Our Values
Our business model is rooted in stewardship. This means a sense of responsibility to take care of infrastructure, make it useful to help people thrive, and support strong community among people. Going beyond our own business, it also means doing our part for the “common good,” being good neighbors, investing in our communities, and helping to enrich the places where we live, work, and play.
See below to learn about some of the projects and initiatives to which we are committed, and in which we are investing. If you find any of these interesting or inspiring, let us know! We would love to help you be part of the mission or tell you more about it!
Our Investments and Commitments
North Manitou Light Keepers (Leelanau County, Michigan)
The North Manitou Shoal Light is an offshore lighthouse in Lake Michigan near the Manitou Islands in Leelanau County. In 2016, the federal government sold it at auction as “excess property.”
Along with three other families, Daniel and Anna Oginsky helped found the North Manitou Light Keepers to purchase and restore this piece of Michigan maritime history that stands in the midst of one of America’s most beautiful places (Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore).
This lighthouse and the effort to restore it both illustrates and inspires our overall mission to care for infrastructure that is useful to people and enables light in the world to shine.
North Manitou Light Keepers is a separate non-profit organization, and more about it and its restoration efforts can be found at its website here.
I Will Right Now (Brighton, Michigan)
In 2020 we provided COVID relief funding to I Will Right Now, an organization that works to support and help feed families in need in the Livingston County. Some of the proceeds of this support were used to purchase a van for Bountiful Harvest to help it deliver meals to those in need.
To learn more about I Will Right Now, click here.
Sloan Museum (Flint, Michigan)
The Flint Institute of Science and History is constructing a new building to house the Sloan Museum in Flint. We have pledged annual support over five years to help make the new building a reality.
To learn more about the Sloan Museum and its building project, click here.
The Old Art Building, Leelanau Community Cultural Center (Leland, Michigan)
The “Old Art Building” in Leland, Michigan is an historic and critical gathering place that supports cultural enrichment and community in the Leelanau County. In 2020, the Leelanau Community Cultural Center had a chance to purchase the Old Art Building property from Michigan State University (from which it had been leasing the facility for decades). We made a lead gift commitment to the capital campaign dedicated to purchasing and maintaining the facility, enabling its stable presence in the community for decades to come.
To learn more about the Old Art Building, click here.
Ascension Providence Brighton Center for Recovery (Brighton, Michigan)
The Brighton Center for Recovery is dedicated to helping people overcome addiction and transition to a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. It currently is engaged in a capital campaign and project to rebuild their halfway houses, which are decades old and in urgent need of replacement. We are providing meaningful support to helping to rebuild these facilities.
To learn more about the Brighton Center for Recovery, click here.