Contact: Tim Ervin
231-794-0089
tervin26@charter.net
MANISTEE COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION NAMES
NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR LAURA HEINTZELMAN
Manistee, Michigan – Laura Heintzelman has been named Executive Director of the Manistee County Community Foundation by the organizations’ Board of Directors. She succeeds Karen Bruchan who served in the post for 11 years.
“Laura brings an ideal combination of experience, skills and personal qualities to this leadership position,” said Tim Ervin, President of the Foundation’s Board of Directors. “Laura will be instrumental in building connections between the dreams and aspirations for Manistee County and charitable giving to build endowments to fulfill those ambitions.”
Founded in 1987, the vision of the Community Foundation is: “Enhancing the way we give. Improving the way we live.”
The primary purposes of the Foundation are to:
- Help create, build and manage endowments that provide funds to meet donor objectives involving the County’s quality of life
- Make grants to respond to County priority needs
- Serve as a catalyst and facilitator for positive change in the County.
The Foundation currently manages 42 endowed funds. Attached to this news release is a description of those funds. Foundation funds are managed by the Investment and Trust Division of Northwestern Bank. The Foundation is governed by a 14-member Board of Directors.
Since moving to Manistee with husband Scott in 2007, Heintzelman has coordinated development of the Portage Lake Watershed Forever Plan while working for the Lansing-based firm Public Sector Consultants. She was recently named to oversee a $20,000 grant from the Michigan Easter Seals organization to make Manistee County a premier destination for universal access to fresh water. She is also facilitating the development of a county-wide septic and well ordinance. Heintzelman plans to continue to support these efforts in addition to her duties as Foundation Executive Director.
Heintzelman recently worked for the Alliance for Economic Success to assist local units of government and nonprofit organizations in Manistee County in seeking funds from the Community Foundation to implement Envision Manistee County. She authored a grant just awarded to the Alliance for Economic Success from the Great Lakes Fishery Trust that provides over $289,000 to develop two sites on Manistee Lake to enhance universal access to recreational fishing for salmon and trout species.
Heintzelman’s prior work experience includes:
• Design and start-up of northern Lower Michigan’s first and only management support organization for nonprofits, now known as NorthSky Nonprofit Network, managed by Rotary Charities of Traverse City. Heintzelman successfully secured a $400,000 grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation to help develop the organization.
• A management post with the Conservation Resource Alliance, a Traverse City-based nonprofit organization focused on restoration of rivers, streams and watersheds throughout a 13-county northern Michigan region. In that capacity, Heintzelman was particularly involved in community-based enhancement programs involving Manistee County’s Bear Creek and the Sable River, just south of Manistee County.
Heintzelman holds Bachelors and Master of Science degrees and was raised in Big Rapids, Michigan.
“The Board was delighted to unanimously support Laura as the right person to lead the Foundation to a new level,” said Foundation Board member Beth McCarthy. “Laura has a proven record of success in building partnerships and developing resources to support programs and projects that are of vital importance to our quality of life. These are exciting times for Manistee County and, with Laura’s leadership, the Foundation will have an increasingly vital role in helping the County achieve its full potential.”
Click here to see a picture of Laura with the Foundation Board
