Michigan Women Strategy & Impact Guide

One founder. Zero ad spend. 25K+ views and counting. Here's the strategy behind Michigan's fastest-growing voter guide library.

Table of Contents

This strategy plan is designed for easy online navigation with clickable sections. Click any item below to jump straight to it.

Want a shorter read? Check out the Michigan Women: Case for Support One-Pager.

• Introduction—Executive Summary
• Organization Identity & Purpose
  • Mission Statement
  • Why Michigan Voters Need This
  • Vision
  • Audience — Who We Serve
  • Core Values
  • Voice and Editorial Standards (Includes Our Sources)
• Situational Analysis — Why This Moment Matters
  • Problem Statement
  • Founder's Context &
  • Michigan Election & Civic Information Landscape
• SWOT Analysis
  • Strengths — What's Working
  • Weaknesses — What to Watch
  • Opportunities — Where We Can Grow
  • Threats — What Could Slow Us Down
• What Makes Michigan Women Different
  • Our Lane — What We Focus On
  • Statewide Voter Guides
  • Beyond the Guides
• Results So Far — What We've Built in Under a Year
  • Audience & Reach
  • Content Library
  • Email & Subscriber Growth
  • Organizational Infrastructure
• Action Plan — What We're Working On
  • 1: Statewide Voter Guide Program
  • 2: Local Voter Engagement — Saginaw Pilot
  • 3: Civic Education Intern Program
  • 4: Media & Influencer Outreach
  • 5: Speaker Program & Fee Revenue
  • 6: Fundraising
• Goals — What Success Looks Like
• Appendices
  • Appendix A: Budget
  • Appendix B: Board of Directors
  • Appendix C: Donor & Funding Integrity Policy
  • Appendix D: Brand Guidelines
  • Appendix E: Conversation Agreement

Executive Summary

Michigan Women Education Fund is a Saginaw-based nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit that gives Michigan voters one clear, current, trusted place to understand their ballot. Since receiving its own 501(c)(3) recognition less than a year ago, it has grown into a functioning, high-traffic civic education platform — built entirely on founder sweat equity, zero ad spend, and a content strategy that is now proven to work at scale.

The organization's core product is a library of living voter guides — continuously researched, updated, and written in plain language — covering every major 2026 Michigan statewide race.

These guides are not published once and abandoned. They are updated when candidates drop out, refreshed after debates and monitored weekly through primary sources, including the Congressional Record, Michigan's legislative bill tracker and the proposed state budget.

The result is the only centralized Michigan voter resource that explains not just who is on the ballot, but what the job is, where the candidates stand, and exactly what is at stake.

The numbers reflect a strategy that is working. The Michigan Governor Race Voter Guide alone has surpassed 8,500 views year-to-date. The Judicial Guide has grown even faster in the past month, suggesting demand for clear civic information extends beyond the highest-profile races.

Organic search now drives 57% of all site traffic — people finding Michigan Women through Google with no paid promotion. The email list has tripled since January, hitting 298 active subscribers as of July 9, 2026, with the fastest single-week growth in organizational history occurring right now as primary ballots hit Michigan mailboxes. YouTube subscribers grew 700% in six months. All of it earned, none of it bought.

This plan documents what has been built, maps the strategy for the remainder of 2026, and makes the case for the funding needed to sustain it. The goal for July through December 2026 is $30,000 in grants, major donor gifts, and speaker fees — enough to begin compensating the Executive Director at a sustainable rate and end founder self-subsidy on a platform that is already delivering measurable civic impact at statewide scale.

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Organization Identity & Purpose

The Corporation is organized exclusively for charitable and educational purposes under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Our purpose is to make civic life understandable so people can participate with clarity rather than confusion.

Mission Statement

Michigan Women creates accessible civic news and education with clear, nonpartisan explanations of candidates, ballot proposals, and legislation — delivered through explainers, articles, interviews, newsletters, podcasts, and community discussions — so Michigan residents, especially women, can vote with knowledge and confidence and build stronger communities.

Here's what we are working towards:

Civic Education & Voter Guides: Become the leading, trusted, non-partisan resource for local civic education in Michigan.

Facilitate Conversations: Create space for Michigan residents to think through civic issues together — through community events, facilitated dialogue, and nonpartisan tools that help people engage with different perspectives and arrive at their own conclusions.

Audience & Reach: Build a large, engaged, and diverse audience of Michigan women who consume and trust our content.

Fundraising: Build a sustainable, mission-aligned funding base that supports consistent civic education programming, protects nonpartisan independence, and reduces founder dependency over time.

Organizational Capacity: Build a sustainable and effective organization with a strong board, dedicated volunteers, and diverse funding streams.

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Why Michigan Voters Need This

Michigan voters shouldn't have to work this hard to make an informed decision.

They shouldn't have to dig through ten websites to figure out who's running. They shouldn't have to wonder if what they're reading is slanted. They shouldn't find out a candidate dropped out after they've already made up their mind. They shouldn't feel lost when they get to the local races at the bottom of the ballot — the school board, the township proposal, the county seat nobody's covering.

And they shouldn't walk into the voting booth feeling like they're guessing.

Michigan Women exists because informed voters make better communities — and right now, too many Michigan residents don't have a single place to go for clear, current, nonpartisan information about the people and issues on their ballot.

We're building that place.

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Vision

We envision a Michigan where people engage confidently in civic life, conversations lead to solutions, and communities thrive through informed decisions that reflect the will of the people.

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Audience — Who We Serve

• Primary Audience: Women in Michigan.
• Secondary Audience: All Michigan residents.
• Partners: Local high schools, colleges, and universities (volunteers), local media (content sources), community organizations.
• Funders: Grant foundations, individual small donors, corporate sponsors, speaking, merch.

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Core Values

• Integrity: We operate with honesty, transparency, and respect for truth.
• Collaboration: We foster open dialogue, democratic deliberation, and civil discussion.
• Education: We believe informed citizens are the foundation of a stronger democracy.
• Empowerment: We uplift communities by inspiring action and building supportive networks.

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Voice and Editorial Standards

Michigan Women's voter guides aren't created from a single news story or written once and forgotten. They are built through continuous monitoring, primary-source research, AI-assisted analysis, and human editorial review to ensure they remain accurate, current, and easy to understand throughout the election cycle.

Where We Get Our Information

Every Michigan Women guide is built from a diverse range of sources, including official government websites, Michigan statewide and local news organizations, nonprofit civic organizations, and national media representing a variety of viewpoints.

No single publication, organization, or political perspective determines what appears in our guides.

Transparency matters. Download our complete source list to see the news organizations, government agencies, legislative resources, public records, and research tools that inform our voter guides.

Continuous Monitoring

Every race we cover has its own dedicated research feed in Inoreader. We create structured search queries that track every declared candidate alongside the office they are seeking. As new information becomes available—whether it's a candidate entering or leaving a race, a debate, new policy announcement, campaign finance filing, or significant news coverage—it is automatically added to that race's research stream.

This allows us to monitor hundreds of sources efficiently without relying on manual searches or the chance of discovering important updates.

Primary-Source Research

Whenever possible, we rely on original source documents rather than secondhand reporting.

That includes:

• Legislation from the Michigan Legislature and Congress.gov
• Campaign finance filings from the Michigan Bureau of Elections and the Federal Election Commission
• Official candidate filings and election records
• State budget documents
• Public records and government reports

Using primary sources helps ensure our guides reflect what is actually on the public record—not simply how others interpret it.

AI-Assisted Research and Drafting

We use Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and other artificial intelligence tools to help organize research, identify themes across large volumes of information, summarize complex material, and draft plain-language explanations of topics such as legislation, campaign finance, and government processes.

Artificial intelligence helps us work faster and more consistently, but it never replaces human editorial judgment.

Every guide is reviewed, edited, fact-checked, and approved by Michigan Women’s Executive Director before publication.

Human Editorial Review

Editorial judgment remains a human responsibility.

Every guide is reviewed for factual accuracy, clarity, context, and consistency before it is published. Information is verified against original sources whenever possible, and updates are incorporated throughout the election cycle as new information becomes available.

Corrections and Continuous Updates

Our voter guides are living resources, not static publications.

Candidates in every covered race are notified that a guide exists and invited to submit factual corrections or updated information. When credible errors are identified, we correct them promptly and, when appropriate, disclose significant corrections to readers.

Our commitment is not to defend what we’ve published. Our commitment is to provide Michigan voters with the most accurate, current, and understandable information possible.

Our voice

• Voice: Authentic, curious, friendly, and nonjudgmental.
• Approach: "Seek to understand." We ask clarifying questions and engage ideas in good faith. We believe in the power of asking, "How did you come to that conclusion?" — not to challenge others, but to understand them.
• Tone: Respectful, plain-spoken, and free of jargon or loaded language.
• Evidence: Fact-based explanations supported by credible sources.
• Perspective: Nonpartisan and inclusive, emphasizing shared understanding.

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Situational Analysis — Why This Moment Matters

The Problem We Solve

Michigan voters are overwhelmed by political information but starved for understanding, leaving too many people to vote based on headlines, misinformation, or guesswork instead of facts.

Michigan's democracy depends on informed citizens. Every election asks citizens to make decisions that affect their families, schools, taxes, and communities. Yet most voters are expected to navigate an overwhelming flood of political information with little time, little context, and no trusted place that simply explains what's happening. The result is widespread confusion, declining trust, disengagement, and voting decisions based on incomplete or misleading information.

For the first time in history, ordinary people have access to more political information than ever before—and understand less of what is actually happening. Instead of making democracy stronger, the explosion of information has made it harder to know what is true, what matters, and who deserves our trust.

People aren't uninformed because they don't care.

• They're overwhelmed.
• They don't have time to read legislation.
• They don't know which sources are credible.
• They don't know how government actually works.

So millions either vote based on headlines and social media...

...or stop paying attention altogether.

That isn't just a voter problem.

It's a community problem.

It's a democracy problem.

Michigan Women exists to bridge that gap by providing free, continuously updated, nonpartisan civic and voter education that transforms overwhelming information into practical understanding.

Founder's Context

The idea for Michigan Women began in 2023, out of a shared frustration: information about local candidates, ballots, and bills is scattered, jargon-heavy, and difficult to access. The founder incorporated a nonprofit — Election Contest News — and received 501(c)(3) recognition in May 2024.

As the mission sharpened toward nonpartisan civic education built specifically for Michigan women, the founder established a new organization, Michigan Women Education Fund, which received its own 501(c)(3) recognition in September 2025. Election Contest News holds no remaining assets and is being formally dissolved.

Our founder's career in sales, marketing, and as the owner of Ascend Business Growth provides deep experience in asking questions, uncovering needs, and turning complex topics into clear, usable information. Michigan Women applies these skills to solve the problem of inaccessible civic information.

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Michigan Election & Civic Information Landscape

Local & Regional News Media

Civic Education Nonprofits

Voter Rights & Advocacy

Partisan-Aligned (self-described nonpartisan)

Digital & Data Tools

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SWOT Analysis

Strengths — What's Working

• Clear mission and market differentiation (education, not advocacy)
• Proven content-to-audience engine: 20–41% guide download conversion, 700% YouTube subscriber growth, and 57% of traffic now from organic search — no ad spend
• Completed professional brand identity
• Clearly defined editorial standards and non-partisan voice
• Aligned Board of Directors in place; 501(c)(3) recognition achieved

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Weaknesses — What to Watch

• Founder-dependent; currently limited to ~14 hrs/week — scaling to full-time requires ~$78K/year in committed funding not yet secured
• Low starting audience and brand awareness relative to established players (LWV, Common Cause)
• No funding secured to date; two grant applications active

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Opportunities — Where We Can Grow

• The core problem we solve: information is "spread out" and overwhelming
• Public desire for non-partisan, factual civic information
• Widespread content to curate (MLive, Bridge, Detroit News, etc.)
• November 3 general election is a time-sensitive traffic and donor-interest surge — window to convert readers to subscribers/donors before the cycle passes
• Replicable local pilot model (Saginaw → other Michigan counties) once proven
• Academic pipeline (SVSU partnership) as a low-cost capacity and talent source

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Threats — What Could Slow Us Down

• High volume of political misinformation
• Risk of being perceived as partisan in a polarized environment
• Sheer volume of information can be "unwieldy" and lead to scope creep
• Key-person risk: content, fundraising, and operations all run through a single founder — a single point of failure a funder or board member would flag

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What Makes Michigan Women Different

Our Lane — What We Focus On

The concept for Michigan Women began in 2023 out of a shared frustration: information about local candidates, ballots, and bills is scattered, jargon-heavy, and difficult to access. Michigan Women is the only place where voters get living, nonpartisan voter guides, bill breakdowns, curated content, and videos that give the full picture—free, no ads.

We answer:

• How does the elected office work, and who's the current representative?
• Who's running, and does their background seem like a good fit?
• What are the top-priority issues for our communities & what's being done now?
• Where do the current elected officials and candidates stand on the top-priority issues?
• What PACS are raising money to influence public opinion in their favor?
• How much money are the candidates raising, and from whom?

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Statewide Voter Guides

Living Resources — One Link, Always Current

One resource, one link, current information. When McMorrow dropped out of the U.S. Senate race, the guide was updated immediately. Weekly news monitoring via Inoreader, debate transcript analysis, WKAR Off the Record recaps — if something changes, the guide changes. Want to know what is going on with a Michigan election? Our guides and website will tell you.

Beyond the Bios — Office Context, Issues, and Positions

How does government work? Before you can evaluate a candidate, you need to know what the job actually is. Every guide explains the office — what the role does, what power it holds, what the person will actually be working on when they get there.

How will the candidates serve our communities? Know the issues, where you stand, what you want for your community, and the candidates' positions so you can vote with confidence about who best represents your interests.

The candidate picture matters. It helps to know people when you can visualize what they look like. Guides include photos, bios, and direct links to each candidate's website and social media — because knowing who you're looking at is the first step to knowing who you're voting for.

Easy to Use — Two Ways to Navigate

Structured for skimmers, built for depth. Every guide has two options: download a PDF or use the digital navigation. Each opens with a table of contents and anchor links so you can jump straight to what you need — candidate basics, positions, campaign finance, legislation, how to vote — or read the whole thing. You control the experience.

Built From Primary Sources, Not Press Releases

Primary sources, not spin. Campaign finance data, PAC tracking, legislation on the docket, Congressional daily digests, the proposed state budget — the guides are built from what's actually on the record, then explained in plain language.

Free Public Good — No Ads, No Paywall, No Agenda

Free, clean, no ads, no paywall. Civic information should be accessible. The guides link out to other sources — candidate sites, official voter tools, media across the political spectrum — because the goal is an informed voter, not a captive audience.

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Beyond the Guides

Rooted in the Community

Michigan Women isn't published from a distance. The founder lives in Saginaw, watches WKAR, follows local races, and is paying attention in real time. When something happens, it gets updated — not because there's a process for it, but because someone here noticed.

Nonpartisan by Design, Not Just by Claim

Most organizations say nonpartisan. Michigan Women builds systems that enforce it. Candidates on both sides of every race are notified a guide exists and invited to submit corrections — symmetrically, every time. The links page features media across the political spectrum. The upcoming "how to find the truth" guide teaches readers how to evaluate information themselves, not what to think.

Built to Start a Conversation, Not End One

Michigan Women is developing a facilitated civic dialogue guide and hosting community events because informed voting isn't just about information — it's about working together to create a thriving place to live. The goal is to help people think through civic questions themselves, not hand them conclusions.

Plain Language as a Core Value

Every piece of content is written for someone who hasn't been following the race — not for policy wonks, not for engaged partisans. Clarity over comprehensiveness, every time.

A Starting Point, Not a Destination

Michigan Women doesn't try to be the only resource — it tries to be the best first stop. Guides link out to candidate sites, official state tools, other voter guides, and media across the political spectrum. The goal is an informed, empowered voter who knows where to go next.

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Results So Far — What We've Built in Under a Year

In less than a year, Michigan Women has grown from a founding idea to a functioning, high-traffic civic education platform — entirely through organic reach, zero ad spend, and one person working part-time.

Voter guides are driving thousands of new visitors to the site every month, the email list has tripled since January, and the organization is experiencing its biggest growth week ever as Michigan primary ballots hit mailboxes. The infrastructure is in place, the content strategy is proven, and the audience is growing faster than at any point in the organization's history.

Audience & Reach

• By mid-2026, organic search had grown to 57% of all traffic, meaning the majority of visitors are now discovering Michigan Women for the first time through Google — no ad spend
• Michigan Governor Race Voter Guide alone surpassing 3,300 views in the last 28 days, with traffic accelerating as primary ballots hit mailboxes
• Biggest traffic week in organizational history happening right now — a direct result of the voter guide strategy working exactly as designed
• YouTube channel grew 700% in subscribers in six months; video content reaching audiences entirely new to Michigan Women
• Social media reach growing across every platform — Facebook views up 176% YTD, TikTok up 137%, YouTube up 383%

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Content Library

• Built 44 pieces of nonpartisan civic content since founding, including 7 comprehensive statewide voter guides
• Voter guides are living documents — continuously researched, updated, and maintained through the election cycle, not published once and abandoned
• Content methodology grounded in primary sources: official Congressional records, Michigan legislative bill tracking, state budget documents, and news monitoring
• Guide-specific downloadable resources converting at 20–41% — among the strongest email acquisition rates in the civic education space

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Email & Subscriber Growth

• Email list more than tripled since January — from 95 to 298 active subscribers as of July 9, with 86 new subscribers in the last 14 days alone
• The ballot-mailing launch on June 25 triggered the fastest growth period in organizational history — averaging 6 new subscribers per day since ballots hit mailboxes
• Consistent open rates of 29%+ — well above nonprofit industry averages
• Form submissions hit their highest single week of the year in late June, directly tracking the primary election ramp-up
• On track to reach 500 subscribers by December 31, driven by the August 4 primary and November 3 general election cycles

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Organizational Infrastructure

• 501(c)(3) recognition achieved September 2025
• Board seated, bylaws adopted, and governance structure fully in place
• Grant pipeline active with two applications in progress; grant writing partnership established
• 454 hours of documented founder time invested since recognition — $16,417 in demonstrated in-kind value (Independent Sector's 2026 Value of Volunteer Time benchmark)
• All growth achieved by a single founder working approximately 14 hours per week

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Action Plan — What We're Working On

1: Statewide Voter Guide Program

The voter guide library is Michigan Women's core program and primary traffic driver. Between now and November, keeping guides current is the most important content work we do.

• Maintain and refresh all existing statewide guides (Governor, AG, SOS, U.S. Senate, Judicial, Senate District 35) through the August 4 primary and November 3 general election
• Build out and launch U.S. House, State Senate, and State House guide pages — foundational pages exist, need full guide and download treatment
• Update and re-promote the SAVE Act guide ahead of the general election
• Add a downloadable resource to every guide page — the proven list-growth engine, no exceptions going forward
• Increase newsletter cadence from monthly to bi-weekly through election season

Target: 10,000+ guide views by November 3 general election

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2: Local Voter Engagement — Saginaw Pilot

• Civic education event with LWV of Saginaw County at Delta College — October 2026
• Begin building local voter resource content for Saginaw County races and ballot proposals ahead of November
• Document the event and resource development process for future replication in other counties

Target: 100+ event attendees; 50+ new subscribers from local outreach

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3: Civic Education Intern Program

• Partnership with SVSU Department of Political Science in active development — professor promoting Michigan Women to students this fall
• Recruit 1-2 interns for fall semester to assist with voter guide maintenance, social media, and fundraising support
• Build basic intern onboarding process and define scope before first intern starts

Target: 1-2 interns placed by September 2026

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4: Media & Influencer Outreach

• Pitch voter guides to Michigan outlets and reporters as a nonpartisan sourcing resource for races they're already covering
• Notify candidates and legislators on both sides of every covered race that a guide exists and invite corrections — symmetric, every time
• Reach out to civic-aligned organizations (LWV chapters, Center for Michigan) for content amplification and partnership
• Build on existing media appearances (Grand Rapids news, WSGW, That What She Said podcast) with targeted pitches ahead of primary and general election

Target: 3+ media placements or partnerships by November

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5: Speaker Program & Fee Revenue

• Define 2-3 core talk topics (e.g., How Michigan Elections Work, Cutting Through Misinformation, Building Local Civic Engagement)
• Build speaker page on michwomen.com: bio, topics, audience fit, fee range
• Begin outreach to civic organizations, libraries, and educational institutions for fall and winter bookings
• All speaker fees paid to Michigan Women Education Fund

Target: Page live by August; 1-2 talks booked by December

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6: Fundraising

Michigan Women has been self-funded by its founder since inception — $662/month in direct costs plus 15+ unpaid hours per week. The goal for the remainder of 2026 is to secure $30,000 in funding, enough to begin compensating the Executive Director at a sustainable rate and end founder self-subsidy.

• Grants — $15,000: Morley Foundation application submitted; Saginaw Community Foundation application in progress. Active grant writing partnership with Dell Johnson.
• Major Donors — $12,000: Founder-led, relationship-based major donor outreach targeting 3-4 donors at $2,500–$5,000 each. Board network introductions to donor prospects.
• Speaker Fees — $3,000: Revenue from 1-2 booked speaking engagements paid directly to Michigan Women Education Fund.

Total 2026 funding target: $30,000

Fundraising Progress to Date

Since receiving 501(c)(3) recognition, Michigan Women has raised $150 in outside individual donations. Every other dollar spent to build the organization has come from the founder personally:

• $2,661 in direct cash costs (subscriptions, equipment, filing fees, and other operating expenses, tracked by credit card statement)

• plus 454 hours of documented founder time — valued at $16,417 using Independent Sector's 2026 Value of Volunteer Time benchmark ($36.14/hour).

• That's roughly $19,100 in total founder investment to date, against $150 raised externally.

Two grant applications are submitted and pending decision (Morley Foundation, Saginaw Community Foundation); no grants have been received to date. The $30,000 funding goal represents the transition point: what's needed to sustain and grow the organization going forward, not what it took to build it.

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Goals — What Success Looks Like

By the end of 2026, Michigan Women should look like an organization that has moved past proof of concept and into a sustained, funded operation. That means:

• Voter guides covering all major Michigan races, fully updated through the November general election
• Email list at 500+ subscribers
• Pre-election event at Delta in partnership with LWV of Saginaw County
• First intern cohort placed and contributing
• Speaker page live and first talks booked
• $30,000 in grants, donations, and speaker fees secured
• Executive Director compensation established — founder self-funding ended

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Appendices

Appendix A: Budget

Founder In-Kind Support to Daate

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Programs and Expenses

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Appendix B: Board of Directors

Tracey Slodowski
Chair of the Board

Tracey Slodowski serves as a Saginaw County Commissioner, where she participates on key committees including Budget/Audit, Human Services, the Saginaw County Zoo Authority, the Animal Care & Control Advisory Council, and the Executive Committee. She brings experience in local government, public budgeting, and community services oversight. Tracey is pursuing her Bachelor of Applied Science in Political Science and Public Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University and holds an Associate of Science degree in Paralegal Studies from Delta College. She has a strong interest in public service, civic responsibility, and community engagement in Saginaw County.

Tracey serves on the Michigan Women board in an individual capacity.

Megan VanKuiken
Vice Chair of the Board

Megan VanKuiken is the Director of Development at RAICES, a national nonprofit providing legal and social services to immigrants and refugees. She has over a decade of experience in nonprofit fundraising and donor strategy, specializing in major gifts, campaign development, and sustainable revenue growth. Megan has held leadership roles at RAICES, Lambda Legal, and Equality Pennsylvania and brings a mission-driven approach to building strong donor communities. She is originally from Michigan and is passionate about advocacy, equity, and strengthening civic participation.

Megan serves on the Michigan Women board in an individual capacity.

Angela Conway
Treasurer of the Board

Angela Conway is the Director of Finance at Production Management One, where she leads financial strategy and business operations for a national event production company. She has more than a decade of experience in financial leadership roles, including budgeting, strategic planning, and process improvement. Angela brings a strong background in organizational accountability and financial stewardship.

Angela serves on the Michigan Women board in an individual capacity.

Katie Wiegand
Secretary of the Board

Katie Wiegand is the Human Resources Manager at Kreis Enderle, a Michigan-based law firm, where she supports organizational operations through employee relations, benefits administration, and people-centered workplace practices. She also serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors for Glass Art Kalamazoo, a nonprofit community arts organization focused on glass art education and engagement. Katie brings experience in nonprofit governance, internal systems, and supporting people through clear communication, thoughtful leadership, and collaborative decision-making.

Katie serves on the Michigan Women board in an individual capacity.

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Appendix C: Donor & Funding Integrity Policy

Michigan Women welcomes support from individuals and organizations across the political spectrum — bipartisan support is the goal, not a risk to manage. A donor's personal political affiliation is never a reason to decline funding.

Donor Policy — Who We Accept Funding From

The line is drawn at direct stake in coverage, not political identity:

• MWEF does not accept funding from: party committees, PACs, campaign committees, or any candidate/officeholder currently featured in an active MWEF guide.
• MWEF does accept funding from: individual donors, businesses, and foundations regardless of known political leanings, so long as the funder is not a direct party to a race or issue we're covering.

This distinction exists because funding from someone we're actively covering compromises independence, regardless of party.

Everyone else is welcome — a Republican business owner, a Democratic-leaning foundation, anyone with a public political identity — as long as they're not a subject of our coverage.

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Donor Privacy

MWEF does not publicly disclose donor names, amounts, or identifying information without explicit consent, consistent with IRS protections for 501(c)(3) public charities. Donor information is never shared for the purpose of public recognition unless the donor requests it.

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Grant Disclosure Note

Some grant applications require listing other funding sources as part of the application. This is a private disclosure to the grantor, not a public one, and does not conflict with MWEF's donor privacy practices — it's standard due diligence grantors use to confirm an applicant isn't overly reliant on a single funder. The same funding integrity rule applies here: any funder disclosed to a grantor should already meet MWEF's criteria (no party committees, PACs, campaign committees, or currently-covered candidates), so there's nothing to screen out case-by-case at disclosure time — the list is already clean by design.

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Appendix D: Brand Guidelines

View Box folder

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Appendix E: Conversation Agreement

To create a welcoming and productive space for meaningful discussions, we adhere to the following Conversation Agreement. Participants are encouraged to practice these guidelines to foster respect, understanding, and purpose in every conversation.

How We Will Engage

These principles set the tone for our discussions and are skills to practice.

• Be Curious and Listen to Understand: Approach the conversation with curiosity and an open mind. Listen as much as you speak, and explore how others' experiences have shaped their perspectives.
• Show Respect and Suspend Judgment: Everyone brings unique experiences and beliefs to the table. Respect differing views and set aside judgment to create an atmosphere of appreciation and mutual learning.
• Note Common Ground and Differences: Identify areas of agreement while appreciating the value of differing opinions. Both contribute to a richer, more meaningful dialogue.
• Be Authentic and Welcome Authenticity: Share your thoughts honestly and respectfully. Speak from your own experiences, and create space for others to do the same.
• Be Purposeful and Concise: Share your thoughts in a way that is relevant and focused on the topic. Be mindful of others' time and ensure everyone has a chance to contribute.
• Own and Guide the Conversation: Take responsibility for the quality of the discussion. If the conversation veers off track or agreements are not honored, gently redirect using a mutually agreed-upon signal (e.g., a "time out" sign).

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Our Shared Goals

• To learn from each other and deepen our understanding of community issues.
• To explore solutions and uncover actionable steps to make a difference.
• To foster connection and strengthen Michigan communities through respectful dialogue.

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Accountability

• By participating, you agree to uphold these principles to ensure our discussions remain respectful, productive, and solution-focused.
• Let's work together to build stronger, more connected communities!

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