Discover the latest news for the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr Foundation.
Individuals have been fraudulently posing in traditional postal mail, e-mails, in text messages and on social media, as “representatives” of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation. These individuals are using the Foundation’s name without authorization and have contacted people to suggest that funds may be forthcoming if personal identification and financial information is provided. The […]
The fragmented world of youth sports presents challenges to both availability and affordability for kids and their families.
The Detroit Regional Chamber’s Detroit Drives Degrees Community College Collaborative (D3C3) has announced more than $30 million in funding from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and Ballmer Group.
he public-private Southeast Michigan Resilience Fund includes partners Cleveland-Cliffs, Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation, Kresge Foundation, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Forest Service; and receives significant support through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
Exhale – the Family Caregiver Initiative which funds innovative collaborative projects that reimagines and boosts respite opportunities for family caregivers of older adults – recently announced that a dozen nonprofit groups in Western New York and Michigan will split nearly $2.6 million in related grants. Nearly 60 partner organizations also have stepped up to offer related help, said Amber Slichta, vice president and programs and learning for the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation.
The New Economy Initiative (NEI) and Michigan Municipal League (MML) Foundation today announced the formation of the Michigan Microbusiness Coalition. The goal of the coalition is to increase statewide support and develop a new strategy for emerging entrepreneurs and small businesses as essential drivers of economic growth and job creation.
Friends of the Detroit River are filling in the gaps of a 25-mile greenways system that stretches from Flat Rock to Detroit with a $4 million federal grant. The group received the grant to connect gaps in the Downriver Linked Greenways trail system. They are partnering with Downriver Linked Greenways and the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation to link Flat Rock and Detroit with a continuous trail network.
The institute uses a three-pronged approach to help unpaid caregivers through free programming, advocacy and partnerships with private companies and other nonprofits, including Cigna, the Wounded Warrior Project and even Sesame Street.
Revenue at the nonprofit jumped from about $1.5 million in 2020 to more than $9 million in 2021, thanks in large part to a $5 million grant from the Ralph C. Wilson Foundation.
Capital Impact Partners, a non-profit organization based in the District of Colombia that provides financial services to underserved markets, has awarded grants to 16 Detroit real estate projects led by people of color.
Since 2021, Capital Impact Partner has granted a total of $546,500 to developers of color in Detroit, which was made possible through funding from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation and the Kresge Foundation.
Created with proceeds from the $1.4 billion sale in 2014 of the Buffalo Bills after the death of Ralph Wilson Jr., the foundation is following Wilson’s directive that all funds be awarded within a 20-year period.
Created with proceeds from the $1.4 billion sale in 2014 of the Buffalo Bills after the death of the late Ralph Wilson, the foundation is following Wilson’s directive that all funds be awarded within a 20-year period.
“The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation is thrilled to support this new and innovative workforce initiative at RIT, which will help move the region in a meaningful way toward the adoption of skills-based hiring practices and open access to high-quality, in-demand jobs to a diverse talent pool in Rochester,” says Susan Dundon, director of the young adults and working families grant making at the foundation.
Community Development Advocates of Detroit, in partnership with JFM Consulting Group and Data Driven Detroit, is responsible for the work. Philanthropic groups funding it include the Ford Foundation, Hudson-Webber Foundation, Kresge Foundation, Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation, Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, The Skillman Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
Though she has never drawn a paycheck from the United Way of Buffalo & Erie County, she has spent 30 years volunteering in various capacities with the agency.
The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy will manage the expansion of its riverfront greenspaces that connect with the Joe Louis Greenway while continuing to play a lead role in the Unified Greenway Partnership’s fundraising efforts. It will continue to operate, secure, staff, program, and maintain its greenspaces, including Cullen Plaza, the Detroit Riverwalk, Robert C. Valade Park, Mt. Elliott Park, Gabriel Richard Park, Dequindre Cut, Southwest Greenway, and Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park.
With more than $195 million raised to date, the project is the largest capital campaign for a cultural institution in Western New York’s history. Thanks to generosity from the community, organizations like the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr., Foundation, and financier Jeffrey Gundlach—who helped fund the expansion through matching challenges—Buffalo will soon be home to an art museum that rivals both the Guggenheim and the Whitney Museum of American Art in stature.
American youth continue to receive low grades for physical fitness, but a new report shows they emerged from lockdowns and virtual classrooms by upping their game when it comes to participation in sports activities.
All eyes are now on Lake Erie and Buffalo’s coastline because of this study which aims to evaluate flood risk and look at solutions to protect the shore. Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper is partnering with the City of Buffalo for this study with Ramboll Engineering as the consultant. Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation is funding the project.
Funded by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, Health Foundation for Western & Central New York, Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, and managed by The Philanthropic Initiative (TPI), the 2022 Exhale initiative involves a total of 60+ partner organizations across Western New York state and Washtenaw County, MI, who will work in teams led by the 13 grantees including Chelsea Senior Center.
On Tuesday, the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy and Huron-Clinton Metroparks announced the name of one of four main attractions inside of Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park — the Metroparks’ first physical location in the city of Detroit.
The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan today announced $500,000 in grants to support arts and culture organizations that represent a variety of creative disciplines throughout the Community Foundation’s seven-county service area and contribute to the vitality of our region’s economy.
The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo announced the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Arts & Culture Initiative awards totaling $500,000 to support more than 75 small to mid-sized arts organizations serving the eight counties of Western New York, plus Monroe County, through its inaugural 2022 competitive grants process.
“Thanks to the Ralph C. Wilson Foundation and our partners at the state and federal levels, we are seeing this vision become reality. Today marks the first of many celebrations to come as we continue this transformational work in our neighborhoods.” -Mayor Mike Duggan
“Ralph knew exactly what he was doing when he asked Eugene Driker to join us as one of the four life trustees to direct his foundation. Eugene brought wisdom, empathy and an incredible lived experience to every aspect of our work. His guidance in shaping the mission, values and direction of the foundation will live […]
Free skateboarding lessons will be available for kids ages 8 to 13
Thanks to a $13,300 Capacity Building for Nonprofits grant from the Pontiac Funders Collaborative (PFC), FPP is developing a strategic plan to shape its future and its long-term goals.
More than one in five Americans act as a family caregiver, according to a 2020 report from the AARP Public Policy Institute. Many receive no compensation and must balance competing professional and personal obligations.
Beginning in 2019, the Foundation hosted our inaugural cohort of Philanthropy Fellows via the Council of Michigan Foundations. During their two years at the Foundation, Margaret Zimmer, Olivia Vaden, and Jesse Friedman made meaningful contributions to the Foundation, but also the larger nonprofit communities of Western New York and Southeast Michigan. We’re grateful for their […]
An effort called Open4, launched during the pandemic to help small businesses and nonprofits survive over the long haul, has awarded about $3 million in funding.
There’s a new platform trying to reimagine after-school programs for teenagers in WNY. They gathered a group of 1,000 experts and paid them for their ideas. Who are these experts? The very teens using these programs.
Teens from Washtenaw and Livingston counties have been granted funds for their after-school program ideas. The grants were given by Generator Z, an ideas lab that launched in 2020 to help teens reimagine after-school activities.
The Buffalo Sewer Authority closed on a $54 million Environmental Impact Bond (EIB) last week, the country’s largest to date, to finance green infrastructure and stormwater mitigation projects as part of its Rain Check 2.0 initiative.
The sun seems to be shining brightly on Detroit’s West Riverfront Park right now. In March, the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, which owns the 22-acre park, was awarded a new $500,000 grant by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation to support a new garden and other improvements there. And the conservancy is now preparing to kick off a massive […]
More than 24 community organizations in Detroit led by or serving Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) will share $11 million in operating support over the next two years thanks to grants announced last month by Enterprise Community Partners, a national nonprofit focused on the affordable housing crisis.
Some 90 organizations are receiving over $2 million from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation. The Legacy grants, administered through the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, were given to support caregivers, youth sports, cultural and arts organizations and recreational trails – all areas important to Wilson when he was alive.
For the past few years, State Parks officials have been thinking about a makeover for the visitor center at Niagara Falls State Park. Now, they’ve decided on a do-over instead. The 36-year-old building will be demolished and replaced with a larger building on the same site, officials announced Friday.
A $500,000 gift from the trusts of Ralph C. Wilson Jr.’s late daughters will support the Detroit riverfront park named for their father.
A million dollars from the trusts of two of Ralph C. Wilson Jr.’s daughters, both deceased, will go toward a relocated Barkyard, Buffalo’s first dog park, and a planned entry garden by a pedestrian bridge that will be built in the park named in his honor.
A cross-sector group of government and nonprofit leaders in Pontiac is working to finalize data-driven goals for the next five to 10 years to help spur economic growth and revitalization in the city.
The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation is putting $3 million in grants behind afterschool programs inspired by feedback it solicited from 1,000 high school students. The foundation last fall paid 1,000 high school students across its focus areas of Southeast Michigan and Western New York $1,000 each for their year-long participation in a project dubbed “Generator Z.”
With the groundbreaking for a transformed Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park one year away, the question of who will operate and maintain the park has become clear. A newly-established not-for-profit called the Ralph Wilson Park Conservancy will be in charge.
Parks and trails have always been a big part of the Western New York experience, but their prominence and accessibility have grown significantly in recent years thanks to the support of the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation.
The Foundation was honored to be named the recipient of ESPN’s inaugural Sports Philanthropist of the Year honor as part of its 2020 Sports Humanitarian Awards. We’re proud to share and celebrate this recognition with our amazing partners and incredible grantees that are working each and every day to provide equitable access and a better youth sport experience for all children.
The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation recently announced more than $1 million in grants to support small, home-based childcare providers through the “Small Grants for Small Children” program. The funds were granted to four Western New York-based community foundations to cover nine counties across the region. “Childcare is essential now more than ever,” said Amber […]
Dear friends and partners, In accordance with guidance and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and the State of Michigan to mitigate community spread of COVID-19, the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation has closed its physical office in Detroit effective today. As the coronavirus situation unfolds we will continue to review potential reopening on […]
Lavea Brachman, Vice President of Programs, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation This May, the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation sponsored a trip to explore social entrepreneurship in Israel. Dubbed the “Startup Nation,” Israel’s entrepreneurism has become part of its DNA, sprung from several unique factors, and leading to an unprecedented number of successful high-tech and […]
Sure, sometimes, the 22-acre space comes alive for the occasional outdoor concert, but for the most part, Detroit’s West Riverfront Park is pretty desolate compared to the city’s RiverWalk, just a few miles east and home to lush wetlands vegetation, family-friendly playgrounds and volleyball courts and spacious walkways that welcome three million visitors a year […]
Detroit Future City’s deputy director, Allandra Bulger, has been named executive director of the first-of-its-kind nonprofit support and innovation center in development for Detroit, following a national search. The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation is putting more than $5 million in grants over the next few years behind the center and has tapped the TechTown […]
In 2016, NPQ wrote about the founding of the Ralph C. Wilson Foundation in Michigan. The emergence of the new philanthropy was made notable by a number of factors, including its $1.2 billion endowment and the fact that it will sunset or spend down within twenty years of its founding.
Play is critically important to a child’s development. Kids learn how to interact with the world around them through play. It helps them learn the cognitive, physical, social and emotional skills that they need to thrive. Play is considered so essential to child development that the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights see it […]
It can be difficult for philanthropy, often based in wealthy coastal cities, to meaningfully address middle America’s ongoing economic plight. Since the 2016 election, as we’ve often observed, many funders have begun paying closer attention to those challenges. But the geographic disconnect remains.
With the impending sale of the Buffalo Bills in 2014, most fans were united in anxiety over a single question — would the team be sold to an owner who would relocate the beloved franchise? It was a question that hung in the air for several years preceding the death of Ralph C. Wilson Jr., founding owner of the hometown team, and it intensified upon his passing in March 2014 at age 95. With so much focus on the negative possibilities surrounding […]
With the impending sale of the Buffalo Bills in 2014, most fans were united in anxiety over a single question — would the team be sold to an owner who would relocate the beloved franchise? It was a question that hung in the air for several years preceding the death of Ralph C. Wilson Jr., founding owner of the hometown team, and it intensified upon his passing in March 2014 at age 95. With so much focus on the negative possibilities surrounding […]
The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation has announced the launch of STEM 2035, an initiative aimed at strengthening the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) pipeline in western New York and southeast Michigan.
Under-served youths interested in careers in science, technology, engineering and math will be getting assistance through a new program announced Monday by the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation. STEM 2035 is an initiative that will grant funding and technical assistance to existing after-school and summer programs in western New York and southeast Michigan; regions that […]
Under-served youths interested in careers in science, technology, engineering and math will be getting assistance through a new program announced Monday by the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation. STEM 2035 is an initiative that will grant funding and technical assistance to existing after-school and summer programs in western New York and southeast Michigan; regions that […]
Having room to roam, to dream about the future and to imagine a better world—that is what the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation sees as the reasons for investing in public play spaces in communities that truly need them. Recently, the organization announced Built to Play, an initiative focusing on children and youth in Western […]
The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation in Detroit and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology today announced that the foundation will support the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy and its annual Inclusive Innovation Challenge (IIC). The program seeks to identify and promote entrepreneurial organizations in North America that are using technology to improve economic opportunity […]
If children have the opportunity to play, they will take it. That may mean running, jumping, skipping rope or hopping back and forth on lines drawn in chalk. This was the state of play so many of us grew up with and somehow got lost over the decades. Yes, video games have become ubiquitous. Few […]
The Buffalo-based Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation has announced a $10 million initiative to provide children and youth across western New York State and southeastern Michigan with more opportunities for free play through the creation of public play spaces.
If you build it they will come. The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation announced Thursday the creation of a program that will build interactive public play spaces for kids as well as skate parks in western New York and southeast Michigan. The “Built to Play’’ initiative will be funded by $5 million awards to each […]
Explore & More museum’s Valentine’s Day gift is a box of multimillion dollar chocolates the entire community will enjoy, thanks to the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation. The museum will appropriately be named: Explore & More – The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Children’s Museum. The foundation’s promise to award $6 million to the project if […]
A $1 million grant from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation has launched the Buffalo Scholastic Rowing Association’s fundraising efforts for its new rowing center one giant length closer to the finish line. The grant is the largest gift the BSRA has received for the Patrick Paladino Memorial Boathouse, based on the original donation of […]
The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation is looking to fill a gaping hole in metro Detroit’s support system for nonprofits — and it’s turning to some experts in entrepreneurial cross-pollination to help. The foundation is putting more than $5 million in grants over the next few years behind what could be a first-of-its-kind nonprofit support […]
A leading elderly memory care provider in Rochester has received a $151,000 grant toward staff training. Rochester Presbyterian Home, an assisted living facility with three locations in Perinton, Chili and the 19th Ward, received the grant through the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, a community development nonprofit founded by the late businessman, famed for founding […]
Detroit health officials hope increased access to child care services and information during pregnancy will reduce premature births and decrease infant mortality, Mayor Mike Duggan said Wednesday. Make Your Date Detroit, a partnership with the city and Wayne State University (WSU), has served more than 5,800 women since launching in 2014. The effort is adding […]
Greenways will soon take Detroiters from 8 Mile to the Riverfront and everywhere in between. That’s the “gist” of the anticipated impact of a $2 million Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation grant announced by Mayor Mike Duggan today. Neighborhood residents, who remain largely disconnected by roadways that split neighborhoods and partial pathways that lead “nowhere,” […]
The Detroit RiverFront Conservancy has received a $345,000 grant to fund a design competition to help transform the park that sits on property that was once home to the Detroit Free Press printing plant, officials said. The nonprofit dedicated to developing the city’s riverfront district and facilitate community access to the waterfront, the Conservancy said […]
Southeast Michigan is a diverse region. It covers broad swatches of farmland, suburbs, and urban neighborhoods. Half of our state population resides in metro Detroit, which contains both affluent and low-income families of many ethnicities. In our communities and neighborhoods, it is the next generation – young people of all ages, cultures and creeds – […]
A computer tablet capable of connecting its users to a nursing station for face-to-face communication is changing the way one local hospice reaches out to its patients. Angela Hospice in Livonia received a $2.1 million grant from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation to start a “telehospice” program that allows patients and caregivers to video […]
Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and Rochester Area Community Foundation release groundbreaking report on the state of play in Greater Rochester and Finger Lakes. It will serve as a playbook on how best to use a $5 million endowment for youth sports and recreation to build a healthier, happier community.
Ralph Wilson won a tennis trophy when he was 12. Mary Wilson, his widow, plans to bring it along to a (State of Play) news conference in Detroit on Wednesday. She sees the tinny token as a touchstone for his 95 years.
The National Comedy Center in Jamestown, NY has reached its fundraising goal for completing what is to become the first cultural institution and visitor experience dedicated to comedy.
The $1.8 million grant from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation was presented to Help Me Grow Western New York, an organization launched in 2011 by the Health Foundation of Western New York with more than 40 partner agencies, including Niagara University’s College of Education, to create an umbrella of access to the multitude of […]
The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation has made a $2 million grant to the Detroit Employment Solutions Corp. to help educate Detroiters for information technology careers. The new grant will support the regional expansion of TechHire, a White House initiative launched to expand local tech sectors by building talent pipelines in communities across the country. […]
The foundation created by the late Ralph C. Wilson, Jr., longtime owner of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills franchise, plans to dedicate more than $1.2 billion over the next twenty years to “sustained investment in the quality of life of the people of western New York and southeastern Michigan,” the Buffalo News reports.
These organizations want to discuss gaps and goals, not just dollars and cents.
The late Ralph C. Wilson Jr. left hundreds of millions of dollars to Western New York. His enormous generosity will have a meaningful impact on the lives of many of the region’s most vulnerable citizens.
Total investment increases to over $11 million over five years and expands geographic reach.
Imagine you have $1 billion to give away to worthy causes in a limited amount of time. What do you do? That’s the beautiful dilemma facing Detroit’s newest charitable foundation.
