2022 has been a fruitful year for MAF. From the scholarships, historic preservation, and Architecture Awareness Grants we awarded; to fundraising events for programs that make life better for Michigan residents through architecture – and the news we shared on MAF programs, volunteers, and donors via our communications channels and website – we are proud of the impact we created in 2022.
Here are highlights from MAF’s year in review:
MAF’s Grant and Award Programs That Support our Communities and our Residents
Evans Graham 2022 Historic Preservation Grant Awarded to the Palmer Log Cabin Kitchen Restoration. The $20,000 MAF grant is helping to fund the cleaning, reassembly, repair, and restoration of defining features of the property’s 1885 kitchen, including the cabin’s original stove, kitchen cabinetry, and wainscoting, and rebuilding the chimney.
Built in 1885, the log cabin, located in Detroit, was designed by architects George D. Mason and Zachariah Rice for U.S. Senator Thomas Palmer and his wife Lizzie Merrill Palmer, and is now utilized as a public event space. The building’s rustic log exterior encloses a Victorian interior that features stained glass windows; paneled pocket doors; and a beautifully carved wooden staircase. https://michiganarchitecturalfoundation.org/grants/evans-graham-preservation-award/
MAF Awards $32,500 in Architecture Student Scholarships. In 2022, MAF awarded eleven scholarships totaling $32,500 to ten Michigan college and university architecture students. MAF awards the scholarships annually to students who are completing a Bachelor’s Degree program and who have been accepted or are currently enrolled in a professional program leading to a Master of Architecture degree. One scholarship, the Richard M. and Sydney K. Robinson Scholarship, is awarded annually to a student at the University of Michigan completing their first year of architecture studies.
Watch MAF’s website for the opening of the scholarship application process (in January) and for exciting news related to changes and the expansion of our scholarship program (including new scholarships from AIA Grand Rapids). https://michiganarchitecturalfoundation.org/scholarships/
MAF’s Architecture Awareness Grants Support Three Key Projects in 2022. MAF’s Architecture Awareness Grants provide financial assistance to organizations and individuals that organize, sponsor and promote events, lectures, publications, and experiences that increase awareness of architecture. In 2022, grants were awarded to support the following projects:
MAF’s Architecture Awareness Grants are awarded each January and July. Find out more about the program and how to apply: https://michiganarchitecturalfoundation.org/grants/awareness-grants/
MAF Events That Supported, Celebrated, and Commemorated
2022 MAF Donor Appreciation Event. On April 28, MAF held its annual Donor Recognition Event, to recognize and thank MAF’s donors for their contributions to MAF. MAF ‘s 2022 Scholarship recipients and Evans Graham Preservation Award Winner were also introduced at the event.
MAF’s ‘Fore a Great Cause!” Golf Outing Raises a Record $31,000. On May 23, MAF held its annual golf fundraiser at Western Golf & Country Club in Redford. The event is a key source of investment for MAF architecture student scholarships, as well as MAF’s K12 educational programs and Architecture Awareness Grants. The outing also includes a silent charity auction, which is the kickoff event for MAF’s annual Auction for Education. Read more.
MAF’s Auction for Education Raises $16,000. The annual auction is held as two events – a silent charity auction at MAF’s Fore a Great Cause Golf Outing in May, and the AIAMI Midsummer Conference in August. Proceeds help support MAF’s architecture-based K-12 educational resources, including ‘Architecture: it’s Elementary’ and ‘ArchiTreks’ . Proceeds also support MAF’s Architecture Awareness Grants, for architecture-related programming including NOMA (National Association of Minority Architects) Detroit’s Project Pipeline Camps, which expose minority and under-represented high school students throughout Michigan to careers in architecture. Read more.
Launch of the Inaugural Grand Rapids Scholarship Event: MAF and AIA Grand Rapids’ inaugural, ‘Imagine Tomorrow – a Toast to Our Future’scholarship fundraiser (which took place Oct. 20, 2022) was a huge success. The sold-out event at the Grand Rapids Art Museum’s (GRAM) Cook Auditorium launched the endowment of the AIA Grand Rapids Scholarship Fund. The event raised more than $25,000 for student scholarships. Read more about the event
MAF 2022 Banicki Bacchus Bash Scholarship Fundraiser Raises Over $12,000. On November 17, 2022, MAF friends and supporters came together at the historic Detroit Athletic Club to celebrate the annual Banicki Bacchus Bash, a MAF special event honoring long-time MAF supporters Katherine and the late John Banicki and to benefit MAF’s Scholarship Fund in their name. Read more about the event.
Content That Increased Awareness of Michigan Architecture and our Built Environment
On the Road Again: MAF’s Architecture Road Trip Series once again took readers on tours around the state to view and experience Michigan architecture, from early Spring to late Fall. 2022 architecture road trips featured Downtown Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, the Great Lakes Bay Region, and Northwest Michigan.
Michigan Architecture Profiles. Each month, MAF highlights Michigan architecture, including interesting facts about each property, the architect who designed them, and its role in Michigan’s architectural history. In 2022, MAF featured properties including the Michigan State Capitol Building, the Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM), Alden B. Dow House and Studio, the Village at Grand Traverse Commons, Albert Kahn-designed jewels on Belle Isle, and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Affleck House.
To read more about MAF’s Architecture Road Trips and Michigan Architecture Profiles, visit the News section of the MAF website.
MAF’s ‘Architecture Inspires’ Photo Contest Returns. In 2022, MAF held its second annual photo contest. The contest invites architecture fans and photography lovers to capture their favorite Michigan architecture and show how it motivates, inspires, and connects with people, and enriches life (look for the announcement on our 2022 contest winners in MAF’s January newsletter). Photos from contest entrants are featured on the MAF website.
Other Content featured in MAF’s Newsletters, Website, and Social Media Channels
Throughout 2022, MAF featured a wide variety of additional content that supports our mission to advance awareness of how architecture enriches life, including profiles on MAF Scholarship winners, donors, and our MAF Leadership Award recipient Kirk Delzer; and updates from MAF president Doug Kueffner. We also featured stories on MAF’s free educational resources for children, MAF’s Build Imagination STEM toy kits (available through Michigan libraries), and a chocolate-making class fundraising event led by architect and attorney Fred Butters; and shared information on other architecture-related tours and events.
We look forward to sharing updates regarding MAF programs, grants, awards and recipients, and MAF news with you in the coming year (be sure to subscribe to our social media channels, forward our newsletter to other architecture lovers, and visit MAF’s website frequently – and if course, if you have your own Michigan architecture-related news to share or a story idea, we would love to hear from you).