Community Impact Program
#TeamUp for the Great Lakes Bay Region
The Dow Championship remains committed to donating to charities across the Great Lakes Bay Region and has awarded more than $2.5 million to local nonprofits since its inception in 2019.
All 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations in the Great Lakes Bay Region have the opportunity to be a part of the #TeamUp grant program. Each year, seven organizations are selected across each of the region’s counties (Saginaw, Bay, Midland and Isabella). An additional eight nonprofits are also selected based on the services they provide on a regional level.
Nonprofits will be chosen based on their organization’s impact on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education; sustainability; inclusion, diversity, and equity (ID&E); community resiliency; and/or innovation. Once selected, each of the 36 nonprofits will be paired randomly with one of the 72 teams competing in the 2024 Dow Championship LPGA tournament. A total of $237,000 will be donated through this program, with each selected nonprofit guaranteed to receive at least a $4,500 grant.
For questions about 2025 Applications and Grants, please contact Kiara Peterman at kpeterman@outlyr.com.
The Saginaw Bay Community Sailing Association was teamed up with our 2024 Dow Championship Champions and received an additional $11,000.
“During 2023 we broadened our reach and successfully expanded our no and very-low-cost sailing camp and workshop offerings. In 2024 and beyond, we intend to further these opportunities by conducting single-day and multi-day events in collaboration with local businesses and non-profit organizations. These include expanding our four-day camps with the Boys & Girls Club of the Great Lakes Bay Region, our “Dads and Downtown Sailing Day” (sailing activities for dads and kids) to include a session for moms, as well as new camps with the Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan, John Glenn High School Physics Class, and the Bay Area Family Y. We expect to reach at least 250 youth with these programs. Whether one day or multi-day, all these events will give the participants the opportunity to pilot their own sailboat.”
2024 Selected Charities
Midland
County
Affordable Housing Alliance of Midland County
(Community Resiliency)
Greater Midland North Family Center and Greater Midland Coleman Family Center
(Community Resiliency)
Independent Community Living (ID&E)
Humane Society of Midland County (Community Resiliency)
Midland Kids First (Community Resiliency)
The Friction Theatre (ID&E)
Windover High School
(STEM)
Saginaw
County
Saginaw STEM (STEM)
Michigan Forensic Examiners (Innovation)
Child and Family Services of Saginaw (ID&E)
CAN Council (Innovation)
Saginaw County Community Action Committee, Inc. (Community Resiliency)
SVRC Industries’ Empowered Voices
(ID&E)
Mustard Seed Shelter
(ID&E)
Bay
County
Bay County Historical Society
(Community Resiliency)
United We Go (Inclusion)
New Dimensions
(ID&E)
Disability Services Resource Center (DSRC)
(Sustainability)
Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy (SBLC) (ID&E)
Saginaw Bay Community Sailing Association
(ID&E)
Studio 23 / The Arts Center
(ID&E)
Isabella
County
Community Cancer Services of Isabella County
(Sustainability)
Life Choices of Central Michigan
(Community Resiliency)
United Way of Gratiot & Isabella Counties (Community Resiliency)
Clothing INC
(ID&E)
Humane Animal Treatment Society
(Sustainability)
MMI
(ID&E)
Chippewa Watershed Conservancy
(Sustainability)
Regional
Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance STEM Initiative
(STEM)
Barb Smith Suicide Resource & Response Network
(ID&E)
Legal Services of Eastern Michigan
(ID&E)
WCMU Public Media (ID&E)
Saginaw Spirit
(ID&E)
Mid-Michigan Adult & Teen Challenge (Community Resiliency)
Swagnew Foundation
(ID&E)
Food Bank of Eastern Michigan
(Sustainability)
2024 Daily Giveback Charities
Tuesday, June 25: Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
Wednesday, June 26: Cancer Services
Thursday, June 27: Delta College Planetarium
Friday, June 28: Saginaw Children’s Zoo
Saturday, June 29: Special Olympics Michigan
Sunday, June 30: YWCA Great Lakes Bay Region
The Delta College Planetarium inspires exploration through immersive programs and special events in its state-of-the-art Dome360 Theater. It provides both original programming and award-winning full dome productions from around the world. Themes range from current night sky and space exploration to family science adventure and music under the stars. The facility also holds classrooms for Delta College classes, a Space Explorers Hall for rentals, and telescope viewing/special events on its rooftop observation deck.
The goal of Special Olympics Michigan is to help children and adults with intellectual disabilities participate as productive and respected members of society at large, by offering them a fair opportunity to develop and demonstrate their skills and talents through sports training and competition, and by increasing the public’s awareness of their capabilities and needs.
At Special Olympics Michigan, diversity, equity and inclusion are at the heart of all that we do. We are raising awareness about the abilities of people with intellectual disabilities. Through sports, we showcase the skills and dignity of our athletes. At the same time, Special Olympics brings people with and without intellectual disabilities together to see and take part in the transformative power of sport. We fight negative stereotypes and misperceptions, and educate people young and old about the skills and gifts of our athletes. We provide educational experiences for coaches, volunteers, and teachers to enhance their knowledge and show them how the Special Olympics experience can transcend all aspects of their lives.
Cancer Services is profoundly thankful for the generosity of our community that enables us to provide compassionate support to local cancer patients and their caregivers since 1948. We offer a wide array of free services including transportation to appointments, private counseling, and payment of non-medical bills such as mortgage, rent, and utilities when patients are too sick to work.
The Saginaw Children’s Zoo is one of just six zoos and aquariums in the state to be accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) — a distinction for meeting the highest standards in animal care and providing fun, safe, and educational family experiences.
As part of our AZA accreditation, we participate in Species Survival Plans© to save many endangered species from extinction, including African penguins, North American river otters, cotton-top tamarins, Eastern grey kangaroos, Mexican grey wolves, and white-throated capuchins — all animals that have a home at the Saginaw Children’s Zoo.
Since 1891, YWCA Great Lakes Bay Region has been creating an environment for women to feel empowered, supported, and able to build opportunities and make positive change. While our mission to eliminate racism, empower women and promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all has not changed since our founding, our programming and services have continued to evolve, just like the needs of women in our regional community. The YWCA movement has a long history of advocating for policies that improve the lives of individuals across the country, including women, girls, low-income individuals and families, and communities of color.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is a global leader in the fight to cure blood cancer. They are the largest nonprofit dedicated to creating a world without blood cancers. Since 1949, they’ve invested more than $1.6 billion in groundbreaking research, pioneering many of today's most innovative approaches. The LLS mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.
