Ken and Jill Peirce

Peirce Family Fund

Ken and Jill Peirce have a longstanding relationship with the Community Foundation, based on their shared passion for empowering local youth and developing the next generations of community leaders. Motivated by their experiences with the Youth Advisory Council (YAC), the Peirce Family Fund was established in 1996 to benefit area youth programs and projects.

The Peirces are passionate about education, youth and theater. They met while co-producing a civic theater staging of Brigadoon, with Ken playing the role of Harry Beaton. At the time, Jill was teaching theater, speech and language arts at the local junior high school.

Jill’s career was in education — first as a classroom teacher and then as a counselor for middle school and elementary students. “I enjoyed working with kids, and spending time with them made me aware of how many of them were struggling with various issues. Counseling seemed like the way to be most helpful,” she said.

Ken was born in Holland but moved to St. Louis at the age of eight with his family. His interests led him to law school, and a position as Corporate Attorney for Wolverine Worldwide eventually brought him back to West Michigan. A long, impactful career in corporate law and finance followed as he worked for a number of West Michigan-based companies including Cunningham Dalman P.C. in Holland.

Ken and Jill’s relationship with the Community Foundation reaches back to the years shortly before the Holland and Zeeland Community Foundations merged. Ken was Board President of the Holland Community Foundation at the time of the merger, and worked closely with Ann Query, Board President of the Zeeland Community Foundation to guide the project to success. “On the whole there was a positive reception to the merger. We were able to raise $4,000,000 through a matching grant program from The Kellogg Foundation — which helped both communities see the value in the decision,” he said.

Prior to Ken’s tenure as Board President, he and Jill served as volunteer advisors to the Youth Advisory Committee. Invited by Gordon VanWylen, they served as mentors for the high school students who participated. Jill said, “It was a really positive experience. We were just so impressed with the kids and how seriously they took their roles. They really wanted these grants to accomplish something.”

The Peirce’s positive experience, alongside Jill’s background in education, motivated them to establish a Field of Interest fund with the Community Foundation. Their fund supports area youth programs and projects. Grant decisions are partially driven by members of the Youth Advisory Council. Ken said, “We love to see the photos and quotes from the young people involved with the Community Foundation. That’s how this community will thrive — by investing in our youth and encouraging them to care about others.”

Originally featured in the Community Foundation’s 2019 Annual Report. While this was written by CFHZ’s Communications Associate Ellie Davis in 2020, we believe that stories of generosity are timeless and always relevant.

To learn more about our Community’s Endowment, visit www.cfhz.org/communitysendowment