League Brand Guidelines

Department Terminology

• Michigan Municipal League Foundation —Abbreviated to MML Foundation or The Foundation on second and subsequent references. Do not use MMLF in external facing spaces. • The MML Foundation is run by a Board of Directors and is led by a Chair and Vice Chair. MML Foundation Board members should be referred to as Directors. • When we describe the MML Foundation , we say that we are the philanthropic arm of the League. We don’t say we are the nonprofit because, technically, the League itself is a nonprofit organization (just an ‘unusual’ nonprofit). We also don’t call ourselves a charity. • When talking about the history of the Foundation , please lean towards describing our early years as “focused on the education of local elected 0s.” Sometimes the Foundation is talked about as having “not done much until recently” or “was just a pass through for grants for a long time.” This usually comes up in face-to-face meetings, not publications. • Grantees or grant partners —Not winners/awardees. • Grant partners —Used to refer to grant funders, unless it is specifically a sponsor. We prefer to use the term grant partner instead of donor or sponsor . • Granting/grant giving/re-granting —We prefer not to use this term when talking about funding we receive that is then transformed into grants for communities; instead, say we have grant opportunities for communities or that we give grants . • Website —https://mmlfoundation.org/

MAY 2024

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