Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation

The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation is a private grant making foundation that was created when Ralph C. Wilson Jr., former owner of the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills, decided to sell the football franchise. 1 The foundation focuses the vast majority of its philanthropy on economic development, youth sports, nonprofit support, and caregiving for older adults. 2

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(3), Private Foundation
Website: www.ralphcwilsonjrfoundation.org
Formation:

2015

President and CEO:

David Egner

Location: Detroit, MI View on map
Tax ID: 45-0921232
Most Recent Filing: 2024
Budget (2024): Assets: $896,526,758 Revenue: $75,826,468 Expenses: $160,094,754

Contents

    The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation has given money to media entities such as the Center for Michigan’s Bridge Michigan, 3 Chalkbeat, 4 and Solutions Journalism Network, 5 all of which are funded by many left-of-center foundations.

    History

    The Wilson family sold the Buffalo Bills for $1.4 billion in 2014 and that money was funneled to the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation. 1 The foundation began operations in 2015 and is located in Detroit, with a stated goal to spend down all the funds by 2034 with a focus on southeast Michigan and western New York, primarily Buffalo and Detroit. 6

    Assets

    The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation had $261.2 million in total income in 2019 with $131.6 million in total expenses with total assets of $1.27 billion. 7 The foundation has given out 573 grants for a total of $614.6 million from 2015 to 2019. 7

    Grantmaking

    Media

    The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation has supported journalism initiatives. The foundation gave $150,000 to Solutions Journalism Network, a nonprofit that is funded by many left-of-center organizations and provides training and curriculum to journalists and news organizations. 5 In one example of the work of Solutions Journalism Network, the Kansas City Star linked food insecurity with gun violence for a story on how black farmers worked on a “food justice” solution. 8

    The Solutions Journalism Network is funded by the Democracy Fund, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Ford Foundation, left-leaning Barr Foundation, left-of-center Emerson Collective as well as the Rita Allen Foundation and the NoVo Foundation that both have supported left-of-center projects. 9

    The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation gave $300,000 to Chalkbeat, a non-profit that manages news sites and is funded by the left-of-center Joyce Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, and the Democracy Fund. 4

    The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation gave $50,000 to The Center for Michigan to support the news site Bridge Michigan, 10 whose funders include the left-of-center Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. 3

    Policy Research

    The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation gave $50,000 to the left-of-center Michigan League for Public Policy to fund a program called Kids Count in Michigan that tracks demographic information on children. 11 The Michigan League for Public Policy is a left-of-center racial-policy advocacy organization funded left-of-center W.K. Kellogg Foundation, 12 Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, 13 Ford Foundation, 14 Kresge Foundation 15 and the Tides Center. 16

    The Brookings Institution received three grants totally $200,000 from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation. The Brookings Institution was described by Forbes as having “deep ties to political leaders on the left.” 17  The Brookings Institution’s other funders of $100,000 or more in 2019 included the center-left organizations W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Democracy Fund, Facebook, Inc., and Arnold Ventures. 18

    Teach for America

    The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation gave $450,000 to Teach for America to help recruit teachers. 10 The Washington Post referred to Teach For America as “the prototypical liberal education reform organization.” 19

    Controversy

    In May 2024, it was reported that up to $40 million was embezzled from the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit that claims to advocate for increased access to the city’s industrial riverfront. According to the investigation, now turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as of June 2024, the scandal involves “falsifying bank records, securing loans and pocketing the proceeds and investing in private, for-profit limited partnerships.” 20 The Ralph C. Wilson Foundation previously made a $40 million donation to the Conservancy, with president and CEO David Egner commenting, “We’ve got to avoid a national black eye…We have to make sure this project is looked at for its contribution to the community and not this short-term disruption.” 20

    People

    The list of foundation officers includes the CEO/president, a treasurer and secretary and seven trustees. 21 Eugene Driker was listed as the chairman of the trustees as of 2019, the most recent filing by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation. 21 Driker is a business litigation lawyer whose clients included the Buffalo Bills, Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corporation, and the Dow Chemical Company. 22

    David Egner has been the president and CEO of the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation since 2016. He also served as the president and CEO of the left-of-center Hudson-Webber Foundation from 1997 to 2015 23 and was executive assistant to Russell G. Mawby, who was the former CEO and chair of the trustees of the left-of-center W.K. Kellogg Foundation. 24

    Lavea Brachman was the vice president of programs for five years at the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation. She co-founded the Greater Ohio Policy Center in Columbus, Ohio. The Greater Ohio Policy Center advocates for more spending on public transportation and higher taxes and more government spending. 25 Brachman is a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution. 26

    Financial Statistics

    Total Assets

    Total Revenue

    Total Expenses

    YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
    2024 $896,526,758 $75,826,468 $160,094,754 View
    2023 $1,001,561,935 $89,392,039 $156,934,231 View
    2022 $1,027,946,333 $53,739,016 $174,236,047 View
    2021 $1,326,486,981 $124,247,727 $146,742,178 View
    2020 $1,300,036,042 $83,081,545 $131,088,325 View

    Prior year filings: 2019, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

    Expenses Detail

    Employee Compensation

    Highest Earning Employees

    EmployeeTitleTotal Compensation
    David O EgnerPresident/Chief Executive Officer$730,000
    Norah M O'BrienTreasurer$375,000
    James BoyleVP of Programs & Com$352,000
    Maura DewanSecretary$335,000
    Amber SlichtaVP of Programs$305,000
    James TigheSR Director Parks$244,000
    Michael JosephController$204,000
    Gary StarkDirector Grants Mgmt$174,000
    Jeffrey C LittmannTrustee$59,250
    Mary M OwenCHAIRMAN/TRUSTEE$59,250
    W Frank FountainTrustee$49,250
    Mary M WilsonTrustee$45,250
    David J ColliganTrustee$45,250
    Elizabeth Woike-GangaTrustee$35,250
    Gerard T MazurikiewiczCommittee Member$25,250
    Howard MorrisCommittee Member$14,000
    Dr Thomasina StenhouseCommittee Member$10,500
    Monique WellsCommittee Member$10,500

    Grant Activity

    All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $919,284,517
    • Number of Grants: 3,456
    • Number of Recipients: 1,025

    Selection of highest value grants given from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $15,000,0002021 Community Foundation for Greater BuffaloTO CREATE AN ENDOWMENT FUND THAT WILL ENHANCE AND SUSTAIN THE ARTS AND CULTURE SECTOR IN WESTERN NEW YORK
    $15,000,0002021 Community Foundation for Southeast MichiganTO CREATE AN ENDOWMENT FUND THAT WILL ENHANCE AND SUSTAIN THE ARTS AND CULTURE SECTOR IN SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN
    $14,000,0002020 Detroit Riverfront Conservancy IncTO SUPPORT THE TRANSFORMATION OF WEST RIVERFRONT PARK INTO THE RALPH C. WILSON, JR. CENTENNIAL PARK.
    $10,000,0002024 Community Foundation for Greater BuffaloCity Within a Park Fund
    $10,000,0002023 Community Foundation for Greater BuffaloTO SUPPORT THE CITY WITHIN A PARK INITIATIVE.
    $10,000,0002023 Detroit Riverfront Conservancy IncTO TRANSFORM WEST RIVERFRONT PARK INTO THE RALPH C. WILSON, JR. CENTENNIAL PARK.
    $10,000,0002021 Community Foundation for Greater BuffaloTO ESTABLISH THE RALPH C. WILSON, JR. TRAILS ENDOWMENT FOR WESTERN NEW YORK TO SUPPORT THE LONG-TERM MAINTENANCE OF TRAILS AND GREENWAYS IN THE REGION.
    $10,000,0002020 Community Foundation for Greater BuffaloSEE PART XV, SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATIONRECIPIENT 14TO ESTABLISH THE RALPH WILSON PARK ENDOWMENT FUND TO SUPPORT THE LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY OF RALPH C. WILSON, JR. CENTENNIAL PARK IN BUFFALO, NY.
    $7,500,0002022 Community Foundation for Southeast MichiganTO ENHANCE AND SUSTAIN THE ARTS AND CULTURE SECTOR IN SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN
    $7,500,0002024 Southeast Michigan Foundation for Public SpacesDetroit Riverfront Finishline Fund
    $7,500,0002022 Community Foundation for Greater BuffaloTO ENHANCE AND SUSTAIN THE ARTS AND CULTURE SECTOR IN WESTERN NEW YORK
    $6,532,8002024 Detroit Riverfront Conservancy IncConstruction Support – Ralph Wilson Park
    $6,000,0002021 Natural Heritage TrustTO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF A STATE-OF-THE-ART WELCOME CENTER TO HIGHLIGHT THE HISTORIC AND NATURAL ASSETS WITHIN NIAGARA FALLS STATE PARK.
    $5,250,0002022 BUFFALO NIAGARA WATERKEEPERTO SUPPORT THE SHORELINE RESTORATION OF RALPH WILSON PARK.
    $5,000,0002024 Community Foundation for Greater BuffaloRCWJRF Inclusive Arts & Culture Initiative
    $5,000,0002024 Community Foundation for Southeast MichiganRCWJRF Inclusive Arts & Culture Initiative
    $5,000,0002023 Community Foundation for Greater BuffaloTO ENHANCE AND SUSTAIN THE ARTS AND CULTURE SECTOR WITHIN WNY.
    $5,000,0002023 Community Foundation for Southeast MichiganTO ENHANCE AND SUSTAIN THE ARTS AND CULTURE SECTOR IN SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN.
    $5,000,0002023 Community Foundation for Southeast MichiganTO SUPPORT THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THE UNIFIED GREENWAY.
    $5,000,0002022 Community Foundation for Greater BuffaloTO SUPPORT THE RCWJRF INCLUSIVE ARTS & CULTURE INITIATIVE.
    $5,000,0002022 Community Foundation for Southeast MichiganTO SUPPORT THE RCWJRF INCLUSIVE ARTS & CULTURE INITIATIVE.
    $4,268,1812021 Lakeshore Connections IncTO SUPPORT GENERATOR Z GRANTS AND ASSOCIATED ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS
    $4,220,0002022 Natural Heritage TrustTO SUPPORT THREE MAJOR TRAIL PROJECTS IN WESTERN NEW YORK.
    $3,750,0002024 Community Foundation for Greater BuffaloSupport for the Arts and Culture Sector in WNY
    $3,750,0002024 Community Foundation for Southeast MichiganTo sustain the Arts and Culture Sector

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    Financials, employee compensation, and grant information provided by Candid.

    Mentioned in this Article

    References

    1. Detroit News. Jennifer Chambers. Oct. 8, 2014. “Sale Of Buffalo Bills To Benefit Detroit”; Accessed 7/4/2021. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/wayne-county/2014/10/08/buffalo-bills-detroit-sale/16941307/
    2. Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation website. Accessed 7/4/2021. https://www.ralphcwilsonjrfoundation.org/our-focus/caregivers/
    3. Bridge Michigan website. Accessed 7/5/2021. https://www.bridgemi.com/about/funders
    4. Chalkbeat website. Accessed 7/5/2021. https://www.chalkbeat.org/pages/supporters
    5. Solutions Journalism Network. Accessed 7/6/2021. https://www.solutionsjournalism.org/
    6. Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation website. Accessed 7/4/2021. https://www.ralphcwilsonjrfoundation.org/who-we-are/
    7. Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation 2019 Annual Report. Accessed 7/5/2021 https://www.ralphcwilsonjrfoundation.org/wp-content/flipbooks/2019-Annual-Report/index.html#page=9
    8. Solutions Journalism Network story tracker. Accessed 7/6/2021. https://storytracker.solutionsjournalism.org/stories/food-insecurity-linked-to-gun-violence-in-st-louis-black-farmers-work-on-a-solution
    9. Solutions Journalism Network website. Accessed 7/5/2021. https://www.solutionsjournalism.org/who-we-are/funders
    10. Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation website. Accessed 7/5/2021. https://www.ralphcwilsonjrfoundation.org/our-grantees/#filter-form-wrapper
    11. Michigan League for Public Policy website. Accessed 7/5/2021. https://mlpp.org/kids-count/michigan/
    12. W.K. Kellogg Foundation Form 990 2018. Part XV. Accessed 7/5/2021. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/381359264/201901939349100620/IRS990PF
    13. Charles S. Mott Foundation Form 990, 2018. Part XV. Accessed 7/5/2021. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/381211227/201903059349100725/IRS990PF
    14. Ford Foundation Form 990, 2017. Part XV. Accessed 7/5/2021. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/131684331/201803209349100025/IRS990PF
    15. [1] Kresge Foundation Form 990, 2017. Part XV. Accessed 7/5/2021. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/381359217/201823169349101227/IRS990PF
    16. Tides Center Form 990, 2018. Part II. Accessed 7/5/2021. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/943213100/201943189349314209/IRS990ScheduleI
    17. Forbes. Adam Andrzejewski. June 2, 2017. “Brookings Institution – The Progressive Jukebox Funded By U.S. Taxpayers”; Accessed 6/30/2021. https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2017/06/02/brookings-institution-the-progressive-jukebox-funded-by-u-s-taxpayers/?sh=51407aa35e53
    18. Brookings Institution website. Accessed 7/6/2021. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/The-Brookings-Institutions-Contributors-List-Fiscal-Year-2020.pdf
    19. Washington Post. Andrew Hartman. Dec. 25, 2011. “Teach For America: Liberal Missions Helps Conservative Agenda”; Accessed 7/6/2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/teach-for-america-liberal-mission-helps-conservative-agenda/2011/12/25/gIQApoVZHP_blog.html
    20. Finley, Nolan and Daniel Howes. “Alleged theft from Detroit Riverfront Conservancy could reach $40 million.” The Detroit News, Accessed June 6, 2024. https://www.detroitnews.com/restricted/?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.detroitnews.com%2Fstory%2Fbusiness%2F2024%2F05%2F29%2Falleged-theft-from-detroit-riverfront-conservancy-could-reach-millions%2F73895821007%2F&gps-source=CPROADBLOCKDH
    21. Ralph C. Wilson Foundation Form 990, Part VII. Accessed 7/6/2021. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/45-0921232
    22. Barris, Sott, Denn, Driker, PLLC website. Accessed 7/6/2021. https://www.bsdd.com/Eugene-Driker
    23. Our State Of Generosity website. Accessed 6/30/2021. https://ourstateofgenerosity.org/leader/david-egner/
    24. W.K. Kellogg Foundation website. Oct. 23, 2017. “In Tribute: Honoring The Life And Legacy Of Dr. Russell G. Mawby, Legendary Leader And Friend Of Philanthropy”; Accessed 6/30/2021. https://ourstateofgenerosity.org/leader/david-egner/
    25. Greater Ohio Policy Center website. “Building A Greater Ohio, Greater Ohio Policy Center 2021-22 Public Policy Agenda”; Accessed 6/30/2021. https://www.greaterohio.org/2020-policy-platform
    26. Brookings Institution website. Accessed 7/7/2021. https://www.brookings.edu/experts/lavea-brachman/