Historic Preservation Commission approves restructured O'Connor Fund and $35,000 grant budget
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Summary
The Kalamazoo Historic Preservation Commission voted unanimously Dec. 10 to move part of the O'Connor funds into a Field of Interest at the Kalamazoo Community Foundation and approved a $35,000 budget for grant-making under the new structure.
The Kalamazoo Historic Preservation Commission voted unanimously Dec. 10 to approve a restructuring that moves a portion of the O'Connor spendable funds into a Field of Interest (FOI) at the Kalamazoo Community Foundation and to allocate $35,000 for grant-making under the restructured arrangement.
Commission staff and foundation advisers described the FOI as a non-endowed account that will remain invested while allowing the Kalamazoo Community Foundation to issue checks directly to grantees; the commission will serve as the advisory committee that recommends awards to the foundation. "We need to initially feed the new field of interest fund," the presenter said while explaining initial and ongoing contribution levels that begin in 2026.
Questions from commissioners focused on operational guardrails: whether funds would remain invested, tax and sales-tax handling when money goes to nonprofits, and whether the commission's internal gifting/spending policies need revision. Foundation and staff representatives said the funds will remain invested and that the foundation's legal structure treats awards as grants (a "mini grant"), not gifts; staff said they will update internal policies to reflect the new fund flow.
After discussion, an unidentified commissioner moved "to approve the 2026 O'Connor Fund work plan and the associated $35,000 budget for the O'Connor Fund." Another commissioner seconded, and the commission conducted a roll-call vote. The recorded votes were Kayla: yes; Fred: yes; Laura: yes; Chair: yes; Dusty: yes; Melissa Lisonbee: yes; Patrick: yes. The motion passed unanimously.
Staff also reviewed signing documents for the FOI, naming signatories including Pam O'Connor and Patsy Moore (identified in the meeting as interim city manager) and explained that the Kalamazoo Community Foundation consulted in-house counsel and the Council of Michigan Foundations before recommending the FOI structure.
Next steps: staff said they would execute the FOI documents and update the commission's internal spending policy to ensure clarity on how the O'Connor funds flow through the foundation and how future grant recommendations will be processed. Formal grant recommendations and any further budget allocations will return to the commission for approval as specified.
The commission deferred approval of other budget line items while taking today's vote on the $35,000 grant-making allocation.
