Lenawee Community Foundation welcomes Bronna Kahle as new president, CEO

ADRIAN — With a nearly full staff, an entire year in its new office in Adrian, a record year for accepted donations and incoming funds, and a new president and CEO leading the charge, the Lenawee Community Foundation is set to complete even more community-building projects than ever before, it was stated during an event last week.

“We have the person to lead the charge,” David Hickman, chairman of the Lenawee Community Foundation’s board of directors, said Jan. 17 during a meet-and-greet reception for the foundation’s new president and CEO, Bronna Kahle. “(Bronna) knows the community, she’s personable, she’s a class act, she listens, she’s a hard worker, and we are just delighted to have her here.”

Last week’s reception and open house was intended to introduce Kahle as the foundation’s new leader, but it also provided the foundation an opportunity to highlight the work of its staff, host tours of its Adrian office at 1440 W. Maumee St., and announce the challenges and goals on the foundation’s radar for 2023.

Hickman called the foundation’s location in Adrian as the “perfect space for what we do.”

“We've got the offices on one end; we have a community room where groups can come in if they don't have a boardroom of their own and use it for a lot of meetings,” he said.

The community foundation, which began in 1997, calls a previous Old National Bank branch office as its home. The foundation started in Tecumseh and was at 606 N. Evans St. before relocating to Adrian in an effort to be more centrally located in the county.

“We have a lot more visibility now than we had in Tecumseh,” Hickman said.

Old National Bank, ProMedica and Krieghoff-Lenawee Co. were of “critical assistance,” Hickman said, in helping the foundation during its move from Tecumseh to Adrian.

The opening of the Adrian office started a new chapter for the foundation, and now Kahle’s arrival as president and CEO turns a new page for the nonprofit organization, which focuses on “enhancing the health, happiness and hope of our citizens through permanent endowments that address current and anticipated community needs, and raising, managing and distributing the funds for these purposes,” according to the foundation's website, www.lenaweecf.com.

Kahle was announced as the foundation’s new leader in October after former president and CEO Joe Williams accepted a similar leadership role with County National Bank. Because Kahle was still a member of the Michigan House of Representatives and was nearing the completion of her final term in office, Hickman filled in as interim director between Williams’ departure and Kahle’s arrival. An agreement with Kahle was put together in September, Hickman said. Her first official day on the job was Jan. 2.

“I am excited to be here. I'm grateful. I believe that there's a time and a place that God lines up for each of us and I believe this is what he lined up for me, for us, and for the foundation going forward,” Kahle said during the reception.

She credited Hickman for working tirelessly and with a positive attitude during those nearly three months as interim director.

Community foundations are about connecting people who care with causes that matter in a specific geographic area, Kahle said.

There are more than 1,000 community foundations around the country today, she said. The Cleveland Foundation in Ohio was started in 1914 and was the world’s first community foundation. Today, it is one of the largest with assets of $2.5 billion and annual grants of more than $100 million.

“The Lenawee Community Foundation certainly wouldn't exist without our three founding members, Dave Hickman, Merlin Downing and Chuck Gross,” Kahle said. “But, beyond that, it certainly would not exist without Lenawee County and the community members who care. It says a lot about a community when you have a community foundation.”

The Lenawee Community Foundation has at least 250 different funds it accesses for specific purposes in the county, Hickman said. Those funds assist people with scholarships and with helping member organizations with meeting basic needs in the community. There are, however, projects that come along that the foundation cannot address because it does not have the correct funds to use in such an instance.

“We need more unrestricted funds,” Hickman told those present at last week’s event.

To raise money for unrestricted funding that can be directed where funds are needed the most in a flexible and immediate way, the foundation announced its Lenawee Health, Happiness and Hope Fund which is aiming to raise $2 million at a minimum, Hickman said.

The foundation is charged with raising $1 million, and a dollar-for-dollar match from an anonymous donor will double those funds to reach the $2 million goal.

The foundation's board of directors, which has committed $200,000 to the new fund, will administer and be responsible for the utilization of the unrestricted funds in response to needs across Lenawee County.

“To be able to invest in that (fund) and go forward, we'll have a lot more flexibility in meeting the needs of our communities,” Hickman said.

To contact the Lenawee Community Foundation, call 517-263-4696 or visit www.lenaweecf.com. Staff members at the foundation consist of Kahle; Paula Trentman, vice president and director of grants and programs; Cynthia Heady, director of development and external engagement; and Deb Salenbien, office manager.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Kahle welcomed as new Lenawee Community Foundation president, CEO