The Roscommon County Community Foundation (RCCF) was pleased to present the Association to Rescue Kritters (ARK) the coveted title of 2022 #CommunityChoice Grant Winner at their August Board of Trustee Meeting.
The #CommunityChoice Grant is a friendly competition between local 501 (c)(3) nonprofits and exempt organizations that serve Roscommon County. The community nominates their favorite nonprofit/exempt organization to be awarded a grant for $1,000 and in previous years, voting has happened on Facebook after contestants have been narrowed down.
This year, #CommunityChoice was approached a little differently. As we were celebrating our 25th Anniversary of service to Roscommon County, we wanted to do something special for #CommunityChoice. Voting was kicked off at our 25th Anniversary Celebration at the Roscommon Art Festival on July 9th and continued for 25 days via a Google Form. The grant was for the amount of $2,500.
After the first weeks of voting, Houghton Lake Pickleball Club had secured a spot in first, the ARK was in second place and the Northern Michigan Children’s Assessment Center held the third place spot. The ARK used their Facebook business page to ask their biggest supporters for votes on July 29th, three days before voting closed, “The ARK needs your help! We are in second place for a Community Choice Grant Award of $2500. Wow! That would help us purchase a lot of food for our animals as well as medicine and vet care. Voting ends August 2nd. Please take a minute to vote; you’ll be helping us help the wildlife.” The votes started to roll in, and didn’t stop until voting closed, August 2nd at 3pm, securing the ARK in first place by a landslide.
As stated in their Facebook post, the ARK plans to use the #CommunityChoice grant to fulfill their mission: rescue, rehabilitate and return to the wild injured and orphaned wildlife.
Inspired? Consider making a gift by mail to RCCF P.O. Box 824, Roscommon, MI 48653 or our website www.myrccf.org/give/online to the Larry Eastley & Clare Fisher Eastley Animal Support Fund or the Viola J. Moore Animal Fund, which provide support to the ARK directly.
