JACKSON, Mich., April 14, 2025 – The Consumers Energy Foundation announced the 2025 Planet Award winners today, giving three grants totaling $500,000 to projects focused on habitat restoration and improving water quality in their respective regions. The winners are the city of Eastpointe, the city of Parchment, and the Michigan State University Infrastructure Planning and Facilities.
“The Consumers Energy Foundation is proud to contribute to protecting Michigan’s spectacular natural resources for generations to come,” said Brandon Hofmeister, president of the Consumers Energy Foundation. “The projects supported by this year’s Planet Award grants will not only restore important land and waterways, but also improve our fellow Michiganders’ quality of life.”
The three grant recipients are:
- City of Eastpointe — $250,000
Grant funding supports the city’s GreenPointe Community Initiative, which focuses on bioretention systems and tree planting to manage stormwater, improve air quality, reduce urban heat, and engage the community in sustainable practices. Funding will also support the creation of a Community Tree Nursery in an underutilized park.
- City of Parchment — $150,000
Grant funding supports the development of a model riverbank restoration along the Kalamazoo River, including the planting of native trees and shrubs for shading, cooling, and riverbank stabilization, and wildlife habitat restoration.
- MSU IPF — $100,000
Grant funding will support Red Cedar River water quality improvement, through the removal of invasive species, implementation of rain gardens to manage stormwater, and riverbank stabilization.
“We are very excited that we were selected. Eastpointe is always looking for opportunities to improve our green infrastructure and reduce stormwater runoff. We are thankful to the Consumers Energy Foundation for making this project possible,” said Eastpointe Mayor Michael Klinefelt.
“We are delighted to receive news of the 2025 Planet award and appreciate Consumers Energy’s support of the Parchment community,” said Cheryl Lyon-Jenness, chair of the city of Parchment Parks and Recreation Committee. “The award enables us to expand our work in turning our Kalamazoo riverfront — once a polluted liability for this little community — into an environmental and recreational asset with regional benefits far beyond Parchment. With these resources from Consumers Energy, the planting of wildlife friendly native trees and shrubs, riverbank restoration, and a shaded roadway and picnic area will become an environmentally sound reality in Parchment’s Riverfront Park.”
Each year the Consumers Energy Foundation provides Planet Awards to Michigan nonprofits for projects which will tangibly impact preservation and restoration of Michigan’s land, water and air. The Planet Awards are the first of three-signature grant funding opportunities, totaling $1.5 million, that the Foundation provides each year. Letters of intent for the next round of signature grants, the People Awards, are due April 25, 2025.
The Consumers Energy Foundation is the charitable arm of Consumers Energy, Michigan’s largest energy provider. The Foundation contributes to the growth and strengthening of Michigan communities by investing in what’s most important — our people, our planet and Michigan’s prosperity. In 2024, the Consumers Energy Foundation, CMS Energy Foundation, Consumers Energy, its employees and retirees contributed more than $15 million in support of Michigan nonprofits and communities. For more information, visit consumersenergy.com/foundation.
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