Initiatives and Programs

To maximize our positive impact on the region, the Community Foundation develops and implements large-scale, multi-year, regional initiatives and programs on a regular basis. Working with donors, nonprofit organizations, civic leaders, local and national experts, and members of the southeast Michigan community, the Community Foundation identifies key concerns and develops initiatives to address specific concerns, as well as opportunities within the region.

  • Access to Recreation

    In 2006, the Community Foundation received a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation as part of its Access to Recreation Initiative, which supports innovative projects that engage people of all abilities and increase recreational opportunities for a broader constituency. The initiative also aims to increase public awareness of the issue of accessibility and encourages the development of a more inclusive physical environment as the norm, not the exception.

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  • Childhood Obesity

    Building upon the Community Foundation’s work on the Greenways Initiative and The Great Outdoors Initiative, the Foundation began to identify opportunities to more specifically address the epidemic of childhood obesity in our region. The Community Foundation invested in several programs and outreach strategies within schools, hospitals, public health agencies, public television and radio and other nonprofit organizations that were addressing many of the risk factors that lead to childhood obesity.

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  • Community Experience Partnership
    The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan recognizes that over the next 25 years the projected doubling of the region’s aging population will have profound implications for every aspect of life in southeast Michigan. The Foundation envisions communities of dignity—desirable places for all persons to age and live healthy, empowered and productive lives where whatever one has to contribute makes a difference.
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  • Community Foundation Challenge - Arts & Culture

    Detroit - The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan released a preliminary report today on the amount of operating funds generated for the 75 arts and cultural organizations participating in the “Community Foundation Challenge—Arts and Culture.”

    Recognizing the important role that arts and cultural institutions play in enhancing the quality of life throughout the region, and in light of the current economic climate, the Community Foundation partnered with the Cultural Alliance of Southeastern Michigan to launch the Community Foundation Challenge—Arts and Culture.

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  • Detroit Neighborhood Fund

    Southeast Michigan, in spite of enormous economic challenges, is becoming a more confident and hopeful place. Leadership is coalescing to reinvigorate the region’s economy and improve the quality of life in urban areas. Nowhere is this more evident than in Detroit where the International Riverfront is undergoing a remarkable transformation. Similarly, Downtown and Midtown are emerging as lively communities with new housing, businesses, shops and restaurants.

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  • Detroit Safe Community Collaborative

    In the spring of 2007, the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan formed the Detroit Safe Community Collaborative. This was an outgrowth of the work of the Hudson-Webber Foundation and its long commitment to working with the community to enhance safety for residents, businesses and visitors.

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  • GreenWays Initiative

    Connecting people, communities and nature throughout southeast Michigan

    The GreenWays Initiative was developed to create opportunities for collaboration and shared environmental awareness and appreciation by the residents of the seven-county region served by the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. The initiative began as a five-year initiative as a comprehensive effort to expand and enhance our region’s natural landscape.

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  • New Economy Initiative
    The New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan (NEI) was launched in 2008 as a unique philanthropic initiative aimed at helping to restore southeast Michigan to a position of leadership in the new global economy. NEI is committed to increasing prosperity and expanding opportunity for all residents and communities in the region. Ten national and local foundations have committed $100 million to this eight-year initiative to accelerate the transition of metro Detroit to an innovation-based economy.
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  • Racial Equity Initiative
    Click here to watch a video featuring The HOPE Fund and the Racial Equity Initiative.
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  • Senior Engagement Program

    Many organizations in southeast Michigan are unprepared to take advantage of the opportunities presented by our growing older adult population or to respond to the needs of people as they age. The Senior Engagement Program is aimed at providing organizations that do not traditionally serve, engage or target older adults in their work with the opportunity and resources to learn, collaborate and act critically and creatively about how to improve their operations to better address fundamental aging issues.

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Posted May 31st, 2009