News & Views Kresge veteran Sharon Zimmerman to retire December 17, 2020 Sharon Zimmerman, assistant to the president and director of Kresge’s Executive Office, will retire at the end of 2020. Zimmerman, who joined the foundation in 2005, helped shape and support major organizational changes, including its transition to a strategic philanthropy and the expansion of its mission to focus its work…
News & Views Kresge commits more than $2.3M to environmental organizations in recent racial justice grantmaking effort December 15, 2020 The Kresge Foundation recently announced $30 million in grant awards to support frontline racial justice activism with $2.3 of this investment directed toward environmental organizations rallying for climate justice. The new suite of racial justice grants represents a sharpened focus on Kresge’s longstanding racial equity investments in its focus cities…
News & Views Shalanda Baker’s new book, Revolutionary Power, arms vulnerable communities with tools to upend the energy system December 14, 2020 Baker tells the stories of those who have been left behind due to our nation’s unfair energy costs and those who are working to be architects of a more just system. In a new book titled Revolutionary Power: An Activist’s Guide to the Energy Transition, author Shalanda Baker outlines strategies…
News & Views Q&A: The Steve Fund offers guidance to help colleges promote positive mental health outcomes among students of color December 11, 2020 The Kresge Foundation Education Program connected with Dr. Annelle Primm, senior medical director for The Steve Fund. The COVID-19 pandemic upended learning routines for college students nationwide. For many students, decreases in predictable routines also meant increases in negative mental health outcomes. The mental health impacts of pandemic-related disruptions are…
News & Views Q&A: Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom discusses higher ed, social mobility and racial justice December 11, 2020 Renowned author, researcher, educator and cultural critic Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom recently spoke with Kresge Foundation grantee partners and staff to discuss intersections between higher education, social mobility and racial justice. The conversation took place during a digital convening of Kresge Education partners participating in the Advancing Student Transportation Solutions…
News & Views $2.7M in new grant funding boosts Kresge’s total COVID-related investments to about $19M in 2020 December 10, 2020 The Kresge Foundation announced today a seventh round of grantmaking commitments – totaling approximately $2.7 million – to support nonprofits confronting the COVID-19 crisis nationally and in cities across the United States. In 2020, Kresge granted an estimated $17 million in total grant support to equip more than 150 national…
News & Views Q&A: Artist led engagement in Minneapolis brings community healing and connections December 9, 2020 By Teeko Yang, Project Manager of the City of Minneapolis’ Creative CityMaking Program Editor’s note: This Q&A feature is part of a series of articles highlighting 10 Minneapolis artists who turned to their community to create a ripple effect of connection, healing and joy following George Floyd’s murder and the subsequent…
News & Views Q & A with Lourdes Germán on COVID-related financial recovery for cities December 9, 2020 Lourdes Germán is one of the preeminent scholars in municipal finance in the country. She joined me last month in crafting a white paper detailing tweaks to public finance tools and programs that would better allow municipalities to recover from economic crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. You can download the…
Resource White Paper: A COVID-19 Federal Fiscal Recovery Plan for States and Localities December 9, 2020 Co-authored by Kresge’s Social Investment Practice Managing Director Aaron Seybert and Boston College Assistant Professor Lourdes Germán, this white paper gives policy recommendations for ways to better orient highly used public finance tools to better assist cities of all sizes as they financially cover from the COVID-19 pandemic.