The Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation, in collaboration with Traverse Connect, Rotary Charities, and Networks Northwest, has launched a brand-new “Grand Traverse Regional Project Dashboard.” According to a press release announcing the launch, the new dashboard is intended as a resource “to increase awareness about important community needs and drive collaboration amongst community leaders as they pursue local, state, and federal funding opportunities, such as through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).”

Earlier this year, the Community Foundation and its collaborators announced plans to partner with the Lansing-based Public Sector Consultants to facilitate an inventory process aimed at compiling a list of projects from throughout the five-county region of Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, and Leelanau. The projects themselves “cover a wide range of public infrastructure and other economic, societal, and environmental investments” in those counties. Local nonprofits and governmental agencies responded to the inventory process by submitting details about relevant in-progress projects, which led ultimately to the Regional Project Dashboard.

From road construction projects to TART Trail extensions to Traverse City Tourism’s efforts to bring an indoor sports facility to the region, the dashboard spans hundreds of projects and includes details about each project's estimated costs, funding sources, and more. Users can sort projects by county, lead organization, funding type, project category, and “Regional Scorecard Category,” as the dashboard is a part of the Community Foundation’s ongoing scorecard initiative.

While the dashboard is a way to keep track of projects throughout the region, Community Foundation President and CEO Dave Mengebier sees it first and foremost as a tool for creating potential collaboration opportunities for local organizations that are trying to get things done.

“Working together is critical because despite unprecedented public infrastructure investments, communities across the state and country are fighting for a share of these resources,” Mengebier said in the press release that announced the new dashboard. “By coordinating across organizations, we have a better opportunity to secure funding needed to support our region’s priorities.”

Networks Northwest CEO Matt McCauley echoed Mengebier’s remarks: “Ideally, this tool will spur partnerships and collaborations to press forward on our region’s bright future, as well as support community-driven efforts to develop and prioritize funding proposals.”

The Grand Traverse Regional Project Dashboard can be found here.