When the Portage Health Foundation transitioned into the Copper Shores Community Health Foundation in 2023, it assumed a more significant role in the community. Adding the Meals on Wheels program, victim services, and educational programs while continuing to manage endowments and scholarships.
I’ll use the farm-to-school pilot as an example that we’re working with the Michigan Health Endowment Fund on. You know, that goes into education, it goes into food insecurity, it goes into community education, it goes into helping stabilize parts of our community that are under-resourced. So we look at how many of these points of health risk factors that particular project or initiative has, or does it help influence, and that’s where we look at investing. – Kevin Store, Executive Director, Copper Shores Community Foundation
Meals on Wheels has a large influence on the health of the community by feeding seniors, connecting generations through volunteers, and using local farm produce in meals. Though the program does have a large influence in the Keweenaw Peninsula, it has also needed additional focus in the past two years to improve Meals on Wheels.
But we can’t keep going at that same rate. And right now, we’ve placed a very big priority on this project. But the foundation serves a broader area. It serves four counties, not one county. It has all these other programs and other obligations to grant money back to, not just to support the Meals on Wheels. So. You know, there’s a little bit of nuance in here, but that’s partly where the consideration comes from. – Kevin Store, Executive Director, Copper Shores Community Foundation
Since becoming Copper Shores, the foundation has subsidized Meals on Wheels expenses, covering close to $700,000, beyond the program’s $590,000 budget. Executive Director Kevin Store says that this has allowed the program to make improvements and operate with more stability. He adds if the millage passes in August…
So we would continue with the contract. We would continue with the millage. And then the foundation is expecting that we would see about a $300,000 operating commitment. So our operating budget would end up being about 1.9 million, give or take. So we would blend those three areas of funding. And then the foundation would continue a commitment for capital investment as needed for equipment, maintenance, facilities, things like that. – Kevin Store, Executive Director, Copper Shores Community Foundation
According to Copper Shores’ 2023 Audit, published online, the foundation was responsible for 79,000,000 dollars in assets. Executive Director Kevin Store adds that the foundation is proud to see its investments grow, so the foundation can improve how it impacts health.
We’ve committed to creating a dashboard on our website that will do quarterly reporting. We have full plans to, if this is successful, to report our progress, the gaps that we have in service, where and how we’re going to fill those, and more importantly, go back to the voters through the community, rather the Houghton County Commissioners, and make sure that we’re reporting and being held accountable to them. – Kevin Store, Executive Director, Copper Shores Community Foundation
Voters will consider adding another 1 mill onto Houghton County’s property tax. The millage request will appear alongside two other requests for construction bonds, and a millage renewal at Canal View Senior Care Facility. Local elections will occur on the Tuesday, August 5th.
Learn more about august millage requests below:
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