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A Century of Impact: Lessons From The Kresge Foundation’s Transformative Urban Approach

American Cities

This landmark report “100 Years of Grantmaking” distills powerful insights from Kresge’s 2024 Centennial Convenings, offering a blueprint for equitable urban transformation. This comprehensive analysis reveals how sustainable community development emerges at the intersection of multisectoral collaboration, community self-determination, and innovative philanthropic practice.

Through compelling case studies from Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, and beyond, the report demonstrates how trust-building across diverse stakeholders creates resilient civic infrastructures capable of addressing our most pressing urban challenges. Readers will discover practical frameworks for breaking down traditional silos, mobilizing collective action, and redistributing power to communities historically excluded from decision-making processes.

The report highlights three critical themes for urban reimagination:

  • How multisectoral, pluralistic approaches create sustainable change when built on trust
  • Why addressing root causes of inequity requires authentic community self-determination
  • How philanthropy must transform systems, enable community power, and creatively deploy assets beyond traditional grantmaking

Download this resource to join the movement toward what Kresge President Rip Rapson describes as “a new municipal pluralism” that distributes authority, centers healing, and recognizes communities as repositories of wisdom rather than problems to be solved.

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