The Grand Rapids Center for Community Transformation is a partnership between a business, a church, two social enterprises, and a nonprofit organization, to create opportunities for transformation through meaningful relationships, work, education, and community development.

The organization undertook a capital campaign to buy and renovate a building and, with good instincts and a good team of staff and volunteers, raised $800,000 of their $1,800,000 goal. But they had stalled and so brought Kennari in to help finish the work. Through a campaign assessment, Kennari identified the project was not fully defined and the campaign goal only provided for capital improvements, with no funds for programming or what would happen inside the space. By applying a process, updating the tools, identifying and writing grants, and training the team, Kennari helped the organization increase the goal to $4,000,000 and surpassed that number at the end of 2020, despite the coronavirus pandemic. The organization completed their campaign and building renovations and recently opened The 1530, a premier space for events, meetings and gathering.

“Working with Kennari was one of the best moves that we made in our fundraising strategy. From their clear processes, relational engagement, and incredible expertise, it has been a joy to work with them. I would say that they are not just consultants, but we have become mutual partners –learning and strategizing together on how to create more community impact, while raising the funds to make it happen.” – Justin Beene, Founder, Grand Rapids Center for Community Transformation