Royal Oak Civic Foundation Announces Grants for Four Community Projects
(ROCF, Aug. 24, 2025)
Royal Oak, MI – The Royal Oak Civic Foundation announced grants to four city agencies at its annual fundraising event August 21. Funds will go to the library, animal shelter, commission for the arts and the historic Orson Starr house.
“With proceeds from this event and our annual fundraising campaign we’re now able to support projects that benefit the people of Royal Oak but aren’t part of everyday budgets,” said foundation Chair Tom McGannon. He revealed the awards at Arts, Beat and Eats on 5th, the foundation’s preview of the attractions coming to the Labor Day weekend festival, Arts, Beats and Eats.
Four grants were awarded in the amount of $2,000 each. The Royal Oak Public Library will install outdoor musical instruments, with a sign in braille, near the butterfly garden at the library. The Royal Oak Lions Club & the Friends of the Library also will donate to the project.
Project Rapid Reunite would provide the police department with microchip scanners so found, chipped animals could be scanned immediately and reunited with their owners, avoiding the Royal Oak Animal Shelter.
To engage younger creators, the Royal Oak Commission for the Arts will commission a community-themed work by an artist aged 16-25, for public display in the city.
The Royal Oak Historical Commission will commemorate the 180th birthday of the Orson Starr House with a fun run through historic sites and house tours.
In its third year, Arts, Beats and Eats on 5th drew several hundred guests, with tastes of the food, beverage, music and art anticipated at Arts, Beats and Eats, coming to downtown Royal Oak August 29 through September 1.
“We are deeply grateful to the sponsors who helped make this event possible and thereby enabled us to fund these worthwhile initiatives,” McGannon said.
Sponsors included the Arts Beats and Eats Foundation, Boji Group, Oakland Community College, Robertson Brothers, Specialty Pain Management, Citizens State Bank, Corewell Health, First American Title, Jim Shaffer Associates, AF Jonna, Bamboo Royal Oak, Broder Sachse, Collens Estate Law, Hotel Royal Oak/Rasor Law Firm, Hubbell, Roth and Clark, Nowak & Fraus, Patts Word Art, Plante Moran Realpoint and Rosati Schultz Joppich & Amtsbuechler.
The foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, supports civic entities that receive little or no tax-based funding and groundbreaking community projects that improve quality of life in the city.
