Kresge Foundation News

From listening to action: The Kresge Foundation Responds to Grantees’ Assessment of the Foundation’s Responsiveness, Transparency and Effectiveness

nddidomenico — Wed, 18 Nov 2015 19:27:29 +0000

Wed, 11/18/2015

The Kresge Foundation enlisted the Center for Effective Philanthropy in the spring of 2014 to conduct a Grantee Perception Report (GPR). The report, which is compiled from a comprehensive “customer satisfaction” survey, is widely commissioned by foundations to gather actionable feedback from grantees and declined applicants and to promote transparency both inside a particular foundation and in the philanthropic sector.

Detroit and the Future of Development Finance

mwhitney — Tue, 10 Nov 2015 22:04:24 +0000

Remarks delivered at the Opportunity Finance Network annual conference in Detroit

Tue, 11/10/2015

I. An Introduction to Detroit

Detroit is The Kresge Foundation’s hometown, where we were founded a little more than 90 years ago and have maintained an unwavering commitment ever since.

It is a city whose storied history of innovation and invention, arts and industry has for too long been overshadowed by anguishing accounts of political corruption, by searing images of blight and abandonment so popular among national photo-journalism essays, by apocalyptic predictions of financial meltdown.

Student-managed investment fund a way to nurture local talent, connect to local opportunity

mwhitney — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 19:41:26 +0000

Wed, 09/30/2015

Delivered Sept. 30, 2015, at a press conference at Oakland University announcing the formation of a $2 million student-managed investment fund carved out of The Kresge Foundation’s $3.5 billion investment portfolio and intended to provide real-world investment experience to OU undergraduates while exposing them to local career opportunities in investment management.

Foundation President and CEO Rip Rapson was preceded by Chief Investment Officer Rob Manilla.

Rob Manilla:

Announcing Live6, a new revitalization organization in Northwest Detroit

mwhitney — Mon, 14 Sep 2015 18:01:54 +0000

Lessons from New Orleans and Midtown Detroit can help guide effort anchored by University of Detroit Mercy.

Mon, 09/14/2015

Delivered Sept. 1, 2015, at a press conference on the campus of University of Detroit Mercy announcing the formation of the Live6 Alliance. Live6 will coordinate and promote the revitalization efforts in the Livernois Avenue and McNichols Road (6 Mile Road) commercial corridor in Northwest Detroit. The organization is anchored by University of Detroit Mercy with support from The Kresge Foundation, the Detroit Corridor Initiative, the Detroit Economic Growth Corp., area neighborhood associations and other institutions.

In honor of Ruth Adler Schnee, Kresge Eminent Artist for 2015

mwhitney — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 21:57:19 +0000

The pioneering textile designer and entrepreneur practiced creative placemaking long before it had a name.

Thu, 09/03/2015

Delivered on Sept. 2 at a community celebration of 2015 Kresge Eminent Artist Ruth Adler Schnee. The celebration at the Carr Center in Detroit coincided with the release of the Kresge Eminent Artist monograph on Schnee’s life and work, and the opening of an exhibition of her work at the center. Rapson followed Ronit Eisenbach, one of the contributors to the monograph.

Katrina anniversary allows a moment to remember, look ahead

mwhitney — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 18:05:44 +0000

Kresge trip to New Orleans offered staff insights into last decade of investments.

Mon, 08/31/2015

We all recall the fear and devastation that followed when Hurricane Katrina landed in New Orleans 10 years ago. The milestone anniversary on Aug. 29 led the nation to remember the lives lost and those changed forever, examine how recovery has helped and where it has fallen short and explore what work is left to do.

Detroit’s Bold Urban Future: Connecting downtown and the neighborhoods

wkheron — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 16:44:15 +0000

Address to the International Downtown Association – Midwest Urban District Forum.

Thu, 06/25/2015

Welcome. You come to Detroit at a fascinating time, as an iconic American city is being reimagined and recalibrated. This has profound implications for other cities seeking to establish their own pathways to confront the challenges and opportunities of the 21^st century.

The Bankruptcy

Who knew that Machiavelli had Detroit in mind when he wrote some 500 years ago:

Mackinac Michigan moment: A city poised for bold renewal

mwhitney — Wed, 27 May 2015 17:31:31 +0000

Address to the 2015 Mackinac Policy Conference.

Thu, 05/28/2015

A train is leaving the station. That train is the new Detroit.

You’ll hear in just a moment the familiar, but no less extraordinary, story of how we overhauled that train’s engine – how Detroit’s bankruptcy was concluded consensually and in warp speed.

Philanthropy played a relatively small, but centrally important, role in all of this. Kevyn Orr told me it was a bit like having Switzerland at the table: a party with disproportionate influence on the outcome because of its neutrality – and, I suppose, because of its dollars.

The arc of community progress in post-bankruptcy Detroit

mwhitney — Wed, 20 May 2015 21:47:20 +0000

Plenary address at the Center for Community Progress Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference.

Wed, 05/20/2015

On behalf of The Kresge Foundation, let me add my welcome to the many you’ve already received. I know there have been a number of those, but they reflect our city’s deep gratitude for the extraordinarily important work you do in cities throughout the country, including Detroit. I understand that this is the largest Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference yet, with over 1,000 registrants. Extraordinary. Thank you for making the time to come to Detroit to share your thoughts and energies.

Kresge announces recipients of grants for neighborhood projects in Detroit

mwhitney — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 20:58:52 +0000

Kresge Innovation Projects: Detroit funds 18 community revitalization efforts.

Wed, 04/01/2015

Good morning. I’m Rip Rapson and on behalf of the entire Kresge organization, I’d like to thank you for being with us this morning. We want to move directly into the details of this very special announcement.

A big pivot: Shifting climate-resilience work to include urban, low-income opportunity

mwhitney — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 18:07:09 +0000

A talk with Kresge's Climate Resilience and Urban Opportunity Initiative grantees.

Mon, 03/16/2015

Editor’s note: The Kresge Foundation’s Environment Program hosted a peer-learning event Jan. 26-28 in Berkeley, Calif., with grantees from its Climate Resilience and Urban Opportunity Initiative. As part of the event, Kresge’s president and chief executive officer took part in a conversation with Marian Urquilla, a consultant to the Environment Program. This conversation has been condensed and edited here.

What Detroit can teach us all

wkheron — Fri, 12 Dec 2014 16:53:54 +0000

Originally published by CNN Opinion on Dec. 11, 2014.

Fri, 12/12/2014

Retired public employees and artwork: two civic assets rarely thought of in the same breath. But in Detroit – and, indeed, in countless cities across the country – the duo constitute an essential part of the city soul.

Detroit is on track for a positive future

wkheron — Fri, 21 Nov 2014 19:00:51 +0000

Originally published in The Detroit News on Nov. 12, 2014.

Mon, 11/17/2014

With U.S. Judge Steven Rhodes' acceptance of the stakeholder-approved plan of adjustment, the Detroit community will be the subject of every manner of intellectual, legal, political and social discussion over the coming weeks. And we should welcome that.

Cross-sector collaboration is vital to economic development

mwhitney — Thu, 13 Nov 2014 17:41:22 +0000

Delivered Nov. 13, 2014, at the Boston Federal Reserve Bank.

Thu, 11/13/2014

Prabal Chakrabarti asked if I might reflect on three questions:

How did Detroit and light-rail transit appear in the same sentence? A case study and some implications

mwhitney — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 14:43:02 +0000

Delivered Sept. 23, 2014, at the Rail~Volution annual conference in Minneapolis.

Tue, 09/23/2014

Good morning. It’s a pleasure to be here.

I’d like to talk about the city of Detroit’s grand adventure in creating a light-rail system. I propose to not only celebrate Detroit’s wisdom in joining the parade of transit-embracing cities, but also to explore issues that may provide a glimpse into some of challenges and opportunities facing municipal transit.

Detroit: The sharp edge of innovation

mwhitney — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 14:58:52 +0000

Delivered Sept. 19 at Detroit Homecoming, which brought 150 expats back to the city to reconnect, reinvest.

Mon, 09/22/2014

Good morning. Thank you for participating in such an historic event – one that will fortify and help accelerate the trajectory of renewal so in evidence over the last three days.

For my part in this welcome-back, I want to endorse the notion of a community in the midst of profound positive change – a community working at the sharp edge of innovation because its very survival depends on it.

New thinking is transforming Detroit

mwhitney — Thu, 26 Jun 2014 21:51:41 +0000

Delivered June 25 at Clinton Global Initiative America 2014 conference's "Local Laboratories: Equitable Transformation in America's Communities" session.

Thu, 06/26/2014

Detroit. It’s a word that summons vivid images. Automobiles. Motown music. But also, regrettably, blight, political dysfunction and economic crisis. I want to paint a different picture, however – of a community in the midst of profound positive change, a community working at the sharp edge of innovation because its very survival depends on it.

A toast to Kresge Eminent Artist Bill Rauhauser

wkheron — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 19:58:25 +0000

Honoring Detroit's quintessential street photographer.

Thu, 03/27/2014

Delivered on March 24 at a dinner at the Detroit Institute of Arts for the 2014 Kresge Eminent Artist Bill Rauhauser.

Thanks to all of you for being here this evening. This is truly one of the most enjoyable annual events for The Kresge Foundation.

In our Eminent Artists we honor exceptional lifelong achievements and contributions to the cultural vitality of metropolitan Detroit.

Creative placemaking: The next phase for ArtPlace

mwhitney — Tue, 04 Mar 2014 21:16:32 +0000

Address to the ArtPlace Summit in Los Angeles.

Tue, 03/04/2014

I. Introduction: The birth of ArtPlace

What a pleasure it is to be here with all of you who have given definition to creative placemaking. Over the course of these couple of days, we’ll all have the opportunity to understand the various ways in which this multidimensional, vibrant and powerful movement is shaping communities throughout America.

City Energy Project gives cities tools to establish vital, self-sustaining markets for energy efficiency

JAMcGovern — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 17:52:34 +0000

Kresge CEO cites urgency of changing trajectory on carbon as initiative gets underway.

Wed, 01/29/2014

We at The Kresge Foundation are proud to join with our colleagues at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies in support of the City Energy Project, a landmark initiative designed to create healthier, more prosperous American cities by targeting their largest source of energy use and climate pollution: buildings.