1. Welcome

2. The Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership opened in 1992.
History
The Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership opened in 1992.
Renamed in honor of Dorothy A. Johnson in 1999.
Thanks to the vision of Don Lubbers, president emeritus of GVSU, Dr. Russ Mawby, chairman emeritus of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and support from the community, the Johnson Center opened its doors in the fall of The center was renamed in honor of Dorothy A. Johnson in 1999 for her extraordinary efforts to shape the philanthropic landscape into the model we enjoy today.
Today the center is a growing state and national provider of information, education, and professional development for the philanthropic sector. Our initiatives include:
Community Research Institute,
The Foundation Review,
Frey Chair for Family Philanthropy,
Philanthropic Services; including The Grantmaking School and Nonprofit Services, and
Johnson Center Philanthropy Archives and Library.
Don Lubbers
Dr. Russ Mawby
Dorothy A. Johnson

7. Program Areas
What We Do

8. Institute for Foundation and Donor Learning
The Grantmaking School
The Foundation Review
LearnPhilanthropy.org

9. Frey Foundation Chair for Family Philanthropy
The nation’s first endowed chair focusing on family philanthropy.
Applied research
Teaching, professional development
Public service
Advance & promote the field of family philanthropy
The Frey Foundation Chair for Family Foundations and Philanthropy is the nation's first endowed chair focusing on family philanthropy. It was created through a gift to the Johnson Center’s endowment from the Frey Foundation in Grand Rapids, one of Michigan’s largest family foundations.
Dr. Michael Moody became the first holder of the “Frey Chair” in He works with a network of national advisors and partners to implement a comprehensive program of applied research, teaching, professional development, and public service, all designed to advance and promote the field of family philanthropy.
The work of the Frey Chair is one way the Johnson Center is increasing its national – and even international – activities and reputation. The Chair produces nationally disseminated reports, speaks widely both in Michigan and beyond, and organizes the Johnson Center National Summit on Family Philanthropy every two years.

10. W.K. Kellogg Community Philanthropy Chair
Works to advance the field of community philanthropy — locally, nationally, and internationally.
Original research
Field building
Advising & consulting
And thought leadership

11. Nonprofit Services Workshops & seminars One-on-one & group coaching
Consulting services
Technical assistance
The Nonprofit Services (NS) at the Johnson Center for Philanthropy promote good practice in the nonprofit sector by providing support, education, and information to leaders of nonprofit organizations. Created in response to the needs of the nonprofit field, NS promotes excellence in nonprofits by identifying and disseminating good practices in governance, leadership, and management of nonprofit organizations.
Educating organizations through workshops and seminars covering topics of timely interest to the nonprofit sector, geared toward board members, executive directors, and nonprofit staff
Coaching organizations one-to-one to improve their capacity
Connecting organizations and individuals with the resources they need to run their organizations successfully and build their leadership and management skills
Providing organizations with good practices, through online resources, workshops, and tools

12. Community Research Institute
Data tools
Program evaluation
Research, analysis, reporting
In-house & web resources: VoiceKent, Community Profiles
The Community Research Institute (CRI) gathers, analyzes, interprets, and shares national and local data through partnerships with nonprofit and neighborhood groups in an effort to assist local and regional nonprofit leaders with decision making, grant writing, and program evaluation. CRI activities promote cooperation across governmental, commercial, and nonprofit sectors in West Michigan.
CRI maintains MAPAS, a one-stop interactive mapping and data application tool, aimed to make relevant local, state, and federal information more readily accessible to foundations, nonprofit groups, government, media groups, and citizens at large. MAPAS provides a platform for achieving greater access and dissemination of information, but more importantly, it is a tool that facilitates dialog around relevant community issues and opportunities for organizations across sectors to solve them.
The Community Research Institute operates on the belief that better information leads to better communities. We do this by:
Collaborating with community agencies and promoting cooperation across the governmental, commercial, and nonprofit sectors to access and gather explicit data supporting informed community decisions
Conducting original research to gather, analyze, and interpret data in a range of socio, economic, and demographic conditions and trends
Applying advanced technology to gain new data and insights that improve local decision-making
Measuring results and reporting outcomes of investments in community change