On Tuesday, June 16th, RCAA hosted a celebration of the 2026 grant winners at The Venue in Ann Arbor. It was a heartfelt and festive event with a representative from each of the winning organizations presenting a brief description of their mission and intended use of the grant funds.
A total of $63,000 in grant funds have been disbursed to the winners by the Ann Arbor Rotary Foundation. They are made available out of the proceeds from the RCAA annual golf and entertainment event. Please plan to attend this year’s 23rd event on Monday, September 14th, at Barton Hills Country Club to support next year’s grant winners.
| Organization | Project Name | Amount |
| 826 Michigan | 826michigan’s Summer Writing Program in Washtenaw County | 5,000 |
| Apple Playschools | Apple Playschools Scholarship Fund: Expanding Education Access in Washtenaw County | 3,000 |
| Children’s Literacy Network | BookPALS: Meeting Students After School and from Home | 5,000 |
| Community Action Network | CAN Deep Dive | 5,000 |
| Ele’s Place Ann Arbor | Grief Backpacks and Toolkits for Washtenaw County School | 5,000 |
| Food Gatherers | Healthy School Pantry Program, 2025-2026 School Year | 2,000 |
| Foundation Preschool of Washtenaw County | Childcare Stability Initiative | 5,000 |
| Judson Center | Parent Education Training Program to Support Children with Autism | 5,000 |
| Neutral Zone | Neutral Zone After School Prograsm for Safe, Supportive, Creative and Educational, Youth-Driven Prograsm | 5,000 |
| Ozone House, Inc. | Project Ignition | 5,000 |
| SOS Community Services | SOS Parents as Teachers for Washtenaw | 5,000 |
| Student Advocacy Center of Michigan | Check & Connect – Washtenaw County | 5,000 |
| Washtenaw Camp Placement | Ann Arbor Rotary Summer Camp Partnership | 3,000 |
| Washtenaw Elementary Science Olympiad | 24th Annual Washtenaw Elementary Science Olympiad | 5,000 |
| TOTAL | 63,000 |
Marsha Chamberlin and Carolina Typaldos co-chaired the Community Allocations Committee. There were 52 non-profit organizations that applied for grants, 21% more than in any prior year, requesting a total of $252,000. The applications were split between 17 reviewers, each having about 24 to review and score, donating at last eight hours of their time reviewing plus time at an in-person meeting where the final decisions were made. Special thanks to the Committee members: Marsha Chamberlin, Carolina Typaldos, Meghan Iris Amstrong, Walker Barnes, Joann Barrett, Matt Boylan, Michael Field, Melissa Foster, Fernando Leon, Tom Millard, Roy Moore, Jacob Phillips, Jennifer Richard, John Sepp, Ingrid Sheldon, Rob Shiff, Susan Shipman, and Kathy Waugh.
