Great Lakes Energy People Fund seeking applications for spring grant cycle

The Great Lakes Energy People Fund is accepting letters of interest and grant applications from nonprofit organizations throughout its service area for the spring grant cycle.

Letters of interest are due by April 1. If the letter of interest is approved, the applicant can then submit a grant application by April 15.

All letters and applications are accepted through an online grant application portal that can be found at gtlakes.com/people-fund.

Great Lakes Energy members support the People Fund by agreeing to have their bill rounded up to the nearest whole dollar amount. That extra change is then pooled with contributions from other People Fund participants and returned to the community through grants to nonprofit, charitable organizations that provide humanitarian, educational or community development services within the cooperative’s 26-county service area, which includes the counties of Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Emmet and Otsego.

Since 1999, the People Fund Program has awarded more than $4.5 million in grants to charitable and community organizations to help them better the lives of residents in local communities. The People Fund awarded more than $253,000 in grants in 2023.

Nonprofit organizations that serve communities located in the Great Lakes Energy service area are eligible to apply. Another grant opportunity will be available in October.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Great Lakes Energy People Fund seeking applications for spring grant cycle