Featured photo: The Ruth Mott Foundation community forum held at Potter Elementary in Flint
Photos courtesy of the Ruth Mott Foundation
FLINT, Michigan, March 2026 — As the Ruth Mott Foundation marks the 25th anniversary of its community rollout, the Board of Trustees has approved its first round of grants for 2026, awarding 16 grants totaling $2,904,100 to support priorities identified by Flint residents.
Formally announced in March 2001, the Ruth Mott Foundation has spent the past quarter century deepening its place-based focus on Flint through community engagement and ensuring that residents’ voices shape its work. Additionally, the Foundation has opened Applewood: The Charles Stewart Mott Estate to be a place of beauty and learning for the community in accordance with Ruth Mott’s wishes.
“Our 25th anniversary is both a moment of reflection and a call to action,” said Board Chair Maryanne Mott, daughter of the late Ruth Rawlings and Charles Stewart Mott.
Mott added: “It reminds us of what’s possible when we listen to community members and take our direction from residents’ voices and experiences.”
The Ruth Mott Foundation is Ruth Rawlings Mott’s enduring legacy to Flint, the community she loved and called home for 65 years. The Foundation’s mission is to work with the community to connect people, ideas and resources for a vibrant and inclusive Flint. Its vision is for Flint to be a just and equitable community where all thrive.
Ruth Mott Foundation President Sue Peters emphasized the importance of continued community partnership as the Foundation plans for the future.
“Community input is critical to our work,” Peters said. “As we look ahead, we remain committed to strengthening relationships and ensuring our work reflects the community’s aspirations.”
The Board of Trustees is currently engaged in a strategic planning process that will guide the Foundation’s future direction, including grantmaking and community programs at Applewood. The planning is informed by a series of community forums the Foundation held last year, where residents shared their insights and feedback. A committee of 10 Flint residents helped the Foundation design and implement the forums.
“The perspectives we heard through last year’s forums are shaping our strategic priorities and helping us better understand where we can have the greatest impact,” Peters said.
The Ruth Mott Foundation plans to share more about its strategic plan later this year. As it celebrates 25 years, the Foundation remains dedicated to advancing equity and investing in the long-term vitality of the Flint community.
The 16 grants recently awarded by the Board of Trustees in March support residents’ priorities of youth, public safety, economic opportunity and neighborhoods.
| Organization | Project or Program | Grant Award | Term (mos.) |
| Arab American Heritage Council | General Operating Support | $120,000 | 24 |
| Asbury Community Development Corp. | General Operating Support – Neighborhood Hub | $260,000 | 24 |
| Communities First, Inc. | Building Healthy and Vibrant Communities | $136,000 | 12 |
| Community Foundation of Greater Flint | Neighborhood Small Grants | $90,000 | 12 |
| CPSA Courier, Inc. | Courier General Operating Support | $80,000 | 24 |
| Flint and Genesee Chamber Foundation | Summer Youth Initiative | $75,000 | 12 |
| Flint Jackson Park Youth League | General Operating Support | $50,000 | 24 |
| Flint Neighborhoods United | Flint: Our Community Our Voice | $60,000 | 24 |
| Flint Police Foundation | Enhanced and Integrated Blight Elimination and Community Policing | $210,000 | 12 |
| Friends of Berston | Berston General Operating Support – Neighborhood Hub | $200,000 | 24 |
| Genesee County Parks and Recreation Commission | North Flint Public Safety Strategy | $400,000 | 12 |
| Metro Community Development, Inc. | North Flint Neighborhood and Small Business Revitalization Project | $150,000 | 12 |
| North Flint Reinvestment Corp. | North Flint Food Market Operations | $500,000 | 25 |
| Peckham, Inc. | Embers Project | $28,300 | 12 |
| Sylvester Broome Empowerment Village | SBEV Flint General Project Support | $165,000 | 12 |
| Urban Renaissance Center | General Operating Support – Neighborhood Hub | $379,800 | 24 |
Ruth Rawlings, born in 1901, was raised in El Paso, Texas. She taught physical education for several years in private and public schools in Baltimore and El Paso and later opened her own dance studio.
She met and married C.S. Mott in El Paso and moved to his estate, Applewood, in Flint in 1934. She became a mother, an active partner with her husband in the community and prominent in her own right as a local leader, foundation trustee and national philanthropist. She passed away in January 1999 in Flint at age 97.
The Ruth Mott Foundation is the second philanthropy that was created by Ruth Mott. The Ruth Mott Fund, established in 1979, was the vehicle for her philanthropic grantmaking during her lifetime and ceased operations in 1997.
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About the Ruth Mott Foundation
The Ruth Mott Foundation is a private, family foundation whose mission is to work with the community to connect people, ideas, and resources for a vibrant and inclusive Flint. The Foundation envisions a just and equitable community where all thrive. Learn more at www.ruthmottfoundation.org.
