If you live in Midland, Michigan, you've probably seen the annual crowdfunding campaigns pop up on your social media feed. A local business with a video, a Patronicity link, and a countdown clock. Friends and neighbors donating $50 or $100. A big matching fund number displayed prominently. It looks like a feel-good community story, and in many ways it is.
But before we get into the more complicated questions this site exists to raise, it's worth understanding exactly what the MYPros Community Crowdfund is, how it works, and who's involved. Because the details matter.
The MYPros Community Crowdfund is an annual program launched in 2019. The idea is straightforward: a selected local Midland County business runs a public crowdfunding campaign, and once the community raises a set amount, the Midland Area Community Foundation matches it with additional funds. In recent years the total package has been $60,000 — $25,000 raised publicly, $35,000 matched by the foundation.
It's modeled on a community validation concept: if enough people in the community donate to support a business, that signals the community actually wants this business to succeed, which justifies the institutional match. It's a format used by the crowdfunding platform Patronicity across dozens of Michigan communities, and it's a legitimate and well-regarded approach to community investment.
Three organizations are involved:
The Midland Business Alliance (MBA) is the umbrella organization. MYPros — Midland Young Professionals — is a program of the MBA, not a separate entity. The MBA administers the crowdfund, manages the application process, and provides staff support. The MBA is a registered nonprofit.
MYPros (Midland Young Professionals) is the young professionals program that gives the crowdfund its name. MYPros has a Crowdfunding Subcommittee that reviews applications and selects the recipient. The subcommittee is made up of MYPros members.
The Midland Area Community Foundation (MACF) provides the matching funds. MACF is a registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization that holds and invests community assets. The matching funds come from the foundation's Impact Investing Committee, which directs earned interest from the foundation's investments toward programs like this crowdfund.
Since 2025, the program has used a pitch competition format. Applications open in early February. The MYPros Crowdfunding Subcommittee narrows applicants to three finalists. Those finalists pitch at a MYPros networking event. MYPros members vote on the winner. The winning business then builds its Patronicity campaign and runs it for approximately 30 days.
According to publicly available MBA program descriptions, any qualifying Midland County for-profit business can apply, as long as they are a Midland Business Alliance member or willing to join, and as long as their project enhances the community through placemaking, expanded services, or economic growth.
What the public eligibility criteria do not address: whether MYPros members are permitted to apply, whether MBA or MACF board members are excluded, or how conflicts of interest among selectors are managed. This is where the questions on this site begin.
We think the program is a genuinely good idea. We have questions about how it's been administered — specifically about the overlap between the people running the selection process and the people benefiting from it. Those questions are documented in detail elsewhere on this site. Start with the complete recipient history or jump straight to the eight questions we'd like answered.