The Kresge Foundation has exemplified the impact philanthropy can have on American cities, through transformational leadership, major investments and strategic partnerships. Embracing a City documents the remarkable work Kresge has accomplished in Detroit to drive the return of one of America's iconic cities.
~Nancy Schlichting, retired CEO of Henry Ford Health System and Kresge Foundation Trustee
This chronicle of the Kresge Foundation’s proud quarter-century of dedication to improving Detroit demonstrates that ambitious planning, partnerships and perseverance are key to restoring hope for urban America. The Foundation’s focus on creating connections, community, and opportunity stands as both a blueprint and an inspiration. For all of Detroit’s challenges, the city may be among the most fortunate in having an anchor institution—the Kresge Foundation—that takes an ‘all-in’ approach.
~John Fry, president of Drexel University
Embracing a City is a must read for anyone who wants to believe that large scale change is possible. Yes, it can be viewed as a story about philanthropy but, more importantly, it's about the leadership, patience, risk taking, and humility that’s needed to be a catalyst for change, whoever you are.
~Ben Hecht, president and CEO of Living Cities
The Kresge Foundation's unwavering commitment to Detroit has had an extraordinary impact on the community’s twenty-first-century renewal. As chronicled in Tony Proscio’s and Myron A. Farber’s Embracing a City, the Kresge Foundation—under the visionary leadership of Rip Rapson—has served as a force for transformation in nearly every aspect of the city’s and region’s renaissance and reinvention. An indispensable testimony of the recent past, this important monograph—and the story it tells—will undoubtedly leave you more assured of Detroit’s bright and promising future.
~Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation
The survival of Detroit hinged on a vision both audacious and sweeping—a vision which sprang from the mind of Rip Rapson. The Kresge Foundation emerged from the crisis years as the North Star among the constellation of regional foundations. We should chart our course by their bold dream for Detroit’s re-imagined future. Every city in America needs a Kresge—dreamers for whom no dream is too big; master conveners; audacious architects for the future who embrace risk when others flee it.
~M. Roy Wilson, president of Wayne State University
