We are the
Momentum Center

Our Mission

The Momentum Center is pursuing a world where everyone is fully visible and connected.

We actively practice inclusion and value radical diversity. we champion equal access and equity of opportunity through the intentional celebration of people across all identity groups, including but not limited to age, appearance, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation, physical and mental ability, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and perspective.

How it all started

In 2015, Barbara Lee VanHorssen launched Extended Grace, a nonprofit organization encouraging people to extend more grace to one another. Her vision was to connect people who wanted to make a difference with opportunities to serve while also paying attention to the gaps in the system. Her hope was to bring collaborative energy to filling those gaps and creating a healthier, more inclusive community for all.

Conversations at coffee shops and Town Hall Meetings led Barbara and her Board to open the Momentum Center for Social Engagement. With the help of the mental health millage that our own residents helped get passed, they launched this unique social and recreational program for adults with mental illness, addictions and disabilities. A year after opening the Momentum Center, they added Momentum Center Teens, which now welcomes young people beginning at age 11.

Recently, Barbara and the Board have been working to resolve confusion around the name Extended Grace. Many people assume it is a church while others confuse it with another local nonprofit with a similar name. As we seek to share the model of the Momentum Center with other communities, it also adds a layer of structure that can be difficult to understand. Finally, we are simply better well known for our achievements with the Momentum Center.

So, we have decided to start using the Momentum Center as our primary identity. We are still “powered” by Extended Grace. Extended Grace is still our legal 501(c)3 name, but we also have an official DBA as Momentum Center. And we are hoping by using Momentum Center as our primary identity that it will be easier for others to connect with our important work.