The Skillman Foundation is a left-of-center advocacy and philanthropic organization based out of Detroit that was described by the Detroit Free Press as “one of Detroit’s most well-known philanthropic organizations.” ¹

Much of the Skillman Foundation’s philanthropy goes to youth, education, and public service programs. This include grants to organizations such as United Way, Boys and Girls Club, the Police Athletic League, and groups which support the Detroit Public Schools Community District. ²

The Skillman Foundation also funds many center-left organizations with a goal of increasing funding for public schools. ³ The Skillman Foundation focuses on education with an emphasis on racial issues, claiming that “generations of racial discrimination and disinvestment” have “eroded” opportunities for Detroit children and funding Achievement Network, a nonprofit that claims the U.S. educational system is racist. ^{4 5} The Skillman Foundation’s former CEO Tonya Allen led two coalitions from 2014 through 2021 that sought to increase funding in public schools. ⁶ The Skillman Foundation also funded an organization ⁷ that did research claiming Michigan’s public schools were underfunded and financially backed media outlets that reported on the city of Detroit’s education issues. ⁸

Founding

Robert Skillman made his fortune with the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company. Robert and his wife, Rose Skillman, incorporated the Skillman Foundation in 1960. ⁹

Funding

The Skillman Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with total assets of $432,991,298 as of 2018. ¹⁰ The Skillman Foundation gave out $21.9 million in grants in 2018 and $12.8 million in grants in 2019. ¹¹ Since its founding, has made 12,082 grants for a total of $652.6 million as of December of 2019. ¹²

Left-of-Center Advocacy

The Skillman Foundation gave a $140,000 grant to the Annie E. Casey Foundation in 2018. ¹³ The Annie E. Casey Foundation filed an amicus brief in support of the city of Philadelphia in the U.S. Supreme Court case Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, in which it defended the city’s ability to require private religious organizations to allow same-sex couples to adopt and foster children. ^{14 15} On June 17, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 9-0 vote that the city of Philadelphia could not refuse to work with a faith-based agency that will not allow same-sex couples to be foster parents under the conditions Philadelphia had established. ¹⁶

The Skillman Foundation gave $150,000 to the Achievement Network in 2018 to support the local arm of the non-profit in Michigan. ¹⁷ The national Achievement Network puts on so-called anti-racism seminars for schools, which advocate for left-of-center attitudes and policies on race. ¹⁸ The network has called the American education system the product of an “interconnected history of racism and bias with generations of students having their first experiences with racial trauma in school.” The Achievement Network has argued that school policies create “structural” racism in schools which joins with “relational” racism to create “institutional” racism. ¹⁹

The Skillman Foundation gave $500,000 in 2020 to Teach For America, ²⁰ which the Washington Post described as “the prototypical liberal education reform organization” in a 2011 article. ²¹ Teach for America, an organization which places highly ranked undergraduates in underserved schools as teachers, has been criticized for prioritizing left-of-center ideological values over education. ²²

The Skillman Foundation has also given recent grants to left-of-center organizations including the Tides Foundation ($100,000), ²³ the Michigan League for Public Policy ($105,000) ²⁴ and 482Forward ($200,000). ²⁵

Influence on Public Education

The Skillman Foundation has been involved shaping public policy goals, funding of public policy research, and sponsoring media organizations which report on education.

Shaping Public Opinion

Former Skillman Foundation CEO Tonya Allen worked as a leader on two high-profile advocacy coalitions whose goal was to increase funding for public education. Allen was one of six co-chairs for the Coalition for the Future of Detroit Schoolchildren ²⁶ and was a collaborative member of the School Finance Research Collaborative. ²⁷ In a 2018 study, the School Finance Research Collaborative concluded the Michigan’s public schools were underfunded, ²⁸ and the Coalition for the Future of Detroit Schoolchildren called for more funding for Detroit’s public schools in a 2017 report. ²⁹

Funding Research

The Skillman Foundation gave $250,000 to Education Trust in 2020. Education Trust’s other funders include prominent left-of-center organizations, such as the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Wallace Foundation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Joyce Foundation, the Kresge Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. ³⁰ Individuals working for Education Trust gave $26,841 in donations for Democratic federal candidates from 2004 through 2020 and no donations to any Republican candidates. ³¹ The Education Trust-Midwest division released a report in January 2020 titled, “Michigan’s School Funding: Crisis and Opportunity” that concluded the state was underfunding public elementary schools. ³²

Funding the Education Media

The Skillman Foundation gave $225,000 in 2020 to fund news operations that report on the city of Detroit. The foundation gave $100,000 to Chalkbeat in 2020 ³³ and $125,000 to the Center for Michigan in 2020 to help launch the news site BridgeDetroit. ³⁴

BridgeDetroit is funded by the Kresge Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and First Draft News. ³⁵ Chalkbeat’s funders include the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Democracy Fund, the Kresge Foundation, and the Joyce Foundation. ³⁶

Leadership

The Skillman Foundation has 12 trustees, which includes the CEO. ³⁷ Angelique Power was hired June 21, 2021 as the CEO of the Skillman Foundation. ³⁸ Power worked as the president of the Field Foundation in Chicago, and before that, she was a program director for the Joyce Foundation. ³⁹

Former Skillman CEOs

Previous CEOs of the Skillman Foundation include Carol Goss, Kari Schlachtenhaufen, William Beckham, ⁴⁰ and Tonya Allen.

Goss was a program officer at the left-leaning Stuart Foundation and was a program director at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, which awards grants to many left-of-center organizations. ⁴¹

Schlachtenhaufen was the interim president of the left-of-center Northwest Area Foundation from 2007 through 2018. ⁴²

Beckham was a staffer for former U.S. Senator Phil Hart (D-MI), was the chief of staff for former Democratic mayor of Detroit Coleman Young, and was appointed by Democratic President Jimmy Carter to be Assistant Secretary of Treasury and Deputy Secretary of Transportation. ⁴³

Allen worked as CEO from 2013 to February 2021 and stepped down to become the CEO of the left-of-center McKnight Foundation. ⁴⁴ Allen said she was “committed to advancing racial equity” and pointed to the deaths of George Floyd, Philando Castile, “and so many others” in police altercations as a reason for her exit. ⁴⁵

Trustees

Mary Kramer is the board chair and is the publisher of Crain’s Detroit Business. ⁴⁶ Suzanne Shank is the board vice-chair and is the CEO and co-founder of Siebert, Williams, Shank and Co., a municipal bond underwriter. ⁴⁷

1. Detroit Free Press. Christine MacDonald. June 21, 2012. “Chicago Native Focused On Racial Equity To Lead Skillman”; Accessed 6/21/2021. https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/06/21/angelique-power-skillman-foundation/7744793002/
2. Skillman Foundation website. Accessed 6/23/2021. https://60.skillman.org/grants-finances/
3. Skillman Foundation website. Accessed 6/24/2021. https://www.skillman.org/our-work/
4. Achievement Network website. Accessed 6/20/2021. https://www.achievementnetwork.org/learn-more-ar-webinar-series
5. Skillman Foundation website. Accessed 6/24/2021. https://www.skillman.org/our-work/
6. Coalition for the Future of Detroit Schoolchildren. Accessed 6/18/2021. http://detroiteducationcoalition.org/steering-committee/
7. Skillman Foundation website. Accessed 6/24/2021. https://www.skillman.org/our-work/
8. Education Trust-Midwest. Jan. 23, 2020. “Michigan’s School Funding: Crisis And Opportunity”; https://michiganachieves.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2020/01/Education-Trust-Midwest_Michigan-School-Funding-Crisis-Opportunity_January-23-2020-WEB.pdf
9. Skillman Foundation 60^th Anniversary Report. Accessed 6/24/2021. https://60.skillman.org/60-years/
10. Skillman Foundation Form 990. Section I. Accessed 6/24/2021. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/38-1675780
11. Skillman Foundation website. Accessed 6/23/2021. https://60.skillman.org/grants-finances/
12. Skillman Foundation 60^th Anniversary Report. Accessed 6/24/2021. https://60.skillman.org/60-years/
13. Skillman Foundation 990 Form. Expenditure Responsibility Statement. Part VII-B, Line 5C. Accessed 6/20/2021. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/38-1675780
14. ACLU website. “Fulton V City of Philadelphia – Amicus Brief Of Annie E. Casey Foundation Et Al”; Accessed 6/20/2021. https://www.aclu.org/legal-document/fulton-v-city-philadelphia-amicus-brief-annie-e-casey-foundation-et-al
15. ACLU website. “Fulton V City of Philadelphia – Amicus Brief Of Annie E. Casey Foundation Et Al”; Accessed 6/20/2021. https://www.aclu.org/legal-document/fulton-v-city-philadelphia-amicus-brief-annie-e-casey-foundation-et-al
16. Time. Madeleine Carlisle. Belinda Luscombe. June 17, 2021. “Supreme Court Sides With Catholic Agency In LGBTQ Foster Care Case – But Avoids Major Religious Freedom Questions”; Accessed 6/20/2021. https://time.com/6074119/supreme-court-foster-care-ruling-fulton-philadelphia/
17. Skillman Foundation 990 Form. Expenditure Responsibility Statement. Part VII-B, Line 5C. Accessed 6/20/2021. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/38-1675780
18. Skillman Foundation 990 Form. Expenditure Responsibility Statement. Part VII-B, Line 5C. Accessed 6/20/2021. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/38-1675780
19. Achievement Network website. Accessed 6/20/2021. https://www.achievementnetwork.org/learn-more-ar-webinar-series
20. Skillman Foundation website. Accessed 6/28/2021. https://www.skillman.org/grant/teach-for-america-inc/
21. Washington Post. Andrew Hartman. “Teach For America: Liberal Mission Helps Conservatives”; Accessed 6/23/2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/teach-for-america-liberal-mission-helps-conservative-agenda/2011/12/25/gIQApoVZHP_blog.html?tid=usw_passupdatepg
22. Commentary Magazine. Sohrab Ahmari. November 2017. “How Teach For America Lost Its Way”; https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/sohrab-ahmari/teach-america-lost-way/
23. Skillman Foundation website. Accessed 6/28/2021. https://www.skillman.org/grant/tides-foundation/
24. ^[1] Skillman Foundation website. Accessed 6/28/2021. https://www.skillman.org/grant/michigan-league-for-public-policy/
25. Skillman Foundation website. Accessed 6/28/2021. https://www.skillman.org/grant/482forward/
26. Coalition for the Future of Detroit Schoolchildren. Accessed 6/18/2021. http://detroiteducationcoalition.org/steering-committee/
27. School Finance Research Collaborative. Accessed 6/18/2021. https://www.fundmischools.org/
28. Lansing State Journal. Rob Fowler. March 22, 2018. “Fowler: Michigan Needs A New School Funding Approach”; Accessed 6/24/2021. https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/opinion/contributors/viewpoints/2018/03/22/fowler-michigan-needs-new-school-funding-approach/446395002/
29. Detroit Free Press. Kimberly Hayes Taylor. Dec. 6, 2017. “Coalition Recommends Coordination Between Detroit Schools, Putting Emphasis On Reading”; Accessed 6/24/2021. https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2017/12/06/detroit-schools-cooperation-reading/928047001/
30. The Education Trust website. Accessed 6/24/2021. https://edtrust.org/who-we-are/supporters/
31. ^[1] Open Secrets website. Accessed 6/24/2021. https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/education-trust/totals?id=D000050415
32. Education Trust-Midwest. Jan. 23, 2020. “Michigan’s School Funding: Crisis And Opportunity”; https://michiganachieves.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2020/01/Education-Trust-Midwest_Michigan-School-Funding-Crisis-Opportunity_January-23-2020-WEB.pdf
33. Skillman Foundation website. Accessed 6/24/2021. https://www.skillman.org/grant/chalkbeat-inc/
34. Skillman Foundation website. Accessed 6/24/2021. https://www.skillman.org/grant/the-center-for-michigan-inc/
35. BridgeDetroit website. Accessed 6/24/2021. https://www.bridgedetroit.com/about/who-funds-us/
36. Chalkbeat website. Accessed 6/24/2021. https://www.chalkbeat.org/pages/supporters
37. Skillman Foundation website. Accessed 6/28/2021. https://www.skillman.org/trustees/
38. Detroit Free Press. Christine MacDonald. June 21, 2012. “Chicago Native Focused On Racial Equity To Lead Skillman”; Accessed 6/21/2021. https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/06/21/angelique-power-skillman-foundation/7744793002/
39. Detroit Free Press. Christine MacDonald. June 21, 2012. “Chicago Native Focused On Racial Equity To Lead Skillman”; Accessed 6/21/2021. https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/06/21/angelique-power-skillman-foundation/7744793002/
40. Skillman Foundation website. Accessed 6/19/2021. https://www.skillman.org/our-founder/
41. Boardsource.org. Accessed 6/19/2021. https://boardsource.org/about-boardsource/board-of-directors/carol-goss-2/
42. Indian County Today. Sept. 12, 2018. “Kevin Walker Named President And CEO Of Northwest Area Foundation”; Accessed 6/19/2021. https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/kevin-walker-named-president-and-ceo-of-northwest-area-foundation
43. Michigan Chronicle. Patreice A. Massey. July 31, 2018. “Charlie Beckham Retires After Four Decades Of Public Service”; https://michiganchronicle.com/2018/07/31/charlie-beckham-retires-after-four-decades-of-public-service/
44. McKnight Foundation website. “Tonya Allen Joins McKnight As President”; Accessed 6/20/2021. https://www.mcknight.org/news-ideas/tonya-allen-joins-mcknight-as-president/
45. Chalkbeat. Lori Higgins. Dec. 14, 2020. “Tonya Allen, One Of Detroit’s Fiercest Advocates For Detroit Children, Is Leaving The Skillman Foundation”; Accessed 6/24/2021. https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/2020/12/14/22174370/tonya-allen-stepping-down-skillman-foundation-the-backer-of-better-education-for-detroit-students
46. Crain website. Accessed 6/23/2021. https://www.crain.com/leadership/mary-kramer/
47. Skillman Foundation website. Accessed 6/23/2021. https://www.skillman.org/people/suzanne-shank/