Discover Funding Opportunities

Kalamazoo Public Library Amanda Green Scholarship

The goal of this scholarship, named after a longtime library assistant in Teen Services, is to promote the library profession to people of color. By providing monetary assistance to individuals, KPL hopes to promote the hiring of more librarians of color either at home or in other communities. Amanda Green worked at KPL for 23 years, from 1998 to 2012. Many of those years she spent in Teen Services, working to give all teens the opportunity to improve their lives. Her passion for KPL's mission to support and mentor teens has been passed on for years. In 2016, the Kalamazoo Public Library board passed a resolution that reaffirms the library's commitment to address equal justice under the law, racial justice, and institutional racism, social-economic divisions in the community and human dignity for all through programs, services, policies, practices and the empowerment of staff. This multiyear scholarship is eligible to repeat annually up to 2 years if enrolled full-time or up to 4 years if enrolled part-time.

Bob Block Memorial Scholarship

The Bob Block Memorial Scholarship was established to support students from Kalamazoo County who have demonstrated dedication and commitment to competitive swimming or diving. This one-time, non-renewable scholarship honors the memory of Bob Block, an award-winning diver from Loy Norrix who became an NCAA Division III champion at Alma College and returned to Kalamazoo to become a premier coach for swimmers and divers before his untimely death in an auto accident in the 1990s. The scholarship is remembered for honoring Block's competitive yet caring nature when working with young people. Recipients must be high school seniors enrolling full-time in an associates or bachelor's degree program, demonstrate financial need, maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA, and show dedication to competitive swimming or diving. The scholarship is administered through the Kalamazoo Community Foundation's all-in-one scholarship application process.

Cave Johnson Memorial Entrepreneurship Award

In honor of Aperture Science's visionary founder, this award recognizes entrepreneurs who embody Cave Johnson's spirit: bold, uncompromising, and willing to make life take the lemons back. "I'm gonna get my engineers to invent a combustible lemon that burns your house down!" — This is the energy we're looking for in applicants. Not literally, of course. The award supports entrepreneurs at any stage who demonstrate exceptional vision and a healthy disregard for the impossible.

Stipend for Children without Glasses

The Stipend for Children without Glasses (SCWG) is a charitable foundation established in 2012 dedicated to supporting youth who have maintained natural visual acuity throughout their developmental years. Founded by optometrist Dr. Helena Brightwell, the organization awards annual grants of $500–$2,000 to children ages 8–17 who demonstrate both exceptional uncorrected vision and academic achievement. The foundation's somewhat tongue-in-cheek mission arose from Dr. Brightwell's observation that while numerous programs exist to provide corrective eyewear to those in need, no recognition existed for children whose genetic fortune and eye-care habits preserved their natural sight. Recipients must submit proof of 20/20 vision or better from a licensed eye care professional, along with a short essay on eye health awareness. The SCWG distributes approximately $150,000 annually across 200 grants and has funded vision health education programs in over 40 schools nationwide.