The Basic Structure
The MYPros Community Crowdfund is an annual program that combines public crowdfunding with institutional matching to direct money to a selected Midland County business. Here's how the official version works:
1
Businesses Apply
Any qualifying Midland County for-profit business can apply. Requirements include MBA membership (or willingness to join) and a project that enhances the community through placemaking, expanded services, or economic growth.
Requirement: Must be or become an MBA member. MYPros members appear to apply frequently.
2
Subcommittee Selects
The MYPros Crowdfunding Subcommittee reviews applications and selects three finalists, who pitch at a MYPros networking event. Members vote on the winner.
Subcommittee includes Kevin LaDuke (MACF employee) and Patrick McElgunn (past recipient).
3
Community Crowdfunds
The selected business runs a campaign on Patronicity.com, asking the public to donate. In 2026, the goal is $25,000. The campaign has a hard deadline.
Partial funding applies — business keeps whatever is raised even if goal isn't met.
4
MACF Matches
The Midland Area Community Foundation matches the amount raised with up to $35,000, drawn from its Impact Investing Committee's earned interest.
In 2024, the MACF board member whose business won received this match.
The Organizations Involved
Midland Business Alliance (MBA)
Program Administrator
The MBA is a registered nonprofit that serves as the umbrella organization for MYPros. It administers the crowdfund program, manages the application process, and provides staff support through employees like Isabelle Pasciolla (Marketing & Program Specialist) and Marybeth Penkala (Senior Director of Business Engagement). Both are MYPros members and both donated to the 2026 Live Oak campaign.
MYPros — Midland Young Professionals
Program Operator — Selection Body
MYPros is a program of the MBA, not a separate organization. Its Crowdfunding Subcommittee selects recipients. The subcommittee is made up of MYPros members — meaning the people selecting who receives the money are also members of the same organization whose members frequently win the money. The subcommittee chair, Kevin LaDuke, is simultaneously a Communications Officer at MACF.
Midland Area Community Foundation (MACF)
Matching Funder
MACF is a registered 501(c)(3) public charity that holds and distributes community assets. It provides the matching funds for the crowdfund through its Impact Investing Committee. Its CEO, Sharon Mortensen, donated $100 (and Rob & Sharon Mortensen donated a combined $450) to the 2026 Live Oak campaign — the campaign her organization is obligated to match. The 2024 crowdfund recipient's owner, Ali Huntoon, sat on MACF's Board of Trustees while her business received MACF-matched funds.
Patronicity
Crowdfunding Platform
Patronicity is a Michigan-based crowdfunding platform that specializes in community and placemaking projects. It hosts the public campaign pages and processes donations. The platform itself is not a party to the governance questions raised on this site — it's simply the vehicle through which the public donations are collected.
Where the Money Comes From
This is worth understanding clearly. The MACF matching funds are not a direct community donation — they come from the foundation's Impact Investing Committee, which invests community assets and directs the earned interest toward programs like this crowdfund.
In practical terms: MACF holds community money, invests it, earns interest, and commits a portion of that interest to match the crowdfund. The community crowdfunding campaign is what "unlocks" the match — meaning if the public doesn't raise $25,000, the full $35,000 match isn't triggered.
A reasonable question: if the Midland Area Community Foundation has already committed $35,000 to support a local business, why does the public need to raise $25,000 first? The crowdfund component adds a community validation step — but it also means community members are asked to donate money in order to trigger institutional money the foundation has already decided to give.
The Selection Process — 2025 Format
Beginning in 2025, MYPros introduced a pitch competition format:
- Applications open in early February
- The MYPros Crowdfunding Subcommittee narrows applicants to three finalists
- Finalists pitch at a MYPros networking event
- MYPros members vote on the winner
- The winning business builds its Patronicity campaign
- The public campaign runs for approximately 30 days
The subcommittee that narrows applicants to three finalists is the critical gatekeeping step — and it's the step that has the most documented overlap between selectors and potential beneficiaries.
Eligibility Requirements
According to publicly available MBA program descriptions, businesses must:
- Be a Midland Business Alliance member, or be willing to join
- Be a for-profit business
- Propose a specific project that enhances the community through placemaking, expands services, or contributes to local economic growth
Notably absent from the public eligibility requirements: any mention of whether MYPros members are permitted to apply, whether MBA or MACF board members are excluded, or how conflicts of interest among selectors are managed.
No public conflict of interest policy for this program has been identified in any publicly available document from the Midland Business Alliance or the Midland Area Community Foundation.
Partial Funding
The 2026 campaign page on Patronicity notes that this is a "partial funding" campaign — meaning Live Oak Coffeehouse collects all donations received by the May 1, 2026 deadline regardless of whether the $25,000 goal is met. Whether the full $35,000 MACF match is triggered by a partial campaign is a question worth asking publicly.