Posted on April 13, 2009

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Kresge Foundation Awards Record $73 Million in First-Quarter Grants

The Michigan-based Kresge Foundation has announced nearly $73 million in first-quarter grants — the largest quarterly commitment in its 85-year history.

The grants include $10.6 million to nineteen human service organizations across the country that work to meet basic needs such as food, shelter, and affordable housing; of those, the largest ($1.45 million) was awarded to the Mid-Ohio Foodbank. In addition, the foundation awarded almost $6.7 million to organizations working to foster good health and increase access to high-quality health care for low-income adults and children, including $950,000 to the University of Southern California for its Trade, Health, and Environment Impact Project.

To help strengthen the economic, social, and cultural fabric of the Detroit area, the foundation approved a four-year, $35 million investment in the Lower Woodward Light Rail Project (M-1 RAIL), a $120-million transit project designed to spur commercial and residential revitalization along Woodward Avenue, link the city's major arts and cultural institutions and athletic arenas, and help reduce the number of cars on area roads, reducing carbon emissions and helping to protect the region's air quality.

"There is no more important investment this region can make in its future health and vitality than a regional mass transit system," said Kresge president and CEO Rip Rapson. "The Woodward line will…connect inner-city residents with job opportunities. It will give rise to more intensive, sensible land-use, tying neighbor residents to new community development opportunities. It will draw together a variety of private, philanthropic, public, and nonprofit activities now in place to promote the retention and attraction of talent in the heart of the city."

“Human Service Agencies, Health Organizations, and Transit in Detroit Receive a Majority of Kresge's Nearly $73 Million in First Quarter Grant Awards.” Kresge Foundation Press Release 4/08/09.

Primary Subject: Philanthropy and Voluntarism
Secondary Subject(s): Community Improvement/Development, Human Services, Environment, Health
Location(s): Michigan

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