lot in the summer. Really? And sunbathes. Yeah. Yeah. So not that I feel like... I kinda feel like him, but anyway.
Phil: Does he come out every day?
Renee: He would come out, not every single day- Yeah ... but quite a few days, and he gets a pretty good tan in our blacktop parking lot.
Phil: I should come by and interview him.
Phil: So shirtless man, sh- shirtless parking lot tan man, I wanna interview you. Yes, yes. So here's your official invite to Sidewalk Talks. Uh, Renee, people may not know [00:02:00] this, but um, uh, I exist because you exist. You're what? You're, you're part of the OG Riverfront Saginaw crew.
Renee: Yeah. Yeah.
Phil: Isn't that cool? And it is super cool.
Phil: I mean, you, like- I have such incredible exponential thanks to, to you guys. Mm. Because, like, here I was in 2019, um, going, like, "I kinda have this idea." And I met with Mike Hanley first. Mm-hmm. And he's like, "What's your idea?" And I told him, and he's like, "I kinda like this idea." And then I told you guys, and I was like, "I kinda have this idea."
Phil: And it wasn't like I, I hadn't been working with 50 communities, and, like, I didn't have this, you know, glorious... Like, it was just this idea, like, human faces, human stories. Let's show Saginaw to the world. Yeah. And you guys took a chance, and it absolutely changed my life.
Renee: Yeah. Well, I can't really take a lot of credit.
Renee: I mean, um, Mike Hanley, Craig Goslin- Yeah ... you know, um, I think- Carol ... and Carol. I mean, you, I think you proposed the idea.
Phil: Uh-huh.
Renee: And [00:03:00] we were looking for something, and we found it in you.
Phil: Aw.
Renee: So thank you. Thank you. Thank
Phil: you.
Renee: Yeah, and I think, you know, I, whether or not you say that having that opportunity with Riverfront Saginaw really poised you to take it to another level, 'cause you truly have taken it to an- another level.
Renee: I mean-
Phil: Thank
Renee: you ... that video that you put together for, um, Positive Results a couple years ago. Oh, yeah, the
Phil: keynote, yeah.
Renee: I mean, that still, that still hits me. I mean, that's what I want people, that's what I want people to think and know about Saginaw. Not only in downtown Saginaw can you sit in a beach chair-
Renee: on a 50-degree day, but- And get a tan ... and get a tan. But that there's so much more to, to, to think positive and talk positive about, um-
Phil: Yeah ...
Renee: in this community. Yeah. I mean, there really is.
Phil: And it, it, Tony said something really interesting this morning that, that so many people say in these interviews is there's something special about Saginaw.
Phil: [00:04:00] And li- like, I've done thousands of interviews now over the last six years in Saginaw, and while you can point to things, like, it's, it's about the people, of course. Mm-hmm. Like, it's about the assets. Like, here we are standing at the, the Temple Theatre. Mm-hmm. There's still something like you can't quite put your finger on it.
Phil: Yeah. Like, you just y- you know. Like, here's Tony Serra, um, working at the, the Fox Theatre. Yeah. W- w- the second busiest theater in the country, like 5,000 seats, Detroit. Like, it's the place everybody wants. There's such a gravitational pull towards Detroit right now. Mm-hmm. And he was just like, like, "I gotta come back."
Renee: Yeah.
Phil: I gotta come back.
Renee: Well, this is, I mean, for anybody that calls Saginaw or the Great Lakes Bay Region home- It is. I mean- Yeah ... I, I had the opportunity and was away and came back, and, um, this is home. And I, and I think, you know, there are, there are, there's like this mystery about this community as well that you can only find if you discover it.
Renee: Yeah. It gets back to the [00:05:00] point of, you know, really taking advantage of what the community has to offer and really cherishing that, right? 'Cause there are so many great things you can explore. And I, and I'll just say it right now, maybe this is a reason why you put me in this chair. Um, I think we as natives of this community need to do a better job at that.
Phil: Mm-hmm.
Renee: Because people... I mean, I talked to a donor, a couple donors a couple weeks ago that are not from here, and they don't have to be here anymore, but they chose to stay here.
Phil: Mm-hmm.
Renee: And why it takes, um, those who have relocated here or such to see that about this community- Mm-hmm ... and why those who have been here or have bel- or, you know, born and raised here, why we don't think that about our own community.
Renee: Yeah. That, that, you know, I just, you know.
Phil: That's something, that's something that I run into with every community that I work with. I think, I think it's familiar. Um, it's also like especially if you, if you're born and raised, like you, you know the good things, but then you also like very intimately know, like look, I'm thinking about like every family relationship.
Phil: Like, you like your [00:06:00] uncle, but you know that thing that happened seven years ago. You know? And so there's, there's a different kind of relationship. Oh, yeah. But to that point, like I absolutely agree, and Jessica Shepherd in her, in her interview said something really great is, like if, if you think, um, there's nothing to do, there's no good people, et cetera, et cetera, just take a step into trying to know the community in a different way.
Renee: Yeah.
Phil: Like, reach out to somebody. Go to event, an event you've never been to. And it really can lead to, uh, like a different kind of perspective on, on the community.
Renee: Yeah. Well, and if I could-
Phil: Yes, please ...
Renee: I, and I, and I know you said, "Hey, we'll just make this 15 minutes." We might make it just a little bit longer- That's fine
Renee: 'cause now you got me into this.
Phil: That's fine.
Renee: Um, 'cause I'm gonna use this platform for this too because it, it, it addresses or kinda talks to what we were just talking about. You know, so if we- Instead of, um, thinking where else could we live or where- Mm-hmm ... what better place could we live, and recognize once again that [00:07:00] Saginaw is an amazing place.
Renee: You know, if you're looking for that good hometown, great place to raise a family- Close community ... close community. I mean, so I was just in New York City with my daughter. Mm. Great time, but love to come back home.
Phil: Yeah.
Renee: Was in Chicago with my son. Love Chicago, been there a number- but love to come back home, right?
Renee: 'Cause, you know, those are great places to visit, but there's nothing like home. But we all, including myself I'll say, we all can do a better job of taking care of our community. And that touch- Yeah ... that does touch on, you know, one of our phrases that we use at the Saginaw County Foundation, which, which is it takes each of us, right?
Renee: For the longest time we were saying it takes a village, which we will continue to say, because it does. Takes as a village, you know, to take care of each other, but to take care of the community, right? Mm-hmm. And it takes each and every one of us, right? So when I say that, and you might be thinking, "Well, what is that, Renee?"
Renee: Or people might say, "Well, what is that, Renee?" Mm-hmm. Well, whatever you think you can do.
Phil: Yeah.
Renee: Right? It could be as simple, and this is the point that I wanna make right now, it could be as simple as [00:08:00] If you see me in my parking lot picking up garbage, come help me pick up garbage. Mm-hmm. But more importantly, don't be that one to put the garbage in my parking lot.
Renee: Yeah. Right?
Phil: Yeah.
Renee: And so my point is, that's how you can take care of your community. Mm-hmm. Right? If you see somebody who has total disregard for whatever-
Phil: Mm-hmm ...
Renee: address it, right? Mm-hmm. I mean, I... That is just one s- sore point that I have right now- Mm-hmm ... with just that basic of how we can take care of our community, is, like, we can keep our community clean.
Phil: Yeah.
Renee: Right? It shouldn't take us, in preparations for the Memorial Cup, to, you know, do this ma- Granted, the mayor, Craig, we all wanted to clean the house- Mm-hmm.
Phil: Mm-hmm ...
Renee: but we don't just do that for Memorial Cup. It's something we should be ingrained to do every single day.
Phil: I love the focus on individual ownership in terms of the community 'cause really, yes, it takes a village, but what is a village?
Phil: It's a group of cohesive individuals that say, "I am going to [00:09:00] be a part of this. I'm going to contribute. I'm gonna try to make it better," and then also acknowledging that you can't just do that by yourself. Mm-hmm. Like, it, it starts with that individual accountability, but then it takes talking to one other person and saying, "Hey, can you help me with this?"
Phil: And they're like, "Yeah, I can, and I know four other people that would love to do this, too." Yeah, yeah. And now you've got a team of five, and now you can change the world. And so- Right ... I love, I love that emphasis of it, it starts with an individual taking the first step towards community to build that community.
Renee: Right. Right. And then- And then you, and then you reward each other by going to an event at the temple- Yes ... or a Pittin's Balcony, right? Yeah. And just, yeah.
Phil: Yeah. Yeah, work for your community, but don't f- don't, uh, don't forget to enjoy it.
Renee: There you go.
Phil: And, and I, and, and I'm saying that specifically to community leaders, however it is you define that, 'cause community work can get really heavy and really serious- Mm-hmm
Phil: and there's, there's an infinite amount of challenges, and, you know, just sometimes you, you, you wanna quit, and it gets overwhelming. Yeah. Oh. And it, it, it's r- a really [00:10:00] important reminder to say, "We're doing this work for a community, and we have to also enjoy it." Yeah. So go to the events. Mm-hmm. You know, go buy your kids ice cream.
Phil: You know, enjoy the fruits of your labor. Enjoy that part of the community, and not only is that important, but it's also rejuvenating 'cause, like- Yeah ... "Oh, this is why I do this."
Renee: And that's how you can also give back.
Phil: Yeah.
Renee: Right?
Phil: Speaking of giving back-
Renee: Yeah
Phil: Saginaw Community Foundation. Mm-hmm. They s- see the name, they might see the acronym, you know, it's the things on banners.
Phil: W- what, what is the Saginaw Community Foundation and what does it do for Saginaw?
Renee: Yeah. So, um, and thank you for asking that question, 'cause actually, you know, when I came to the Community Foundation, um, back in 2004, which is so hard to believe, um, the board at the time wanted me to put the Community Foundation on the map, 'cause-
Phil: Mm.
Renee: And, and every community foundation could probably say that, right? We're, you know, the world's best-kept secret in our communities. [00:11:00] Um, but now I can say, almost 22 years later, that people know of us.
Phil: Mm-hmm.
Renee: But it's do they know what we do, right? Mm-hmm. Um, you know, a lot of times people think that we do, like, foundation work for houses, because, you know, the Saginaw Community Foundation.
Renee: So, um we g- Do you do roofs too? We get the ... Yeah. We get those, we get those calls. Um, so, but yeah, we want people to be aware of what we do. And what, and what do we do? Well, we, we, we do wear a lot of hats. Um, traditionally community foundations Um, we are this philanthropic partner, right? And, you know, there's the thought is that we only work with wealthy people as a philanthropic vehicle, and that, that is not true.
Renee: Once again, that's why we have this theme of it takes each of us. Mm-hmm. So we wanna work with anybody and everybody with philanthropy. And philanthropy doesn't have to be just money, right, giving money. Um, but traditionally, you know, it's working with individuals that wanna do philanthropic good in their community, and it's to establish these [00:12:00] long-lasting, what we call endowment funds, um, that allow us or allow individuals to put money, service, um, time back in the community.
Renee: Mm. Right? So we're this philanthropic vehicle that we wanna work with everybody to fulfill whatever those philanthropic goals they may have. But something that people typ- uh, you know, typically know us for are our scholarships, which I know we'll talk a little bit more about that. But- Mm-hmm ... you know, we provide grants, we provide scholarships to s- um, students, um, across the county, across the region, um, in fact, in other states.
Renee: Um, and, and then, then we provide this leadership, um, which we are trying to learn more of what that leadership should look like for our community. But things change in our community all the time. Mm-hmm. So we have to be prepared as to how, where, when we need to provide leadership, whether it's leadership on a committee, whether it's leadership in our own organization, whether it's leadership with another organization.
Renee: Um, but more importantly, our [00:13:00] goal is to, um, lay the foundation for the future for our community.
Phil: Mm.
Renee: Right? You know, that, that was the goal of the Junior League when they established us, right, um, 42 years ago, was to be this vehicle that, you know, working with other individuals, establishing these endowment funds for philanthropic, um, good in the community, is to really lay that foundation for the good of the community for the future.
Phil: Mm.
Renee: Right? Right? Whatever that may look like. Um- I know we're gonna talk more about the Medical Diamond. If it's providing infrastructure and, and development to support the Medical Diamond, that's gonna be good for the future of this community. Mm-hmm. Not just downtown Saginaw, but for all of Saginaw County.
Phil: Mm-hmm.
Renee: Um, so providing that leadership. Um, and a lot of times it's working with other people or organizations, um, to fulfill great initiatives that they have. For example, I know you've done an interview on Shine Bright. Mm-hmm. You know, uh, Mark [00:14:00] Fluggeheimer and Larry Preston, they used the Saginaw Community Foundation as their fiscal to raise the money, um, to pay expenses and such affiliated with that project.
Renee: So, you know, they could achieve that goal- Mm-hmm ... of providing that wonderful, um, art piece that we will have in our community forever. Um, but working with other individuals to, um, do other good things in the community, such as Hoyt Park. We were the fiscal for Hoyt Park before they became their own 501[c][3].
Renee: Mm-hmm. Ironically, before you put me in this chair, the Hidden Harvest truck was in our parking lot. Uh-huh. Right? We were the initial fiscal for Hidden Harvest before- Really? That's right ... before they became their own non-profit. Yeah. So, you know, providing that capacity as well for other, um, assets for our community.
Phil: I think that's something that's underlooked bec- or overlooked because, because of that kinda spinoff cap- Like, here you are creating an opportunity for like Hoyt Park, and then that, [00:15:00] that becomes, uh, exponentially greater because now they are their own organization, and now you can use your resources to address other needs.
Phil: And maybe there's another s- like small non-profit getting their feet under themselves, and now they spin off, and now they're self-sustaining. And you can go, and you can have these, I wanna say like little non-profit babies. But, but th- that's what it feels like to me- Yeah ... is like here, here you are planting these seeds of organizations that like...
Phil: Like, what would Saginaw be without Hoyt Park? Yeah. You know? And, and it, it's more than it... Like, it's a very important backbone to the community.
Renee: Yeah. And let me just say that we've been asked to be the fiscal for some activities that we may have said, "Look-" And I, and I'm never looking to squash anybody's goals.
Renee: Yeah, yeah. But I'm also trying to be very strategic and, um, very effective with- Yep ... the resources we have in this community. Um, so I may have to have a conversation with somebody that's, that says, you know, [00:16:00] "Have you partnered with this entity?" Yeah, right. Um, to, to maybe, um, you know, have greater leverage or some kind of-
Phil: Some kind of collaboration.
Phil: Colla-
Renee: yeah. I-
Phil: Especially when it comes to nonprofits in, in small communities, um, the, the temptation is to see a need, and you get really, really fired up about it, which is amazing. Like, I'm not trying to squash anybody's energy. Yeah. Like, that, that's amazing and, and you go and you say, like, "I wanna rescue, uh, food, like, food waste that, that goes to waste.
Phil: Like, I wanna start this thing. Can you help me start this thing?" And, you know, meanwhile, you have Hidden Harvest millions and millions and millions- Mm-hmm ... of pounds of food. And so strategically in a s- a community with limited resources, it makes more sense to say, "Hey, like, let's direct you to Hidden Harvest," and say, "How can we work together?"
Phil: Yeah. As opposed to spinning off and, uh, like, like almost heading into, like, a, uh, like a nonprofit competition.
Renee: Yeah.
Phil: And so, and, and you guys provide that by being able to say, like, "Let me [00:17:00] expose you to these other, other people trying to do the
Renee: same
Phil: thing."
Renee: Yeah. No, I mean, that, I mean, once again, that might be the leader- leadership that we provide as well as- Yes
Renee: providing those connection points, right? Um, which, you know, sometimes people aren't aware. Um- Right ... or some people just are focused on, like, "No, this is what I need to do for my community or for my block," or whatever, and I think that's great. I mean, uh, if anything, we should be very proud that people- Yes
Renee: truly wanna take things in their own hands. Yes. Um, which, you know, is why we established an initiative that I think we're gonna talk about later. But, um, and we appreciate people wanting to do good in the community. Mm-hmm. But I, you know, if, if we can offer any assistance to, to direct where, you know, um, there are opportunities for collaboration or partnership or such, um...
Renee: 'Cause let's just face it, I mean, yes, we are a great community, but we're not necessarily rich in a lot of financial resources. Sure. We have some, but they can only go so far.
Phil: Yeah, the math has to work.
Renee: Yeah.
Phil: Um, we, I mean, we were gonna talk about that later, but as long as we're talking about nonprofits [00:18:00] now, like, what, what is this effort that you're- So- You-
Renee: Yeah, yeah
Renee: planning? So while this is, um, we've been doing this, I think this is our 13th year, uh, our Community Improvement Initiative, and the whole idea of this initiative, let me just say, was, um, it kinda stems from, um, gosh, this is back in, I'm gonna say 2005, 2006. We were approached by Dow to say, "Hey, would you, Community Foundation, be willing to match, uh, $25,000 with our $25,000 for a neighborhood revitalization program that we're doing in conjunction with, um, with Habitat?"
Phil: Mm.
Renee: We're like, "Hmm." Now, you have to know that- This was something new for us because typically we give away that type of money when we receive an application, like a formal application or such. But the opportunity to kind of work closely with another corporate partner, um, kind of made sense. Right. So the board's like, "Well, let's [00:19:00] do this."
Renee: I'm gonna tell you that that, if anything, that kind of showed where community in that neighborhood, it was, it was the, um, Northmoor neighborhood where they did this. And, um, so there were houses that were chosen for the Habitat project, but, but the neighbors came out. Mm-hmm. You know? Like- We wanna be a part of this.
Renee: But w- you know, even if their house wasn't being taken care of by Habitat, they were gonna do it, whether it's paint their house- Mm ... whether it was whatever. So we saw how, like, maybe matching dollars, like working with corporate partners, how that could make a greater good, right? So fast-forward, um, you know, we notice that there are, like, friends of Hoyt Park.
Renee: Like, there are people that want to do good things, but unlike the, the individuals that, um, address Hoyt Park, there are some people who are like, "I wanna do good, but I can't, because I don't have the resources."
Phil: Mm-hmm.
Renee: So the thought was, well gosh, if we provided that carrot to the community to be like, [00:20:00] "Okay, if we put out $25,000 for you to propose a community initiative, and if you can match that 25,000, then we'll give you another five, and you have $55,000 right there to work with."
Phil: Wow.
Renee: We're like, "Hey, let's try that." So we did that. We'd, we'd done that for, like I said, several years now, where we truly had individuals, neighborhoods, organizations, municipalities take us up on that opportunity, and we've been able to address a lot of good stuff. Awesome. But then for our fort- for our 40th anniversary, we decided it might be good to up that mou- amount to $40,000.
Renee: So now, um, people apply, and this is a one-time-a-year opportunity that we're looking for these broad, um, project-like activities, um, that are gonna, that are gonna have an impact on the greater community, not just for a certain block or a neighborhood, but for the entire county. It has that broad impact. Um, so- Mm
Renee: [00:21:00] um, our com- community improvement initiative committee just received several applications and, um, they narrowed it down. I'm not gonna say, 'cause we, we make a public announcement. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Um, we'll make a public announcement as to who the recipient is at our annual celebration in September. So everybody's gonna wanna put September 14th on their calendar so they come to that event at Saginaw Valley State University.
Phil: You, you know this podcast used to be called Spill the Beans.
Renee: I can't. And- 'Cause the board- So the, the, the, the thing is, this is a board- I know you- This is a board initiative- Yeah ... and they vote on this in a couple weeks. I- So we've narrowed it down to two, but they will be voting on
Phil: the one. Fine, board, spoil my fun.
Phil: We could've had an epic Spill-
Renee: I know. Well, I guess- ... Spill the Beans ... you'll just have to put me back on the sidewalk- Okay ... in a, in another couple months. In September. Yeah, in September. Yeah.
Phil: Yeah. Um, something that you said earlier whi- which really struck me was, um, you said We're, we're figuring out to help the community.
Phil: Mm-hmm. And I want you to cl- to clarify that 'cause we talked a little bit before recording. Mm-hmm. Because the impression can [00:22:00] be, you know, h- here's the foundation in the Morley building, and they sit in the office and go, "We will do this." And then you, you inflict that idea on the community, and then you rinse and repeat it over, over and over and again, and y- here you are 40, 60, 80, 100 years later doing the same thing, doing the same thing, doing the same thing every year.
Phil: But you make it sound like there's changes of the community and you're trying to figure out how to fill needs. Mm-hmm. Like, like talk to me about that- Yeah ... that process. Well, just- Especially coming up with the changes going on here in Sacramento.
Renee: Well, just the fact that you said that the way you did I don't know if I necessarily like how that sounded.
Phil: Tell me why.
Renee: Not because of you.
Phil: Yeah.
Renee: Just because if that's what people think that we do-
Phil: Yeah ... you
Renee: know, 'cause I, I will say, I mean, and I think my community foundation partners across the state, if not across the country, would agree that they've heard people say, "Oh, community foundations, you're in your ivory towers- Yes
Renee: and you have no idea what's going on in the community- Yes ... and blah, blah, blah." I mean, to be honest with you, and I'll just say this right now, I actually had, in a public setting I [00:23:00] had somebody tell me that the Saginaw Community Foundation hoards all the money in the community.
Phil: Mm.
Renee: And that is not true.
Phil: Mm-hmm.
Renee: Um, so to get to your question, um, and, and, and the Community Improvement Initiative also was a way to do this, was to work with the community-
Phil: Mm-hmm ...
Renee: to identify, you know, what people think the needs are in the community. Now, do we accept applications on a quarterly basis and react to those? Of course we do.
Phil: Yeah.
Renee: Right? That's what some of our grant funds allow us or have us do. Um, do we have donors that say, "This is what we want to support"? Do we have scholarships say that this is what we want our criteria to be? Yes. But we know that, um, we know that there are gaps. I mean, I've talked to other community leaders.
Renee: We know there are gaps, right? And until we really identify what those gaps are, sometimes we like to say that we're just gonna be throwing darts.
Phil: Mm-hmm.
Renee: Which, let me just say to those organizations that have received one of those darts, meaning [00:24:00] one of those grants-
Phil: Mm-hmm ...
Renee: we want to ... I mean, th- we are, we know we're still doing good because we're providing- Yeah
Renee: th- they are, those organizations that we support are a big part of the backbone of this community, right? Right. Right. So by us doing that general support, we know we're doing good, but we wanna know that we're really addressing what maybe some of the root issues are.
Phil: Mm-hmm.
Renee: Um, so, so as we were going through our strategic planning process, um, I reintroduced to our board of directors this idea of, um, community leadership and what that looks like for the community foundation.
Renee: Now, community leadership is not anything separate from what we do, but it's how we utilize it, y- leadership, right? And r- yes, we are utilizing our leadership through grants, through serving on committees and boards, and such like that, but could we be providing some leadership that we haven't been strategically thinking of what we should be applying our leadership?
Renee: Mm-hmm. Right? And I don't, I don't know what that is. Mm-hmm. Right? I mean- Mm-hmm. But w- we were told that maybe we need to c- get some [00:25:00] information and collect some data that really tells us what, what the current status is of our community-
Phil: Mm-hmm ...
Renee: to truly say that ... I mean, I, 'cause I think we could all sit here today and say we know that, um, homelessness is a situation.
Renee: We know that affordable housing- Mm-hmm ... da- I mean, all the things that are national issues- Yeah ... we know we have those here. But are, but are we overlooking some things that, in a sense, could address those things at the same time? Mm-hmm. I don't know.
Phil: Mm-hmm.
Renee: I don't know, but by going through this process, we're gonna be working with, I'm proud to say that Saginaw Valley State University's gonna be our partner-
Phil: Yay
Renee: to help us, um, go about an exercise to collect this data, and this data's not just gonna be the Saginaw Community Foundation's data. We, we are going to share it. Cool. I've, I, we're gonna share it with our donors. We're gonna share it with municipalities, government, with community partners, with the community at large.
Renee: We wanna sh- we want this data to be widely known and shared so we, so people can understand why- Wow ... the Community Foundation's addressing or doing what we're doing.
Phil: That's wonderful, [00:26:00] 'cause I mean, that data Can apply to so many different organizations- Yeah ... doing so many different things, especially those who don't have the capacity to partner with a, a university to send a team out to pull that, that data, which, which is incredibly hard work.
Phil: I just wanna like- Oh ... I wanna outline that. It's more than just throwing up a, a survey on Facebook and saying, "Look, I've got 50,000 data points." Like, you gotta go out there, you gotta look at it, and there's good ways and bad ways to doing it, and you have to, you know, be, have some expertise in doing it. So that sharing of information- Yeah
Phil: I think is something that I really love.
Renee: Yeah, and that's, and your point that it's not easy, right? And you just don't collect 50,000 surveys and say you're good. No, and that's why we brought on SDSU as our partner.
Phil: Mm-hmm.
Renee: Because Health and Human Services, that, that department, that school, has the expertise with grad students and faculty that will be able to help us not only collect the data, dissect the data, disseminate the data, make changes, tweaks, whatever.
Renee: So once again, so we know that we're focusing in a direction that we [00:27:00] need to be focused on.
Phil: Very cool. Y- um, I, I wanna, um, pull something out of what you were talking about when you were talking about funding. Because sometimes the impression is, um, organizations, and not just foundations, but any kind of community organization, even considering the government, is that all of the money goes into a giant bag, and then you just, you can pull out all sorts of money, and you can throw it out.
Phil: Like, "Oh, we need $4 million for roads. Here's $4 million. We need $7 million for schools. Here's $7 million." And, and, you know, it, it can be used however you, you'd like. And you brought up a, I think, a really important point in, in that there, in, in some funding sources, like they are restricted in some way. Yeah.
Phil: Like grants are, are a great example of it. Yeah. Like state level, national level grants, it can only be used for an arts project. And people are like, "Well, why are we spending- Right ... this money on it?" Well, it has to be spent that way. Yes. So can you speak to that? The like r- limitations on funds, and then unrestricted funds, which is something that
Renee: you highlighted.
Renee: Yeah. So [00:28:00] I think that also helps go back to awareness of what we do. Yes. Because I think I did share, publicly in this podcast, that I was told in a public meeting that the Community Foundation hoards all the money in the community. And I say that's not true because we are restricted, in a sense, with the funds that we can use for grant making purposes.
Renee: Right. Right? We might be $110 million organization, but we don't have $110 million at our disposal to just freely give out, right? Right. First of all, we don't have it because it's endowed, right? Mm-hmm. So we are, we, r- we ... And that's why we're for good forever, because we, we don't have that to use every day.
Renee: That's, we use, um, it's, you know, the earnings off those funds, you know, in a certain percentage. I don't need to go on all the math, whatever- Yeah, yeah ... the formula. But, um, so that's one reason why we don't have $110 million readily available to us today to just give out. But also because there are some restrictions, donor restrictions.
Renee: So scholarships. [00:29:00] Scholarships are one of our biggest fund subsets that we have at the Community Foundation. And with scholarships, donors, they create the criteria. Mm-hmm. So they can say, "I want it to go to a student that's, that graduated from Freeland High School, going to the University of Michigan," right?
Renee: Yep. So even though we might have 260 scholarships, donors have identified the criteria that help determine who gets those scholarships, right? But that's a big subset of the funds that we have at the Community Foundation. Mm. Right?
Phil: Mm-hmm.
Renee: The next would be funds that we hold on behalf of non-profit organizations, which are called agency funds.
Renee: So they're funds specific for them. They're funds where the earnings off those funds are distributed back to those organizations for them to use for their purposes. Mm. Another subset that's not at our disposal to give in grants. Another is donor advised. Those allow individuals to make recommendations for them to put money back in the community.
Renee: Mm. So another subset.
Phil: Mm-hmm.
Renee: And then finally, you have these unrestricted and field of interest [00:30:00] that do allow the Community Foundation to put grants back in the community, but that's only a subset.
Phil: Mm-hmm.
Renee: Right? But it's those funds which, um, we, we do want to grow more of those types of funds because it does give us the flexibility to meet those needs in the community that agencies may come to us and, and submit a grant or, or such.
Renee: So we do know and want to grow those types of funds- Mm-hmm ... that give us that, that leeway and that flexibility.
Phil: Yeah. And that flexibility allows the efforts of the Community Foundation to also adapt and evolve alongside the community. Yeah, exactly. 'Cause, I mean, the, the Saginaw today is not the Saginaw it was last year, five years, 10 years, 25 years ago.
Phil: And some of these endowments might have been established- Yep ... y- decades ago. Yes. And like, while they're incredibly necessary and you need to continue being stewards of what is essentially other people's money-
Renee: Right ...
Phil: um, you also s- look at a community and say, "Man, we really, really need this." And those unrestricted funds allow you to be able to meet [00:31:00] those needs.
Renee: Definitely.
Phil: Wonderful.
Renee: Yes.
Phil: Um, I wanna make sure that we cover some of the other things that, that, that you have here. I brought a list together. Yeah, so g- so, so give me the, give me, like, the 60-second version. 'Cause I, I, 'cause I do feel it is important for, for folks to get a, a broader scope of both what you do and what you guys are working on.
Renee: So I mean, I, I kind of mentioned that we're gonna announce the CII at our annual, annual celebration. Mm-hmm. You have to know that at one point in time, this was our, um- Our, our annual celebration was like our annual meeting, so very formal, very, very business-like, which we changed because we wanted it to be a celebration with the community, right?
Renee: It's a free event. Mm-hmm. We want people to feel like they can come. It's also an opportunity for them to get to know more about the Community Foundation, the things that we're doing in the community, that people are honoring the community, 'cause there's some good people in this community.
Phil: Mm-hmm.
Renee: Um, but that event is on September 14th at Saginaw Valley State University.
Renee: Cool. And we will ... We want everybody to be there. I also want to mention, 'cause I would [00:32:00] be remiss if I didn't, that the Community Foundation also partners with the Saginaw County Health Department, along with some other wonderful organizations and institutions for the Be Well initiative. Yeah. I know you, you are very familiar with Be Well.
Phil: Be Well, baby.
Renee: Be Well. And we want our community to be well.
Phil: Yep.
Renee: Right? That's the only way that we can take care of our community-
Phil: Yep ...
Renee: is if we take care of ourselves.
Phil: Save, literally saving the lives of babies.
Renee: Yes. Be Well. And we, in our last, in our last Community Health Needs Assessment, um, we dropped in the number of babies die- baby deaths.
Renee: Yes, you did. We did. We improved that. We i- improved adult and child obesity. We addressed and we, we saw the numbers, um, drop in the number of opiod deaths. Mm-hmm. So some great stuff. But if you wanna support as well as Be Well, I would, I would have everybody put on their calendar Saturday, September 26th for the Be Well race series.
Renee: Um- Cool ... you, you can run or you can walk. But check it out. Um, I know I gave you a [00:33:00] card, but hopefully people are interested enough that they'll look for it and they join us on that day.
Phil: Yeah. And it's just to stack Be Well with something else amazing, Rx Kids.
Renee: Yes.
Phil: Amazing. Amazing. S- You gotta be a city of Saginaw, B- BV- BV
Renee: and Bridgeport
Phil: and Bridgeport. Um, but if you are a mom, uh, i- a- Pregnant ... pregnant mom, uh, uh, y- type in Rx Kids Saginaw. It will give you all the information. It is literally no strings attached money to support you and your kids. It's like if you wanna use that money to buy diapers and food, do it. You wanna use that to cover your rent because that says, like, "It gives my kids safety and security," you can use it to cover your rent.
Phil: It's literally s- no strings attached. So every expecting mother needs to look at this. It gives you money before birth and then also after birth. It, like, it's an incredible program.
Renee: So let me just say, you know, th- I really want ... Thank you for inviting me to be on this podcast today, 'cause [00:34:00] if anything, whoever watches this podcast or listens to this podcast, I hope they see the Community Foundation as a partner.
Renee: You know- Yeah ... a lot of times we hear people say, "Oh, you only support the city of Saginaw. You never give grants to this area, the commun-," whatever, whatever, whatever. If you feel that way, then we have not done a very good job of sharing where our money's going. But I just want people to know that the Saginaw Community Foundation is a partner for all of Saginaw County.
Phil: Yeah.
Renee: For all of Saginaw County.
Phil: Amen.
Renee: Right? So please check out our website, give us a call, and let us know how we can assist.
Phil: Do it. Anything else that you wanna highlight before I let you go back inside and get warm?
Renee: I might wanna sit out here all day now, because you know what? You got me in a great sunny spot.
Renee: Yeah. This is awesome.
Phil: We can get a tan. He's, he's onto something. Parking lot tan, man. Well, Renee Johnson, I just wanna thank you personally for changing my life. I want to th- thank you and the rest of the incredible staff, and anybody who's ever, um, given money, supported, volunteered, done anything to contribute to the Saginaw, the Saginaw [00:35:00] Community Foundation.
Phil: Because, 'cause you guys are one of the jewels that really helped create this community for what it is, and then also meeting needs and, and really turning it into what it will become in the future. So, um, thanks so much for joining me on The Sidewalk Talk. Thanks for all your work.
Renee: Thank you. Take care.
Phil: Y- you're awesome.
Phil: It was fun. I'm so glad my 9:00 AM canceled on me because this is, this is- Woo!