Two National Foundations Commit $17 Million to Further Detroit's Revitalization
DECEMBER 2, 2005: Detroit -- Representatives of the Ford Foundation, New York, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Battle Creek, today announced commitments totaling $17 million to a program of neighborhood revitalization linked to Detroit's innovative riverfront development.
Susan V. Berresford, Ford Foundation president, announced a grant of $5 million to the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan for neighborhood development and a grant of $2 million to the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy for the development of the RiverWalk and community outreach. William C. Richardson, president of the Kellogg Foundation, announced a commitment of $10 million to the Community Foundation for neighborhood development. This follows a commitment by Kellogg of $4 million to the Conservancy in 2004.
In making the announcement, Richardson and Berresford praised Detroit for the renewal taking place on the riverfront. The two foundation presidents referred to the unprecedented cooperation between government and the private sector, which is spurring large-scale development and which represents the largest investment in community development in Detroit in recent memory.
Richardson and Berresford indicated this renewal effort, along with other developments Downtown and along the Midtown corridor, is creating amenities and other opportunities that could potentially generate substantial benefits for residents and organizations in adjacent neighborhoods. The foundations' $17 million commitment will be used to capitalize on this potential. These funds will directly support efforts to link Detroit residents and neighborhoods to developments along the riverfront and elsewhere, with special attention to the needs of and opportunities for low income families and individuals.
"The Ford Foundation has been watching the riverfront and related developments in Detroit for several years with great interest," said Berresford. "We are eager to work with the Community Foundation to invest in neighborhood-based strategies that will ensure broad community benefit from these promising developments."
Richardson concurred. "The Kellogg Foundation's grant builds on its initial investment in the riverfront. Our goal with this additional commitment is to help empower and enhance nearby neighborhoods and to ensure these communities' full participation in the revitalization taking place."
The Community Foundation, working with representatives from the Ford and Kellogg foundations, will initiate a process to identify priority areas for investment in community and economic development. They will be guided in this effort by the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, local government officials, advisers and consultants, and will consult extensively with residents, area civic organizations and other stakeholders. Based upon priorities, a limited number of high-impact investments in these communities will be made over the next few years.
"The Community Foundation is deeply committed to improving the region and we look forward to partnering with Kellogg and Ford, along with the Conservancy and our many local partners, to support continued revitalization in Detroit," said Mariam C. Noland, president of the Community Foundation. "These investments will have a tremendous impact on Detroit's future and the future of southeast Michigan."
"We are grateful to the Ford and Kellogg foundations for their tremendous support, not only of the RiverWalk and other riverfront projects, but also for the broader vision and goals of these projects to strengthen and enhance our communities," said Faye Alexander Nelson, president and CEO of the Conservancy.
The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization. For more than half a century it has been a resource for innovative people and institutions worldwide, guided by its goals of strengthening democratic values, reducing poverty and injustice, promoting international cooperation and advancing human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Russia.
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was established in 1930 "to help people help themselves through the practical application of knowledge and resources to improve their quality of life and that of future generations." To achieve the greatest impact, the foundation targets its grants toward specific areas: health, food systems and rural development, youth and education and philanthropy and volunteerism. Within these areas, attention is given to exploring learning opportunities in leadership, information and communication, technology, capitalizing on diversity, and social and economic community development. Grants are concentrated in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the southern African countries of Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.
The Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan, founded in 1984, is a permanent community endowment built by gifts from thousands of individuals and organizations committed to the future of southeast Michigan. The Foundation works to improve the region's quality of life by connecting those who care with causes that matter. The Foundation supports a wide variety of activities benefiting education, arts and culture, health, human services, community development and civic affairs. The Foundation has assets of $433 million and, since its inception, has distributed more than $213 million through more than 23,033 grants to nonprofit organizations throughout Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Monroe, Washtenaw, St. Clair and Livingston counties. For more information, visit www.cfsem.org.
The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy is a 501(c)3 organization created to undertake the establishment, improvement, operation, maintenance, security and programming of green spaces along the Detroit River, including the creation of a RiverWalk that ultimately will span from the Ambassador Bridge to the Belle Isle bridge. For more information on the Conservancy and its efforts, visit the DFRC Web site at www.detroitriverfront.org.
The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization. For more than half a century it has been a resource for innovative people and institutions worldwide, guided by its goals of strengthening democratic values, reducing poverty and injustice, promoting international cooperation and advancing human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Russia.