As lifelong public servants, Jim and Andrea Ananich have always been in tune with the many needs of residents, service gaps for families, and opportunities for solutions in Flint and Genesee County. That knowledge, combined with a desire to help as many people as possible, made narrowing down the scope of their Ananich Legacy Foundation, tricky.
“Jim and I have both always thought that being engaged in our community was incredibly important,” Andrea Ananich said. “So he did that from being an elected official and bringing resources to the community, and then I was in education for a really long time. After both of our jobs ended at the same time, we realized that we wanted to do more and put more resources back into the community. We adopted our son out of foster care, so foster care resources are very important to both of us, so we’re trying to identify the gaps within that. And there’s a lot of them. So how can we help bring resources to that population specifically? We have been doing civic engagement stuff, voter outreach, those kinds of things.”
In addition to adopting their son, Andrea also has experience with the system by currently working in the foster care space in Michigan. The family’s personal experience with that system and the needs of young people within it is something the Ananichs hope their Foundation eventually helps alleviate.
“Long term, what we want is to do things that help kids in foster care,” Jim Ananich said. “When they age out of foster care once they hit 18, there’s a lot of services available for them and they don’t even know it. Whether that’s help getting housing or other needs. We want our foundation to help in some way, shape, or form connect to those services they need.”
Down the road, support for the foster care system could include resources for foster families, strengthening mental and emotional health support programs for kids in the system, educational and job training opportunities, and more.
But while that longer term vision is established, both also have an eye on practical, immediate needs in the community. Andrea and Jim were public school teachers, they come from families with parents who were teachers, and Jim has served in a variety of elected roles, including Flint City Council, the Michigan House of Representatives, and the Michigan Senate, including serving as Senate Minority Leader.
Their experiences as teachers and legislators have given both insight into real challenges for families in Flint and Genesee County, so the initial goal of the Ananich Foundation is to simply help. An immediate need they recognized as a problem for many Flint families, and potentially getting worse with federal legislation aimed at reducing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits families receive on the horizon, is access to healthy food.
“The first big hit from the BBB Bill (Trump’s tax and spending bill) appears to be food,” Jim Ananich said. “We have a lot of food insecurity already in our town, so we’re partnering with St. Luke’s.”
The Ananich Legacy Foundation is hosting its first fundraiser from 6-8 p.m. on October 2 at the Flint Farmers’ Market for Jim’s 50th birthday. Tickets and sponsorships for the event are available on the Foundation’s website. Proceeds will support the St. Luke’s Food Pantry and their food box program.
“When Jim ran for office, he always had a birthday fundraiser around this time, so since he’s not running anymore, we’re doing the fundraiser for the Foundation,” Andrea Ananich said. “This initial fundraiser will go into a program that gives people in the community food boxes. What’s so unique about this program is that within the box, there are also non-perishables like fresh fruit, vegetables, and a protein.”
The goal for the first fundraiser is to raise at least $20,000, which would be enough to fund the program for a year.
Removing Barriers for New Leaders
As people who come from humble backgrounds and were raised in families that valued and prioritized community service, both Ananichs see mentoring young people as a future component of work the foundation will support.
“I think for both of us, it was our parents (who instilled the idea of service),” Andrea Ananich said. “We both were raised here, my parents and his parents always volunteered. My mom and his dad actually knew each other and worked in the schools together, so they were all educators too. I think just growing up within that environment had a big impact on us.”
While he was in the Michigan House and Senate, Jim Ananich had his experiences growing up in a working class community in mind while hiring interns. Political internships are often competitive and can be difficult to attain, and young people who have higher family incomes that allow them to do more free internships to gain experiences are often at an advantage over people from lower income backgrounds.
“One thing I noticed in Lansing was I would get these great résumés with amazing internships, and I realized that if you have the resources to do a bunch of internships for free, you’re gonna end up with a much better chance of getting a job than somebody who has to work as a lifeguard or some other summer job because they have to pay for school,” he said.
He started a paid fellowship program and the first fellow he hired into the program was actually a former student of his at Flint Northern who was working as a bank teller. He was interested in film and videography, but didn’t have enough experience to pursue that passion full-time yet. Through the fellowship, it gave him 12 paid weeks of experience working on a professional video team in Lansing.
“He didn’t want to walk in the door at first, he didn’t think he’d belong,” Jim Ananich said. “I was like, ‘no, no … this is your office now in the Capitol.’ I put him on the digital and videography team, so he got a lot of experience and now he’s doing it more full-time. That triggered something for me, like I have to figure out a way to make this permanent.”
Locally, several new leaders have not only benefitted from Ananich’s willingness to provide mentorship over the years, they’ve also begun to emerge as leaders themselves.
Dylan Luna, who is a board member for the Ananich Legacy Foundation, was elected to the Flint Board of Education in 2022 and currently serves as treasurer.
“Jim is a one of kind,” Luna said. “He’s driven by helping others— whether it be a stranger or friend. So happy to celebrate with him as he continues to lead, thrive, and deliver”
Perci Whitmore became the youngest person to ever run for the Mott Community College Board of Trustees in 2024 and has also taken on a leadership role in the Genesee County Democratic Party.
“Jim Ananich is more than a leader—he is a true civil servant,” Whitmore said. “Anyone who has ever gone to him in need knows that he shows up. I didn’t fully understand politics when I started, but Jim made sure I understood what it means to be a servant to the people. He taught me that in this line of duty, you must carve your own path and never inherit someone else’s enemies. Relationships are unique, and in every one of them, we must make intentional room in our hearts for hope. To me, Jim is not just a colleague or a friend—he is family. From little Jake to his incredible partner Mrs. Ananich, their love and service remind us what community looks like. Flint has been given an esteemed honor in Jim: a king who has the rare gift of raising up more kings and queens. As Jim always says, ‘If you find what you want, focus on it, and build the right relationships, the rest will come.’”
Domonique Clemons, who was elected to the Genesee County Commission and then the Genesee County Clerk/Register of Deeds in 2024 after being appointed in 2022, is also on the Foundation’s board.
“Jim Ananich continues to be a pillar and inspiration to many people in our community,” Clemons said. “He has always believed in cultivating the next generation of talent and making room for new ideas. Jim has been a close mentor and friend to me for years and was a big driving force in me first running for office in 2020. His passion for the Flint community is apparent in everything he does.”
The role of connector and supporter behind the scenes often personally suits Ananich better than being the “face” of things in a prominent elected role, and he’s excited to see new leaders emerging in Flint and beyond.
“It’s ironic, I was in politics all those years, and I’m the one who wants to just sit in the back of the room and be a part of what’s going on,” he said. “Those guys (Luna, Clemons, Whitmore, and other young politicians in Flint), they give me more credit than I think I deserve. I’m always here to help, but I like seeing other people get a chance (to lead).”
Building Future Connections
Although the life, government, and policy experiences the Ananichs have often leads to a wealth of ideas for how to support and help the community, there’s also a much simpler philosophy driving their philanthropy: they want to leave a legacy for their son Jacob.
“It’s not just what we do, it’s that the people that benefit from whatever we can do then go into their community and do the same,” Andrea Ananich said. “Joy spreads quicker than hate, even though we aren’t seeing that right this second. But to me, that’s what brings me hope, raising our son within this to understand why volunteerism is important, why caring about people is important, why showing people you care about them is important. So the legacy really for us is passing those ideals and this foundation onto our son.”
Jim Ananich noted that there will likely always be things the Foundation won’t be financially equipped to help with, but their ability to connect people to other resources also adds value even when they can’t monetarily.
“Citizens don’t know how to engage the government,” he said. “Zoning boards, planning commissions, school boards. They’ve never been taught how to do those jobs. So we want to do some civic affairs. So like for me, it’s educating board people when they get on boards, how to be more active, how to hold people accountable.”
Ananich also sees a need for providing education and teaching beyond just how to engage with the government. Teaching the community about volunteer opportunities and needs and how to connect in those spaces is also something he sees as valuable knowledge that could eventually be shared through the Foundation.
“I think a lot of people want to volunteer and do volunteer work, but don’t always necessarily know how to connect,” he said. “I’d like to create a pathway where, if you want to be involved with something, we’d like to help you figure out what you want to do or how to use your talents. I don’t have a plan yet (for the Foundation’s long-term goals), but I just want people to be involved in the community.”
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