GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids makes the top of many lists. Best place to live in Michigan, best place to raise a family in the US, among the best cities to work for a small business and the list goes on.
However, the Grand Rapids of today looks nothing like the Grand Rapids of decades ago.
And that's intentional. The changes and growth the city has seen are the result of many organizations working to make Grand Rapids into a great place to live, work and play.
Among those organizations is the Frey Foundation, celebrating 50 years this year.
We took a look at the foundation's contributions over the years, and what comes next.
1974 was a turbulent time, full of uncertainty for many Americans. Suburban sprawl was leading to fading downtowns, the Vietnam war was still raging and Watergate was causing a growing distrust in government.
But during this same time came a vision, a belief good was still possible.
Tripp Frey is a third-generation family member involved with the Frey Foundation. He now serves as board chair.
Also a fifth-generation American, his ancestors moved from Germany in the mid-1850s, settling in Grand Rapids.
"This place, that community that's been wonderful to us and to our family," said Tripp Frey. "So I think it was natural for them to want to give back."
They gave back through a foundation dedicated to helping people, the environment and the arts. They also gave many grants over the decades, including nearly 27 million dollars since 2018.
"We just feel lucky that we can be at the table to help solve them, and be a part of a larger group that's trying to tackle those and make progress," said Tripp Frey.
You can see that progress all over Grand Rapids, in places like Rosa Parks Circle or in artwork displayed across the city.
"We really believe that being surrounded by beautiful things, being surrounded by culture, being surrounded by beautiful things that were created by a diverse population, it really brings a pride of place," said Holly Johnson, president of the Frey Foundation.
Johnson said the foundation's goal is to help make life better for everyone in West Michigan. The foundation also works with smaller non-profits to fix problems as they see them.
"There's a lot of people that are struggling to thrive and not just survive," said Johnson. "There's a lot of challenges that we have."
Among those challenges is the issue of affordable housing. The foundation often works with others to tackle that issue.
"We are fortunate in Grand Rapids to have a lot of nonprofit partners in that space," said Johnson. "The public-private partnerships that are working hard to influence more affordable housing is how we're going to get these big things done."
And the affordable housing problem is big. In late January the number of homes available in Grand Rapids dropped by 25 percent.
A national research company said the city needs to add 14,000 more units by 2027 to meet demand, which is no small order.
But as it has done in the past, the Frey Foundation says it will work with others by providing financial assistance, a place to gather to problem-solve and guidance to seek solutions to problems today and tomorrow.
"There's no question that the Frey Foundation will be a committed partner to this region and help try to solve these problems and move forward," said Tripp Frey.
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