The Kresge Foundation

Today, our longtime Environment Program Managing Director Lois DeBacker is retiring after 33 years in philanthropy and 16 years at Kresge. We will miss her for many reasons, including her sense of humor! She's pictured here at her send-off earlier this week with T-shirts and a prop rubber chicken, a team inside joke. Join us in wishing Lois all the best as she enters this new stage of life. Thank you, Lois, for your years of service advancing climate change mitigation, adaptation, and justice!

Two weeks ago, we brought hundreds of changemakers to Detroit to convene at a centennial summit, Our Urban Future: the Next Era of Making Change in America's Cities. We are so thankful to those who contributed their insights — on economic equity, racial repair, and climate action — during that time. Read a full recap here: https://bit.ly/47JVbm7 Photos featuring Dr. Michael McAfee, Jessica Paz-Cedillos, Asali DeVan Ecclesiastes, Monica Valdes Lupi, JD, MPH, Judy Monroe, Rip Rapson, Chantel Rush Tebbe, Mikeya Griffin, and Leona Medley among others!

We’re very proud to partner with Opportunity Finance Network on a new fellow position that will advise this national network of CDFIs on climate finance development. Joe Evans will continue his work with our Social Investment Practice on behalf of Kresge’s Environment Program throughout this fellowship.

In our recently released special Centennial annual report edition, Kresge President & CEO Rip Rapson explores the six roles that philanthropy can play in city transformation: "Over the 18 years in which I’ve had the privilege of serving as president of the foundation, we’ve come to an understanding of how to meet (the) challenge: being additive rather than redundant … being expansive without losing focus … calibrating between reasonable risk and aspirational audacity … using the full suite of tools of private philanthropy. As we see it, Kresge plays six fundamental roles — engaging tasks that we do well and calling on tools that we use with skill — which we blend, stack, and combine with the freedom that few of our counterparts in other sectors enjoy." Read more about the six roles in his full letter: https://lnkd.in/e_i-3dVS Learn how to order your copy of the annual report while supplies last or download a PDF version: https://lnkd.in/eAWH7UKP

Today marks a full-circle moment for one of the most ambitious and visionary projects in Detroit modern history: the Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan Board of Directors voted unanimously today to accept transfer of the QLINE, bringing Detroit's streetcar system under the public transit agency umbrella. As part of the deal, M-1 Rail, the nonprofit entity that Kresge helped stand up in 2007 to conceive the streetcar, and that owns and operates the QLINE, will move all assets to the RTA effective October 1st. The intent to gift the private/philanthropic streetcar system to a public transit entity has been the goal since the inception. The streetcar was envisioned by Kresge and several private sector partners, to demonstrate the need for and viability of mass transit options downtown and throughout the SE Michigan region. One of the most significant aspects of the transfer is that it will unlock new public transit funding opportunities that weren’t available under M-1’s nonprofit structure, but will secure the long-term financial future of the QLINE. Absorption by the RTA also allows for the enhanced coordination of transit services in Southeast Michigan without additional burden to taxpayers.   Four important Kresge partners especially should take a bow: Roger Penske, Matthew Cullen, Jared Fleisher and Dan Gilbert who rode with us from the outset, stayed the course even during impossible setbacks, and never wavered from the larger vision of regional transit. Roger, Matt, Jared and Dan put their full personal and institutional reputations on the line almost daily. Thank you.

In our just released special Centennial edition annual report, Kresge Board Chair Cecilia Muñoz writes about our progress toward equity and the challenges that remain: "I firmly believe that our progress as a nation, and the foundation’s role in advancing that progress, is well worth celebrating. We should take inspiration from the fact that Americans have engaged our young democracy in a way that has allowed us to make progress toward becoming a more perfect union and that a good number of the institutions that have contributed to that progress have benefitted from our grantmaking." "And yet, every one of the things our nation struggled with a century ago — from economic inequality to fully realizing the rights of African Americans, women and so many others in our society — still challenge us today. While we rightfully take inspiration from what we have achieved, a centennial is also an opportunity to take a clear-eyed look at the work ahead," Muñoz writes. Read the full letter: https://lnkd.in/eSn4ZSBj Learn how to order your copy of the annual report while supplies last or download a PDF version: https://lnkd.in/eAWH7UKP #Kresge100 #Centennial

100 MOMENTS OF IMPACT: From 10,000 building projects to Detroit's Grand Bargain, explore 100 stories of impact in our special Centennial "pop-up" annual report. From Sebastian Kresge's birth in 1867 to Kresge's work today to expand equity and opportunity in America's cities, the foundation's history is dotted with moments of impact. These span from our home in Detroit to our other focus cities of Memphis, New Orleans, Fresno, and across the globe. This year's report gathers 100 stories of the most impactful moments of Kresge history — starting with the first grant, through the capital challenge years to our work in cities today — and shares how the foundation's giving and partnership have contributed to expanding opportunities and equity. Between these stories, readers can enjoy pop-up features of the four cities, featuring their iconic buildings and landmarks. Learn how to order your copy of the annual report while supplies last or download a PDF version: https://lnkd.in/eAWH7UKP Check out the digital report: https://lnkd.in/eVp6twsr #Centennial #philanthropy #Kresge100

Annual reports present a multi-layered conundrum. How do you share last year's work in a way that moves the story forward? How can you capture people's attention when they are rightfully focused on a busy today? And how do you do the work justice when it's not your solitary work; it's the work of thousands of partner organizations? Make it a centennial report covering 100 years of history, and those problems compound. For Kresge's centennial report, we wanted to reflect on the past, celebrate what's been accomplished with thousands of partners, and offer substantive learnings about working to advance equity and opportunity in cities. We also wanted to surprise and delight audiences and honor four places where Kresge goes deep. I hope our report did all of that. It features 100 stories of impact from 1867 to 2024. About a third of the stories are told from partner perspectives. Kresge President Rip Rapson shares a must-read letter about philanthropy in cities and how we can realize its fullest potential. Board chair Cecilia Munoz talks about the progress toward equity: what's been achieved and what remains to be done. Cynthia Kresge also gives her family's perspective on the foundation's work. And the biggest surprise and delight moment: four city pop-ups featuring iconic landmarks of Detroit, Memphis, New Orleans and Fresno. A big thank to the people who made this book happen! Alejandro Herrera was my internal partner and led the creative design process. The entire Kresge communications team led by Jennifer Kulczycki contributed historical research, story ideas, story drafts, editing and proofing and more. Sophia Greenbaum at Brevity & Wit worked her magic to make the book beautiful and make 100 stories fit in about 140 pages! Justine Allenette Ross created all of the brilliant illustrations in the book, and Simon Arizpe taught us what a "paper engineer" is and how to produce pop-ups. Structural Graphics printed those pop-ups and ULitho - University Lithoprinters printed the book. Additional writing help came from Sarah Murray, Lindsay Keener and Jennifer DeMoss. Jeremy Verdusco handled copy editing (thank God for copy editors!). Thank you to the testimonial contributors. I'll tag you below! Click to Kresge.org to explore the digital version (thanks to our friends at Visceral) and to request a copy of the book before we run out!

HOT OFF THE PRESS: The special Centennial edition Kresge "pop-up" annual report is available now. In this year’s special annual report, readers will find a collection of 100 moments of impact from throughout Kresge’s 100-year history. The book’s physical form includes pop-ups that symbolize the foundation’s deep-rooted commitment to four focus cities and that highlight the cultural and historical richness that defines them. The impact stories trace the foundation’s origins, the 80 years of capital challenge grantmaking, and the shift to today’s work to expand equity and opportunities in America’s cities through grantmaking and social investing in arts and culture, education, environment, health, human services, and community development nationally and in our four focus cities. You can request a copy of the pop-up book while supplies last in the link below. #philanthropy #centennial

This week, Kresge hosted a three-day symposium "Our Urban Future: The Next Era of Making Change in America's Cities" with some of the nation's foremost urban practitioners to celebrate progress, discuss lessons learned and prepare for the future. It was a hugely substantive, provocative and inspiring convening with delegations from a dozen cities.  Thank you to everyone involved that made the event such a success, especially the thoughtful and informative speakers: Rip Rapson, Heather McGhee, Chantel Rush Tebbe, Asali DeVan Ecclesiastes, Mikeya Griffin, Scott Kratz, Leona Medley, Marian Liou, Toni L. Griffin, Elwood Hopkins, Angela Chalk, Chandra Farley, Lara Hansen, Shamar A. Bibbins, Judy Monroe, Monica Valdes Lupi, JD, MPH, Dr. Michael McAfee.