In 2019, the Going PRO Talent Fund awarded $32 million in 898 grants that helped pay for training more than 25,000 workers. Those new skills contributed to an average annual wage increase of nearly $6,000.
The first-of-its-kind assessment of Ottawa County organizations was undertaken by the Lakeshore Nonprofit Alliance. The data gathered covers a range of issues, from finance to diversity and inclusion efforts.
“How to be an effective board member” workshops teach new board members best practices of providing leadership for a nonprofit, from governance to fundraising. More than 700 people in Ottawa County have taken part in some kind of board training offered by the Lakeshore Nonprofit Alliance.
Karuna Khadka attended workshops, received job-search assistance, referrals to ESL classes, and transportation assistance. That wraparound support paid off. She increased her job skills and wages.
With an unemployment rate under 3%, Ottawa County has one of the lowest in the state. Allise Wilkerson, talent solutions manager for West Michigan Works!, discusses the opportunities the talent shortage is creating for workers.
There is an affordable housing crisis in Ottawa County. Housing Next, created in 2018 to address the county’s affordable housing crisis, has set a goal of adding 7,500 units by 2023. In the past two years, the organization has had a hand in supporting a dozen projects that will add 2,000 new housing units at a range of price points.
In the past year, Holland has looked at the future of the city’s waterfront and asked stakeholders and residents to dream about how this natural resource could evolve in the coming decades. Here's one idea for bringing affordable housing downtown.
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