Who We Are
We are an independent foundation informed by the vision of our Founders, Adolph and Ginger Meyer.
For over 40 years we have supported the sustainable development of Michigan agriculture and community food systems, the protection of Michigan’s land and natural resources, and the preservation of expressions of America’s heritage.
Supporting Sustainable Development For Over 40 Years
Our Office is Located at the MSU Tollgate Farm and Education Center in Novi, Michigan
Featured News
Stay informed with our featured news, providing you with the latest updates on key developments and stories.
Exhibition co-sponsored by the Americana Foundation explores an untold chapter in American history
A landmark exhibition co-organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art will focus on the work of Black potters in the 19th-century American South. The exhibition presents approximately 60 ceramic objects from Old Edgefield District, South Carolina, a center of stoneware production in the decades before the Civil War,
MIFARMLINK: Cultivating Connections
A new web-based program is moving across the state to preserve Michigan farms and farming communities by shepherding land to the next generation of stewards. When you think of Michigan’s largest economic drivers, what comes to mind? Automotive has topped the list for decades, but agriculture is an important second. Michigan’s diverse food and ag
Building a Place in the Soo for Children to Create, Learn, and Play
Since 2016, the Soo Locks Children’s Museum, a registered 501(c)(3) organization, has been working with community partners to create a museum to serve nearly 4,000 children in a rural three-county region in the Eastern Upper Peninsula. The area features tremendous natural resources but has a nearly 30% child poverty rate and few organized and affordable
The Place to Bee: Detroit Hives and the GO GREEN Botanical Garden
Detroit has long been home to a vibrant urban farming community, and many Detroiters and neighborhood associations have created green spaces to make their neighborhoods more attractive, healthier, and more sustainable. Still, many of the vacant lots in Detroit remain overgrown and neglected. According to Detroit Future City, Detroit has 24 square miles of vacant
Fostering a Regional Food System in Northeast Michigan
A recent Americana grant will help to expand and stabilize the food system in Northeast Michigan – in the words of the grant recipient, to create “a region where local food and farming are an avenue for wealth creation and economic development, where healthy-fresh food is available to all residents in convenient, affordable, and accessible
Historic New England: Expanding the Traditional Historical Narratives of New England Life
For more than a century, Historic New England (HNE) has engaged audiences to develop a deeper understanding and enjoyment of New England home life. HNE’s 38 historic homes, farms, and landscapes across Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island span four centuries and feature a variety of architectural styles, beautiful gardens and natural areas.
Americana Next Gen Cohort Selects Three 2022 Grantees
In the spring and summer of 2022, the “next generation” of Americana’s founding family participated in the second year of a program designed to introduce them to Americana’s mission, program areas, and priorities. The Next Gen cohort includes Jessie Harper, Kyle Harper, Ashley Thomas, Jennifer Thomas, and Nathan Thomas, all of whom are great-grandchildren of
Micah 6 Community: Building the Neighborhood that Pontiac Deserves
Coleman Yoakum, founder and Executive Director of Micah 6 Community, came to Pontiac in 2012 hoping to serve a neighborhood that had high crime, high foreclosure, and high unemployment. He and a group of equally passionate and capable friends bought a house in Pontiac, formed Micah 6 Community, and became part of the neighborhood. The
![The Alliance of Leadership Fellows (ALF) will use a recent grant from Americana to develop a series of Climate Crisis Dialogues that will enable climate advocates to share perspectives about how differing forms of evidence and impact---while they converge in painting a devastating picture---must be understood and integrated in building new connections and fostering alliances to stimulate collective action. ALF asserts that scientific consensus and public awareness have now come together to the point that many people, and especially young people, describe climate change as the most significant issue facing the world today. ALF cites a 2020 Pew Research Center survey that found that most Americans believe too little is being done to reduce the effects of climate change. ALF believes that while “public awareness is high and public understanding is growing, public commitment and action is at best uneven and differs by age, location, racial identity and political affiliation.” ALF asserts that, The [climate crisis] touches on virtually every sector of our society and many aspects of our daily lives. While many forms of evidence point to a significant if very complex reality, both evidence and solutions have the effect of dividing people even when the challenge of a climate crisis confronts us in a collective way. Some concerns focus on the disproportionate impact a climate crisis would have on the poor and disenfranchised. Others center on environmental degradation around the world pointing to species extinction, glacial melt, floods, and droughts. Still others point to social and economic impacts of wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes, and other weather extremes. Some see the solution in changing what we eat, or in what, where and how we travel, or in international agreements, or in a social movement. This series of Climate Crisis Dialogues will highlight the analyses, concerns, and interests of a diverse group of climate advocates to help them find common ground across their respective analyses and concerns and stimulate commitment and collective action. Ultimately, ALF intends the series to challenge assumptions underlying various approaches to climate mitigation to reduce the obstacles that are preventing widespread recognition from translating into widespread commitment and the broadly endorsed actions that are necessary to confront the climate crisis. The Climate Crisis Dialogues, a part of ALF’s “Talk that Walks” initiative, will take place quarterly throughout 2022 and will include at least four webinars followed by podcasts and other communications and outreach designed to share information and expand audiences. Topics covered will include the impact of climate change on ecosystems, the most vulnerable, the healthcare system, global food security and production, and environmental justice. ALF’s mission is to help leaders working for equitable and sustainable human flourishing to become more effective individually and in collaboration with one another. ALF represents transformational leaders in communities, institutions and across societies and has three broad goals: Inform and promote action to bring collective leadership to shaping social justice and equity issues and conditions Promote and expand an intergenerational and global leadership community Build a national and international presence through recognition of courageous leadership. More information about ALF is available on the ALF website.](https://americanafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/bb-plugin/cache/clock_image-landscape-ce44f0bcaf8ae1dec4b8495be0edbd49-.jpg "clock_image")
A Minute Before Midnight: The Alliance of Leadership Fellows Develops Dialogues to Spark Action on the Global Climate Crisis
The Alliance of Leadership Fellows (ALF) will use a recent grant from Americana to develop a series of Climate Crisis Dialogues that will enable climate advocates to share perspectives about how differing forms of evidence and impact—while they converge in painting a devastating picture—must be understood and integrated in building new connections and fostering alliances