Thriving Together, Now and Forever: Summer 2024 Message from the President
This summer marks a major milestone for the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, as we celebrate our 40th anniversary. This might surprise some of you, but 40 years is young compared to many of our community foundation peers. I like to say we resemble a young adult — full of potential and possibilities, with determination and resilience to grow and thrive.
I took a moment to review our first annual report from 1984. At that time, the Community Foundation was a startup with a modest $4.6 million in assets thanks to initial support from the Kresge Foundation and other private foundations. During our first annual meeting on June 28, 1984, our Board of Trustees authorized $160,000 in grants to various human services, health, education and cultural organizations. Since then, the Community Foundation has provided $1.4 billion in funding to nonprofits through 91,000 grants. What an impact!
We are very grateful for the continued support of our generous donors, volunteers and grantees — all of whom are working to make southeast Michigan a region where everyone thrives.
Innovation as a core value
One of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan’s core values, then and now, is innovation. We nurture cutting-edge ideas and respond nimbly to evolving community needs. We’re a trusted partner for problem-solving in our region. That’s why we recently led a collaborative effort to establish a $35 million fund, seeded by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, to complete the Detroit riverfront’s historic transformation.
The riverfront is one of our region’s greatest assets, having been named the best in the nation for three years running. As a collection of public spaces that have generated $2 billion in public and private investment over the past 20 years, the riverfront provides equitable access to nature, healthy recreation opportunities, and programming for all.
Following the alleged embezzlement of $40 million from the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, the philanthropic community has united to help finish this essential public asset.
The new riverfront fund, which the Community Foundation will manage, was developed to minimize the negative impact on regional nonprofits. Additional funders have expressed interest in supporting this effort, and discussions with them are underway. The construction of all remaining capital projects along the riverfront is scheduled to be completed, uninterrupted, by the fall of 2025, thanks to the new fund.
I want to state the obvious: There probably isn’t another organization that could do what we’re doing on behalf of the community in response to the riverfront crisis. It is because of the trust the Community Foundation has earned over its 40 years that we are in a place where we can ensure a critical need is met.
Supporting Democracy
Supporting democracy is another area where the Community Foundation is collaborating to lead change. You’ll read more about this effort in our Summer Report, which also features a Q&A with recently retired Board of Trustees leader Jim Nicholson. In the conversation, Nicholson reflects on his 30 years of service to the Community Foundation and how philanthropy can help support democracy.
We look forward to continuing to build the community capital required to meet our region’s needs, as our founders envisioned in 1984. We invite you to join us by donating to our Now and Forever Fund, so we can support the work that makes southeast Michigan a desirable place to live, work and play for all people, today and tomorrow.
With thanks,
Richard (Ric) DeVore
President
Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan
This story was first published in the Summer 2024 REPORT newsletter.