THE ART OF
COMMUNITY
Summer 2025 REPORT
Seeds planted in another season are unfurling today as vivid yellow and green splashes of spring throughout our region. A similar cycle of growth and change is underway at the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan.
These past 40 years have been a time of pivotal changes in the wider world, as well. For example, back in 1984, the public internet and social media didn’t exist, few people had cell phones, and many business records were scratched out by hand on paper. More recently, we’ve experienced the stress of a global pandemic, the climate crisis, and a national racial reckoning that exposed deep-seated, systemic disparities in our society.
These changes, which dovetailed with significant leadership shifts and staff growth at the Community Foundation, inspired us to evaluate our position and ensure we have the right priorities, strategies and technologies in place to lead our region into a brighter future.
That’s why, in 2022, we embarked on a multiphase strategic planning process with deep reflection and thoughtful input from our Board of Trustees, donors, funders, professional advisors, community partners, staff, expert consultants and the Center for Effective Philanthropy.
We sought to adapt our approach to meet evolving community needs.
Message from Our President & CEO
Thousands of people, like you, share the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan’s vision of a thriving region we call home.
Our supporters are conservative and liberal, young and old, rural and urban, wealthy and of modest means.
Together, we all help to sustain the trusted nonprofits that work to improve the quality of life in our region.
The Art of Community: How arts and culture help southeast Michigan thrive
The Community Foundation is deeply committed to supporting arts and culture organizations throughout southeast Michigan — including large, regional favorites as well as medium- and small-size nonprofits.
Here, we spotlight a few of these grantee partners and how they help to achieve our shared vision of southeast Michigan as a place where everyone thrives.
Q&A: ‘Courage is a renewable resource,’ says Trustee Carla Walker-Miller
In business and in philanthropy, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan Board of Trustees member Carla Walker-Miller has worked to expand access to opportunities so all people in our region can thrive. Read more about her motivations to prioritize philanthropy with the Community Foundation.
News Briefs
Learn about the Community Foundation’s presence and panel at the Mackinac Policy Conference, a $1 million commitment from the Pontiac Funders Collaborative to the Rx Kids program, an engagement bus tour for Community Foundation trustees, the New Economy Initiative’s annual report, and our presence at Foundations on the Hill in Washington, D.C.
Make a donation, make an impact
The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan invests in nonprofits that support a thriving arts and culture sector, with help from generous funders and donors like you.
To support arts and culture in our region, visit cfsem.org/field-of-interest and select Arts & Culture when you complete the form.