The Kresge Foundation

As Thanksgiving brings us together with loved ones, we at The Kresge Foundation want to express our deepest gratitude to you—our partners, grantees, and readers. Being in community with you and seeing your impact on the world inspires us. For that, especially now, we are grateful. In 2024, we celebrated a century of impact, capped by extraordinary moments like President Obama joining us for?Kresge at 100, gathering hundreds of partners in Detroit for?Our Urban Future, and the debut of our centennial exhibit at the Detroit Historical Society. This year's milestone was a testament to the power of partnership in driving equity and opportunity. As we reflect today, we also honor the Indigenous peoples whose stewardship of the land continues to guide and inspire us. Their enduring contributions call us to work toward a more just and sustainable future. From all of us at The Kresge Foundation, may your #Thanksgiving be filled with warmth, connection, great food, peace and gratitude. Thank you for being part of our shared mission and celebrating 100 years of impact with us. #HappyThanksgiving

“We don’t need to fix workers; we need to fix the systems that serve workers. We need funding models that support workers and address the opportunity costs of training,” Sarah Mostafa, program director at the The Families and Workers Fund said at a recent panel at Kresge's Our Urban Future symposium. Building a climate and clean energy economy requires bold, inclusive policies that prioritize worker rights and community engagement at every step. #climate #jobs

PAID summer internship position at The Kresge Foundation for a Graduate Student studying higher education. Details: June 10-Aug. 15, 2025, $30/hour, hybrid schedule (Tues/Weds at Troy office, WFH the other days), includes a paid week off over July 4th. Link to apply below- thanks for sharing with anyone who might be interested!

Spoken word performer and Ashé Cultural Arts Center Chief Equity & Executive Officer Asali DeVan Ecclesiastes at Kresge's Our Urban Future convening on the ability to imagine, create and help build a world that is equitable, that is just and vastly different from we have been able to see. Watch her inspiring reflection:

The arts and cultural environment in Detroit continues to grow, diversify, and surprise. There continues to be tremendous energy, optimism, and passion among the arts and cultural community for Detroit’s future. The New York Times reporter Patricia Leigh Brown recently underscored this with a fascinating article on the development of Dreamtroit, a $31 million live-work artist housing and studio complex in the formerly abandoned and graffiti-laced 1908 Lincoln Motor plant in the Near North neighborhood. Kudos to Matthew Al-Naimi and Oren Goldenberg, the owners and developers of Dreamtroit. #Detroit #artandculture

"The erasure of Black Bottom and Paradise Valley — thriving Black communities rich with culture and entrepreneurship — remains one of Detroit’s deepest historical wounds," Kresge Detroit Program Manager Wendy Lewis Jackson writes in a commentary. When I-75 and I-375 carved through these neighborhoods in the 1950s and 1960s, they didn’t just displace residents without compensation; they shattered the fabric of vital communities, severed generations of connections, and inflicted lasting trauma that still reverberates through Detroit today. With the replacement of the aging I-375 on the horizon, Kresge has supported bringing expertise and community input into the planning process to avoid “re-setting in concrete the missteps of the past for generations to come.” The Downtown Detroit Partnership’s?I-375 Peer Review Report, released last week, was supported by Kresge’s?Detroit Program?and points to a future different from the past. https://lnkd.in/eBxtnNc8

During a time when many organizations are scaling back their DEIJ efforts, The Kresge Foundation remains unequivocally committed to equity and investing in a pipeline of diverse leaders. This fall, Kresge launched a new fellowship program to develop future social sector leaders committed to equity and inclusion. After an analysis of past and current fellows’ experiences, through written memos and group discussions, five key opportunities emerged to develop more successful fellowship programs that can be adapted across the social sector: ? Create a cohort onboarding model. ? Provide consistency in the fellowship experience. ? Prioritize access to information and community-building. ? Provide professional development and mentorship opportunities. ? Offer peer-to-peer learning. #fellows #philanthropy #diversity #mentorship

HBCUs represent only 3% of the nation’s colleges and universities but collectively generate?$16.5 billion in economic impact annually. At the recent Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) Conference, Kresge held two sessions highlighting HBCUs' aspirations to be community development anchors, which present emerging partnership opportunities for mission-minded financial institutions. The Brookings Institution scholar Andre M. Perry said, "I always remind people that HBCUs are treated like black people, that the lack of wealth is reflected in a lack of endowments. And so, understand that as people are devalued, so are these institutions we populate.” #HBCUs Photo (l to r): Dillard University Treasurer Edward Patrick, The Public Finance Initiative 's Lourdes German, Kresge's Erika Brice and Brookings's Andre Perry at the Opportunity Finance Network conference.

It was delightful to share this poster and talk with so many at #ComNet24 about Kresge’s centennial. Thanks for the share, The Communications Network!

One thing is clear: Any movement committed to lasting change must place climate justice, equity, and racial justice at its core.?That was a key takeaway from the recent event featuring climate activist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and social activist adrienne maree brown in a discussion about their provocative new books before an audience of several hundred in Detroit. The authors of?"What If We Get It Right?"?and?"Loving Corrections," respectively, called on those in attendance to find their own roles in advancing the movement for environmental justice through the lens of interdependence and collective effort. Hosted by Urban Consulate and moderated by journalist Orlando Bailey, the event kicks off a series to be continued in 2025.