The Kresge Foundation

The Kresge Foundation is an American philanthropic private foundation headquartered in Troy, Michigan. Established in Detroit in 1924 by retail entrepreneur Sebastian S. Kresge, it uses grants, program-related investments, loan guarantees, and other forms of social investment to expand opportunity in American cities. Its work spans arts and culture, education, environment, health, human services, housing, community development, and racial equity. The foundation originated with an initial gift of $1.6 million from Kresge, who had helped build the S.S. Kresge Company, a chain of five-and-ten-cent stores that later became Kmart. The foundation and Kmart are no longer affiliated. Rather than operating as a commercial brand, Kresge functions as an institutional philanthropic platform: it sets program priorities, selects or invites nonprofit partners, provides multiyear support where appropriate, and uses financial tools intended to unlock additional public and private capital. For much of its earlier history, Kresge was particularly associated with challenge grants for major construction and renovation projects. Beginning in the 2000s and formalized through a strategic transition that began in 2007, the foundation broadened its methods and adopted more focused programmatic objectives. Its approach increasingly combines conventional grants with mission-related and program-related investments, capacity support, research, policy engagement, and partnerships with local governments and community organizations. Detroit remains central to Kresge's identity and work. The foundation has supported the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, the city's QLine streetcar project, neighborhood revitalization through Kresge Innovative Projects: Detroit, arts fellowships, the Detroit Future City framework, education initiatives at Marygrove, and efforts connected with the city's 2013 bankruptcy restructuring. Its national programs have supported food-access and equitable development through FreshLo, higher-education access for low-income and underrepresented students, racial-justice organizations, community health, housing, and nonprofit resilience. Kresge has also sought to change the composition of its investment ecosystem. In 2019 it pledged to increase the share of domestic holdings managed by firms owned by women and people of color from approximately 15 percent to 25 percent by 2025. In 2020 it circulated a standardized diversity questionnaire to its money-management firms. During the COVID-19 crisis, it committed funding for nonprofit stabilization, nonprofit lending, housing support, and vaccine distribution. Its international work is limited relative to its United States focus but includes support for postsecondary access and student success in South Africa. The foundation is one of the larger American charitable institutions by endowment. The cited 2021 reference reported an endowment of approximately $4.3 billion as of June 2021; this figure is time-specific and should not be treated as a current valuation. Since 2006, the foundation has been led by Rip Rapson, who succeeded John Marshall III after Marshall's 19-year tenure as president and chief executive.

Sebastian S. Kresge established The Kresge Foundation in Detroit in 1924 with an initial gift of $1.6 million. Kresge's wealth came from the retail business he developed with John G. McCrory. The partners opened an early five-and-ten-cent store in Memphis in 1912, and the resulting S.S. Kresge Company grew into a major chain. The company was later renamed Kmart in 1977, but the foundation is no longer affiliated with it. For decades, Kresge was widely identified with challenge grants. These grants required community organizations to raise matching or complementary funds and were frequently used for capital projects, including construction, renovation, and cultural facilities. This model helped local institutions mobilize additional resources, but it also limited the foundation's role largely to capital fundraising. Beginning in the 2000s, and through a strategic transition initiated in 2007, Kresge moved toward a more focused form of strategic philanthropy. It developed defined program areas covering arts and culture, education, environment, health, human services, and community development. The foundation retained grantmaking but supplemented it with multiyear awards, program-related investments, loan guarantees, research, and partnerships with public agencies and community-based organizations. Some opportunities remain open for applications, while other grants are made through proactive invitations or targeted initiatives. John Marshall III served as president and chief executive for 19 years before being succeeded in 2006 by Rip Rapson, formerly associated with the McKnight Foundation. Under Rapson, Detroit became a major platform for place-based philanthropy. Kresge worked with the City of Detroit and General Motors to establish the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy and provided a $50 million challenge grant. Over the following years, the conservancy developed and restored a substantial section of the Detroit International RiverWalk. The foundation also became a significant supporter of Detroit's M-1 Rail project, now known as the QLine. It invested $35 million in 2010 and ultimately contributed $50 million toward the streetcar line, which opened in May 2017. Other Detroit initiatives included Kresge Arts in Detroit, which provided awards and fellowships to hundreds of artists, the Gilda Awards for emerging artists, support for the Detroit Future City framework, and Kresge Innovative Projects: Detroit, a neighborhood-improvement grant program launched in 2015 and expanded in 2018. During Detroit's 2013 bankruptcy crisis, Kresge played a prominent convening and financial role in the so-called grand bargain. The foundation contributed $100 million toward a $370 million fundraising effort intended to protect city finances and reduce the impact of bankruptcy-related obligations. In education, it invested $16 million in 2017 to help stabilize Marygrove College and support the transformation of its campus through the Marygrove Conservancy, created with the University of Michigan and Detroit Public Schools Community District. The resulting School at Marygrove was designed as a K–12 institution within a broader long-term education vision. Kresge's national work has included FreshLo, a program supporting food-centered development in communities with inadequate access to fresh food; higher-education initiatives for low-income, first-generation, immigrant, veteran, Black, Indigenous, and other underrepresented students; and racial-justice grants. Between 2015 and 2020, FreshLo distributed more than $8.4 million. In 2020, Kresge set aside $30 million for racial-justice organizations in Detroit, Memphis, Fresno, New Orleans, and national civil-rights networks. The COVID-19 period prompted additional emergency and recovery support. Kresge backed loans for Detroit nonprofits, guaranteed a $5 million loan for the United Community Housing Coalition while it awaited federal funds, and later supported housing and commercial development in Memphis's Medical District through a $4.5 million guarantee. The foundation also supported vaccine distribution. Its investment practices evolved alongside its grantmaking: it set a target for greater allocation to women- and minority-owned investment firms and surveyed its managers about diversity. Kresge remains an active private foundation with a primarily United States-oriented mission. Its education program also supports postsecondary access and completion work in South Africa. A 2021 reference reported an endowment of approximately $4.3 billion as of June 2021, placing it among the largest charitable foundations in the United States.

1. 2020Racial-justice and pandemic funding expanded

   Kresge committed major resources to racial-justice groups and nonprofit organizations affected by COVID-19.

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2. 2017QLine opens and Marygrove investment announced

   Detroit's streetcar line opened, while Kresge invested in stabilizing Marygrove College and reshaping its campus.

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3. 2015Kresge Innovative Projects: Detroit launched

   A pilot program began providing small grants for neighborhood restoration and community projects.

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4. 2013Support for Detroit's grand bargain

   Kresge contributed $100 million toward a broader fundraising effort connected with Detroit's bankruptcy restructuring.

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5. 2010Major investment in Detroit streetcar project

   The foundation invested $35 million in the M-1 Rail project and ultimately contributed $50 million.

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6. 2007Strategic-philanthropy transition begins

   Kresge began moving beyond its traditional reliance on challenge grants toward focused programs and varied investment tools.

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7. 2006Rip Rapson becomes president and CEO

   Rip Rapson succeeded John Marshall III after Marshall's long tenure leading the foundation.

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8. 1924Foundation established in Detroit

   Sebastian S. Kresge created the foundation with an initial gift of $1.6 million.

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Strategic urban philanthropy focused on expanding opportunity, strengthening communities, and addressing racial, economic, and environmental inequities.

• Philanthropic grantsGrantmaking1924

  Kresge provides single-year and multiyear grants to nonprofit and community partners working in arts and culture, education, environment, health, human services, housing, racial equity, and community development. Awards may be made through open applications, invited proposals, or targeted initiatives.

• Program-related investmentsSocial investment

  The foundation uses loans, guarantees, and other program-related investments to support organizations whose activities advance its philanthropic objectives. These tools are intended to provide flexible capital and attract additional resources, particularly in community development, housing, health, and nonprofit finance.

• Kresge Arts in DetroitArts philanthropy

  Kresge Arts in Detroit provides awards and fellowships to Detroit-area artists. The program has supported artists across disciplines and was supplemented in 2015 by the Gilda Awards, which recognize emerging creative talent.

• FreshLoEquitable food development2015

  FreshLo, short for Fresh, Local & Equitable, supports food-focused real-estate and community-development projects in places where residents face limited access to fresh food. The initiative links food systems with neighborhood revitalization and economic opportunity.

• 2020Racial-justice funding initiative

  United States

  Kresge reserved $30 million over three years for racial-justice organizations in Detroit, Memphis, Fresno, New Orleans, and national civil-rights networks.

  Outcome. Nearly 60 organizations were identified for support, including 20 Detroit organizations receiving a combined $8 million.

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• 2015Kresge Innovative Projects: Detroit

  Detroit, United States

  Kresge launched a $5 million pilot offering small grants for neighborhood restoration and locally driven improvement projects.

  Outcome. The program was relaunched with additional funding in 2018 and had supported 127 projects by August 2020.

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• 2013Detroit Future City

  Detroit, United States

  The foundation pledged $150 million to help implement a comprehensive long-term framework for Detroit's physical, economic, and social future.

  Outcome. The commitment supported implementation efforts associated with the Detroit Future City framework.

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• 2010M-1 Rail and QLine support

  Detroit, United States

  Kresge provided major capital support for Detroit's M-1 Rail streetcar project, later known as the QLine, connecting downtown with Midtown and New Center.

  Outcome. The line opened in May 2017. Foundation support also enabled periods of free rides.

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• 2000Detroit Riverfront Conservancy

  Detroit, United States

  Kresge partnered with the City of Detroit and General Motors to help establish the nonprofit Detroit Riverfront Conservancy. Its $50 million challenge grant supported restoration and expansion of the Detroit International RiverWalk.

  Outcome. The conservancy developed approximately 3.5 miles of riverfront walking infrastructure, with plans and work extending the revitalized corridor.

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• 2020Pandemic-response capital deploymentStrategy

  Nonprofit organizations and community institutions faced severe operating and liquidity pressures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  What changed. Kresge committed emergency grants, backed nonprofit loans, guaranteed financing for housing support, and funded vaccine-distribution efforts.

  Aftermath. The response extended the foundation's use of flexible capital beyond conventional grants.

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• 2019Target for more diverse investment managersStrategy

  About 15 percent of the foundation's domestic holdings were reportedly managed by firms owned by women and people of color.

  What changed. Kresge pledged to raise that proportion to 25 percent by 2025.

  Aftermath. The foundation later surveyed its money managers to assess ownership and management diversity.

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• 2007Shift from predominantly challenge grants to strategic philanthropyStrategy

  Kresge had historically been strongly associated with challenge grants for capital construction and renovation projects.

  What changed. The foundation adopted narrower program objectives and added multiyear grants, program-related investments, and other forms of support.

  Aftermath. Its work became more focused on urban opportunity, equity, and systems-level community outcomes rather than solely on capital fundraising.

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• 2021Kresge expands support for COVID-19 vaccine distribution

  The foundation announced $4.4 million in support for vaccine distribution, including funding directed to Detroit.

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• 2020Kresge measures diversity among investment managers

  The foundation sent a standardized questionnaire to its approximately 150 money-management firms to assess ownership and management diversity and encourage broader representation.

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• 2020Foundation commits pandemic support for nonprofit organizations

  Kresge committed $19 million to help nonprofit organizations withstand the financial and operational effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including support for nonprofit lending in Detroit.

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• 2019Kresge pledges to increase investment in women- and minority-owned firms

  The foundation committed to increasing the proportion of its domestic holdings managed by firms owned by women and people of color from about 15 percent to 25 percent by 2025.

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1. The Kresge Foundation
2. The Kresge Foundation official website