Annual Report 1999

“It seems to me that every person, always, is in a C Charles Stewart HARLES kind of informal partnership with his MOTT FOUNDATION community. His own success is dependent to a S large degree on that community, and the TEWART community, after all, is the sum total of the individuals who make it up. The institutions of M a community, in turn, are the means by which OTT those individuals express their faith, their ideals F OUNDATION and their concern for fellow men... “So broad and so deep are the objectives of the Mott Foundation that they touch almost every aspect of living, increasing the capacity for accomplishment, the appreciation of values, and 1999 ANNUAL R EPORT the understanding of the forces that make up the world we live in. In this sense, it may truly be called a Foundation for Living — with the ultimate aim of developing greater understanding among men. “We recognize that our obligation to fellow men does not stop at the boundaries 1999 A of the community. In an even larger sense, every man is in partnership with the rest of NNUAL the human race in the eternal conquest which we call civilization.” R EPORT CHARLES STEWART MOTT FOUNDATION Charles Stewart Mott 1875-1973 1200 Mott Foundation Building, Flint, MI 48502-1851 T ABLE OF C ONTENTS 2 Annual Message 9 Programs & Grants 9 Program Structure at a Glance 10 Civil Society 15 Civil Society Grants 26 Environment 31 Environment Grants 36 Flint Area 41 Flint Area Grants 44 Pathways Out of Poverty 49 Pathways Out of Poverty Grants 58 Exploratory and Special Projects 59 Exploratory and Special Projects Grants 60 Employee and Trustee Grants 61 Finance 73 Other Information A NNUAL M ESSAGE Investing in Leadership “Leaders come in many forms, with many styles and diverse qualities. There are quiet leaders and leaders one can hear in the next county. Some find their strength in eloquence, some in judgment and some in courage.” — John Gardner ver the past three decades, I’ve the passion to give it life. From his earliest witnessed a striking number of days as a businessman through the end of his Ochanges within philanthropy, life as a philanthropist, Mr. Mott was willing including increased collaboration among to put his financial resources behind talented grantmakers, the development of an leaders of all stripes. infrastructure of supporting organizations for William Crapo Durant, then owner of the field, and greater diversity among staff and the Durant-Dort Carriage Company, trustees. More recently, there’s been convinced Mr. Mott to move his axle factory tremendous growth in both assets and the to Flint, Michigan, in the early 1900s. Billy number of foundations, fueled in part by the Durant was the quintessential entrepreneur rapid expansion of the economy, development and ultimate visionary, the man who laid the of new styles of grantmaking and increased groundwork and provided the leadership for public awareness of the field. the creation of General Motors. The Mott Foundation also has changed Frank Manley, the father of community during this period, both in size and education, was an eloquent, inspirational, grantmaking complexity. We have been motivational leader. Mr. Manley convinced fortunate that Charles Stewart Mott’s vision Mr. Mott to underwrite the community for the Foundation and the core values he education concept of using the public school established — partnership with one’s building to provide educational and community and belief in the individual — recreational opportunities for the whole have served us well. Those core values have community during afterschool hours. Mr. kept us grounded as we expanded our Manley’s vision has stood the test of time, grantmaking from Flint, Michigan, and flowing through nearly 60 years of the throughout the United States, to South Africa, Foundation’s grantmaking and being reborn Russia and Central/Eastern Europe. through our partnership with the U.S. But for any organization or institution to Department of Education in the 21st Century fulfill its mission, especially in a period of Community Learning Centers initiative. transition, it takes more than vision and values. Another early leader Mr. Mott supported It needs committed, compassionate leadership was a young physician, Dr. Arthur Tuuri, whose with a view to the future and an passion was improving the health of children. understanding of the past, not to mention Because Mr. Mott believed that a child with competent management. one or more health problems did not have an During his lifetime as a businessman and equal opportunity, the Foundation added a community leader — and certainly in his health component to the community education philanthropy — Mr. Mott invested in the model in the mid-1930s. By the end of that individual — the leader — with an idea and decade it had established a children’s health 2 center at Hurley Hospital in Flint. Mr. Mott also because the Foundation is experiencing recruited this young physician from the Upper significant changes in its own leadership. Peninsula to Flint in 1948, convincing him that Since we last reported to you a year ago, he could make an important contribution to the Mott Foundation lost three passionate the children of this community. And Dr. Tuuri’s and devoted leaders — a Trustee, a Trustee contributions through his nearly 50-year career Emeritus and a member of our Investment changed the face of child health care in the Committee. Prior to that, in January 1999, Flint community, turning the Mott Children’s Trustee Emerita Ruth Rawlings Mott, the Health Center into what has been described as widow of C.S. Mott, died and we dedicated a global model for treating children’s physical the 1998 Annual Report to her memory. Each and social needs. Art Tuuri was the quiet leader, brought unique skills to the table, each who throughout his life shunned publicity and shared a strong commitment to Mr. Mott’s recognition, choosing instead to focus public vision, and each left an enduring imprint on attention on the needs of his patients. the Foundation. Developing and strengthening leaders — But at the same time we experienced this betting on the individual — still characterizes loss, we have been looking to the future and, our grantmaking. When we drafted mission at the end of 1999, three new Trustees joined statements in 1976, we identified two our Board. components — leadership development for In May of this year, Alonzo A. Crim, a strengthening the community and leadership distinguished civic leader, nationally known practice for strengthening the community — educator and a Trustee since 1988, died in an that filtered through the individual program automobile accident in Atlanta, Georgia. areas, or missions as we called them at the time. Lon’s leadership exemplified a passion and In the late 1980s, we undertook an commitment for education and helping at- organization-wide planning process to identify risk youth. future directions for the Foundation. The end Lon had a long and distinguished product of that process was an internal career in education, beginning as an document, An Agenda for the 21st Century, elementary school teacher and principal in which surfaced half a dozen key issues that Chicago and Compton, California, and then could be addressed with Foundation resources. becoming the first African-American Not surprisingly, leadership appeared on that superintendent of schools in Atlanta. Some list. One of our now-retired staff members, Mike Radock, wrote in 1987: “The crucial element in the success of Mott ventures has During his lifetime as a businessman and been personal leadership. When the Mott community leader — and certainly in his Foundation bet on talented individuals, programs succeeded. Conversely, when a philanthropy — Charles Stewart Mott funded program has had only disappointing invested in the individual — the leader — with results, the absence of individual leadership has been apparent.” an idea and the passion to give it life. Mr. Mott Our experience has reaffirmed our intuitive understanding that supporting was willing to put his financial resources visionary and skilled leaders is at the heart of behind talented leaders of all stripes. all our grantmaking. All this is on my mind these days not just because we are still investing in the vision and leadership potential of our grantees, but 3 A NNUAL M ESSAGE observers said the weight of racial history sat growth and change. During the 1970s, he was a on his shoulders when Lon came to Atlanta major force in the expansion of the in 1973 to lead a district that was in disarray, Foundation’s grantmaking from Flint to the rest suffering from poor student performance and of the nation, and he played a key role in embroiled in major desegregation issues. shaping what became our current investment Through conviction, courage and principles, policies and procedures. He was an active he built, over the next 15 years, a school community leader, and played a major role in district where — in his own words — the relocation of the University of Michigan- “students would know that people cared Flint to its current downtown campus. about them and would help them achieve.” If one had to characterize George’s When he retired in 1988, the district leadership forte, it was his capacity for named a high school in his honor. He didn’t diplomacy. Through the years, he achieved a slow down in retirement, but went on to well-earned reputation as a peacemaker and a hold the Benjamin E. Mays chair in urban consensus-builder in numerous professional educational leadership at Georgia State and civic undertakings. University, and was a professor of education John Sagan, a member of the Investment and director of Ford scholars at Spelman Committee since 1991, died in December.

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