The Skillman Foundation

Detroit, MI – Today, a group of Detroit-based foundations and members of the business community announced a $1 million endowment to recognize the Detroit Youth Choir, following their tremendous accomplishment on NBC’s America’s Got Talent.

“We are incredibly proud of what the Detroit Youth Choir achieved during their time on America’s Got Talent and we look forward to what’s next for them,” said Tonya Allen, president & CEO of The Skillman Foundation. “This fund is a way for Detroiters to celebrate and grow the genius of our children.”   

The fund, which will be established at the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, will provide support to the Detroit Youth Choir in perpetuity. As the endowment grows, grants will allow the organization to serve youth to further its purpose to provide positive youth development including training in vocal performance arts along with mentorship and building life and social skills.   

“The Detroit Youth Choir brought our entire region together to support Detroit’s kids,” said Wendy Lewis Jackson, Kresge Foundation, Detroit Program managing director. “They represented the city with class and soul, and their success will continue to inspire children in Detroit for years to come. For that, we hope they feel profound pride.”

“The Detroit Youth Choir has shown the world the tremendous impact it is having on the lives of young people in our city and this extraordinary financial commitment is the best recognition possible of that,” said Mayor Mike Duggan. “Thanks to these generous funding partners, the Detroit Youth Choir and the rest of America can see just how Detroit shows its support for its young people.” 

The endowment will be managed by the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. Foundations and businesses contributing to the Detroit Youth Choir endowment as of today include:

• The Skillman Foundation
• The Kresge Foundation
• W. K. Kellogg Foundation
• Ballmer Group
• Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan
• DTE Energy Foundation
• Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation  
• Bank of America
• Huntington Bank
• Dakkota Integrated Systems

A voice for children since 1960, The Skillman Foundation is a private philanthropy that serves as a fierce champion of Detroit children. The Foundation works to ensure Detroit youth achieve their highest aspirations by strengthening K-12 public education, afterschool learning opportunities, and college and career pathways. For more information, visit www.skillman.org.

The Kresge Foundation was founded in 1924 to promote human progress. Today, Kresge fulfills that mission by building and strengthening pathways to opportunity for low-income people in America’s cities, seeking to dismantle structural and systemic barriers to equality and justice. Using a full array of grant, loan, and other investment tools, Kresge invests more than $160 million annually to foster economic and social change. For more information visit Kresge.org.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal innovator and entrepreneur Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life.

The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Michigan. As one of several priority locations in the U.S. (which include Mississippi, New Mexico, New Orleans and Michigan), the foundation has had an office in Detroit for decades. The foundation also has priority places internationally in Mexico and Haiti. To learn more, visit www.wkkf.org or follow WKKF on Twitter at @wk_kellogg_fdn.

Ballmer Group works to improve economic mobility for children and families in the United States who are disproportionately likely to remain in poverty. We believe that building pathways to opportunity requires broad, systemic change. We invest in many stages of a child’s life by supporting strong community partnerships among public, private, and nonprofit organizations that use data to more effectively serve families. Ballmer Group was co-founded by philanthropist and civic activist Connie Ballmer and her husband Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft, founder of USAFacts, and chairman of the Los Angeles Clippers. Learn more at www.ballmergroup.org.

The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan is a full-service philanthropic organization leading the way to positive change in our region. As a permanent community endowment built by gifts from thousands of individuals and organizations, the Foundation supports a wide variety of activities benefiting education, arts and culture, health, human services, community development, and civic affairs. Since its inception, the Foundation has distributed more than $1.1 billion through more than 69,000 grants to nonprofit organizations throughout Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Monroe, Washtenaw, St. Clair, and Livingston counties.  For more information, please visit www.cfsem.org.      

The Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation’s core philosophy is grounded in the beliefs of our founders and the family’s shared Jewish values that life’s purpose is found in service to others. The mission of the Foundation is to enrich humanity by strengthening and empowering children and families in need. In the Jewish tradition of tzedakah, the Foundation works to repair the world (tikkun olam) alongside those who share our mission. For more information, please visit www.mmfisher.org.