Meet the Finalists
2026 Impact100 Traverse City Grant Finalists
ART & CULTURE FINALIST:
Bay Community Theatre
INITIATIVE: Live at the Bay!
This proposal is not about the movies, live concerts, or comedy shows. The Bay Theatre is about you, me and strengthening our community.
A movie theater is never just a place to watch movies, it’s a community hub that brings people together to create memories, to enrich each other and strengthen the fabric of our community.
Beyond entertainment, The Bay Theatre supports our growing afterschool program for middle and high students, giving them an outlet to explore critical thinking skills, public speaking, engagement with peers, and expanding their understanding of the world around them. It also supports our monthly programming aimed at seniors, where lively discussions engage and enrich patrons in a communal setting.
It’s about the 17,000 people who visit The Bay each year. It’s about the marquee that welcomes everyone everyday and it’s about the 450 members, 100+ volunteers, and over 1,000 generous donors.
EDUCATION FINALIST:
Friends of Fife Lake Public Library
INITIATIVE: Room for Community: The Fife Lake Learning Hub
Room for Community: The Fife Lake Learning Hub
In Fife Lake, many needs land at the same public door. A child hears the first story that makes reading feel possible. A student comes because school requires internet, and home does not have it. A senior comes for movement, laughter, and companionship. A job seeker prints the application that could mean paying next month’s rent. A local group comes because community needs a place to gather.
The Fife Lake Public Library in southeast Grand Traverse County is a vital resource in a rural area with few alternatives. Serving over nine townships across four counties, this expansion will better meet residents’ needs. Impact100’s grant for the Learning Hub will become the tables people gather around, the technology they learn on, the audio-visual equipment for workshops and meetings, and accessibility making participation possible.
Impact100’s grant means this new space becomes access, dignity, connection, and opportunity for all close to home.
ENVIRONMENT, RECREATION & PRESERVATION FINALIST:
Friends of the Betsie Valley Trail
INITIATIVE: Betsie Valley Trail – Trail Access Accessibility Project
This project involves accessibility improvements at an existing trailhead parking
area on the accessible portion of the Betsie Valley Trail. The project includes:
relocating the entrance drive; resurfacing of the existing gravel parking lot;
construction of four concrete ADA-compliant, van-accessible parking spaces; an
asphalt access pathway connecting the accessible parking spaces to the trail; and
replacement of the existing non-accessible vault toilet with an ADA-compliant
accessible vault toilet building. The parking lot resurfacing will use compacted
aggregate to stabilize the existing surface and support accessible vehicle
maneuvering.
The Benzie Area Chamber of Commerce, Disability Network Northern Michigan,
Benzie County Parks and Recreation Commission, and The Maples extended care
facility have all submitted letters of support affirming the community need. Joy-2-
Ride Benzie, a program serving individuals with disabilities through adaptive
cycling, relies on this trail and specifically needs this trailhead accessibility
upgrade to allow their participants to access the trail independently.
FAMILY FINALIST:
Michigan Indian Legal Services, Inc.
INITIATIVE: Gikendaasowin Guide: The MILS ChatBot and Legal Navigator
Michigan Indian Legal Services (MILS) seeks support to launch the Gikendaasowin Guide, a culturally grounded, AI-enabled legal navigator designed with and for Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (GTB) citizens across the five-county service region. Available 24/7 and built for voice access, the Guide will help community members and families understand and act on urgent legal issues involving tribal law, child welfare, housing, and protective orders.
Rural attorney shortages and the complexity of overlapping tribal, state, and federal systems leave many Native families without timely, practical legal guidance. The Gikendaasowin Guide will convert dense tribal codes, procedures, and court opinions into plain-language explanations, guided forms, and clear attorney intake pathways—meeting people at the moment they need help and strengthening their ability to self-advocate safely and effectively.
With grant support from Impact100 Traverse City, MILS will create a replicable digital justice model that can be sustained through modest ongoing operating costs and adapted for all 12 federally recognized Tribes in Michigan down the road. By combining legal accuracy, cultural grounding, and accessible technology, the Gikendaasowin Guide will reduce barriers to justice, protect families, and advance Tribal sovereignty through community-centered legal empowerment.
Health & Wellness FINALIST:
Rescue 5Loaves2FishNMI
INITIATIVE:
Food is the Vehicle, Love is the Answer
WE FEED PEOPLE! 5Loaves2FishNMI Co-Founders Michelle and Bill White, with dedicated volunteers, came together in 2020 with a mission “to promote compassion by providing nourishing meals, infused with love, to those experiencing food insecurity and homelessness”. Leland Community United Methodist Church’s kitchen became the permanent location for planning, preparing, and packaging delicious homemade meals, transporting them directly to hungry guests in the Grand Traverse region, with no questions asked. To date,100,000 meals have been served.
5Loaves2FishNMI proposes to purchase a Ford Van, with upgrades to improve food safety and volunteer experience. It would increase capacity, facilitate loading and unloading, assure safer, more reliable delivery of homemade meals to designated meal sites, and transport food and equipment to fundraisers and educational events. A well-equipped van would be transformational to all aspects of 5L2FNMI’s operation, resulting in more meals delivered to hungry people in the Grand Traverse region. WE FEED PEOPLE!