The Kresge Foundation is a left-of-center advocacy-philanthropic organization based in Troy, Michigan. The organization funds left-of-center and liberal organizations which support causes such as illegal immigration, aggressive environmentalism, and race issues. The organization holds almost $4 billion in assets, making it one of the largest private foundations in the country; as of 2015, the Foundation Center listed Kresge as the 19^th-largest U.S. foundation by assets. ¹

The Kresge Foundation was founded in 1924 with an initial gift of $1.6 million from Sebastian Spering Kresge. Kresge was the founder of the S.S. Kresge Company which started as a small chain of convenience stores which grew into what is now known as the Kmart Corporation. Kresge chaired the Kresge Foundation for a short while after its founding before serving as treasurer until his death in 1966. Kresge donated over $60 million to the organization by the time of his death. The original intention of the Kresge foundation was to focus on education issues mainly in the city of Detroit. ²

The Kresge Foundation changed paths from the original intentions of S.S. Kresge in 2006 when they began a “multiyear transition to redefine” the foundation. Elaine D. Rosen, chair of the board of trustees for the Kresge Foundation, claimed that the organization needed to redefine itself as a “strategic philanthropy in order to stay relevant in the 21^st century.” The organization now funds organizations that promote liberal and left-of-center issues. ³

Environmental Initiatives

The Kresge Foundation funds many environmentalist initiatives ranging from small localized organizations to some of the largest organizations in the country such as Tides Foundation. Notably, the Kresge Foundation largely supports the Island Press Urban Resilience Project, an organization that supports the radical Green New Deal plan; University of Notre Dame projects which claim the US is under a higher threat than most nations due to climate change; and a large number of Michigan-based organizations that promote radical legislative change regarding environmentalism. ^{4 5}

In 2023, Kresge provided a $3 million loan guarantee to assist with a green energy initiative by Ithaca, New York to become carbon-neutral by 2030. Joe Evans, portfolio director for Kresge’s Social Investment Practice, stated that the support was due to the media attention behind BlocPower, a green energy start-up company taking part in Ithaca’s initiative, and its founder Donnel Baird. Evans stated, “It was a for-profit company owned by a Black man. The board was diverse, the staff was diverse. Their focus was on improving the quality of life and operating expenses for housing where lower-income people and communities of color live…There was a fair amount of alignment.” ⁶

Immigration

The Kresge Foundation has amassed a recent history of supporting initiatives that protect and promote illegal immigration into the United States. In September 2019, a report funded in part by the Kresge Foundation was released that focused on illegal immigrants in the Midwest. The report identified lack of access to services, poor public perception, insufficient funding, and lack of “strategic funding focus” as “critical issues” to illegal immigrants and refugees. The Kresge Foundation, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, and The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan founded the Southeast Michigan Immigrant and Refugee Funder Collaborative in response to their findings. ⁷

Biden Community Violence Intervention Collaborative

In June 2021, the Biden administration announced a program to combat rising gun violence and violent crime using a collaborative composed of government and nonprofit organizations funding community violence intervention (CVI) measures. The Kresge Foundation was reported to be a major funder of the collaborative alongside the California Endowment, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, and the Kellogg Foundation. Other foundations funding the initiative include the MacArthur Foundation, Arnold Ventures, the Emerson Collective, the Heising-Simons Foundation, George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, and the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies. CVI strategies “act as an alternative to heavy-handed policing” by focusing its efforts on the minority of citizens who are perpetrators or targets of violent crime. CVI treats violence as a communicable disease rather than a violent crime and attempts to stop the “spread” of violence. ⁸

Leadership

Rip Rapson is the president and CEO of the Kresge Foundation. Rapson has led the organization on a more liberal path that the years prior to his appointment and has shifted grantmaking toward generally left-of-center projects. Rapson worked as a legislative assistant for U.S. Representative Donald M. Fraser (D-MN) for whom he focused on producing environmentalist legislation. Rapson later served as a deputy mayor of Minneapolis, and as the president of the McKnight Foundation, a left-of-center philanthropic organization. ⁹

Aaron Seybert is the managing director for the Social Investment Practice at the Kresge Foundation. He joined in 2016, working as a social investment officer for Kresge’s American Cities and Detroit Programs project. Prior to Kresge, he worked at several impact investment companies, including Cinnaire and the Legal Aid of Central Michigan, before serving as the executive director of JPMorgan Chase Bank. ¹⁰

John A. Barker is the Vice President and Chief Investment Officer for the Kresge Foundation. Starting with the company in 2007, he previously worked in Kresge’s senior investment team. Prior to Kresge, he was the assistant investment director of the University of Notre Dame’s investment office for five years. ¹¹

Funding

The Kresge Foundation operated on a total revenue of $275,737,970 in 2017. The organization gave $172,549,830 in grants in the same year. The organization held assets of $3,802,169,699 at the end of 2017 making it the 19^th largest private foundation in the US in the same year. ¹²

The Kresge Foundation gave money to a multitude of left-leaning organizations that cover issues such as environmentalism, race relations, LGBT issues, and immigration. The organization made donations to the ACLU, Center for American Progress, the Tides Center, the Vera Institute of Justice, and many other liberal organizations. ¹³

1. “Foundation Stats: Guide to the Foundation Center’s Research Database – Foundation Center.” Foundation Stats: Guide to the Foundation Center’s Research Database – Foundation Center. Accessed September 25, 2019. http://data.foundationcenter.org/#/foundations/all/nationwide/top:assets/list/2015.
2. “Who We Are.” The Kresge Foundation. Accessed September 5, 2019. https://kresge.org/who-we-are.
3. “Who We Are.” The Kresge Foundation. Accessed September 5, 2019. https://kresge.org/who-we-are.
4. “US remains stagnant in climate change vulnerability and readiness, new data show.” University of Notre Dame. Accessed September 7, 2019. https://news.nd.edu/news/us-remains-stagnant-in-climate-change-vulnerability-and-readiness-new-data-show/.
5. “Urban Resilience Project.” Island Press. Accessed September 10, 2019. https://islandpress.org/urban-resilience-project.
6. Harris, Lee. “Wall Street’s Big Bet on Rewiring America.” The American Prospect (TAP), January 23, 2023. https://prospect.org/environment/2023-01-23-wall-street-rewiring-america-ithaca-green-new-deal/
7. “Report identifies 4 critical issues facing immigrants, refugees in Southeast Michigan.” Click on Detroit. Accessed September 6, 2019. https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/report-identifies-4-critical-issues-facing-immigrants-refugees-in-southeast-michigan.
8. Rojc, Philip. “Backing Up Biden: Grantmakers Get Behind a New Federal Anti-Violence Collaborative.” Inside Philanthropy. Inside Philanthropy, July 6, 2021. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2021/7/1/backing-up-biden-grantmakers-get-behind-a-new-federal-anti-violence-collaborative?utm_source=Funding%2BNews%2B%26%2BTips&utm_campaign=f22df871f4-newsletterdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c776dbf0df-f22df871f4-95098585.
9. “Rip Rapson.” Kresge Foundation. Accessed September 4, 2019. https://kresge.org/who-we-are/rip-rapson
10. “Aaron Seybert.” Kresge Foundation, Accessed March 21, 2023. https://kresge.org/person/aaron-seybert/
11. “John A. Barker.” Kresge Foundation, Accessed March 21, 2023. https://kresge.org/person/john-a-barker/
12. 2017 IRS Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax: Kresge Foundation. Part I: Analysis of Revenue and Expenses.
13. 2017 IRS Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax: Kresge Foundation. Part XV Line 3: Grants and Contributions Paid During the Year.