06
November 2013
Past Event
Don't Forget the Motor City: Philanthropy in Detroit

Don't Forget the Motor City: Philanthropy in Detroit

Past Event
Hudson Institute, Washington, D.C. Headquarters
November 06, 2013
Default Event Image
06
November 2013
Past Event

1015 15th Street, N.W., 6th Floor
Washington, DC 20005

Speakers:
Tonya Allen

CEO, The Skillman Foundation

Michael LaFaive

Director, Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy

Paul C. Light

Paulette Goddard Professor of Public Service, NYU Wagner

Suzanne Perry

Senior Editor at the Chronicle of Philanthropy

William Schambra

Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute

American philanthropy claims to have responded generously to the plea not to "forget the Motor City" famously put by Martha and the Vandellas in their Motown hit from 1964, "Dancing in the Street." As Suzanne Perry reported in a recent cover story for the Chronicle of Philanthropy, "grant makers from across the country have provided more than $628 million dollars in the Motor City in the past few years."

But in the face of the city's massive population loss, soaring numbers of abandoned buildings, deteriorating public services, gross political corruption, and, finally, its municipal bankruptcy, has philanthropy really made a difference? Have otherwise well-intentioned foundations made the right kinds of investment, in the right amounts? Are foundations building a solid base for the city's renaissance? Or do they tend to focus on a few large, splashy projects downtown, forgetting the Motor City's hard-pressed inner city neighborhoods?

These and other questions were addressed by a panel of distinguished guest experts at a Hudson event on November 6, 2013. Senior Fellow William Schambra, director of Hudson's Bradley Center for Philanthropy & Civil Renewal, served as moderator.

Required Readings
Suzanne Perry, Detroit Tests What Foundations Can Do to Rescue Troubled Cities, Chronicle of Philanthropy, October 20, 2013.

Suzanne Perry, Urban Renewal Leaves Out Some of City's Needy, Say Nonprofit Activists, Chronicle of Philanthropy, October 20, 2013.

Suzanne Perry, Detroit's Nonprofits Hope School Overhaul Is National Model, Chronicle of Philanthropy, October 20, 2013.

Suzanne Perry, Innovation in the Arts Helps Spark Detroit's Revival, Chronicle of Philanthropy, October 20, 2013.

Suzanne Perry, Pulling Together to Fight Blight, Chronicle of Philanthropy, October 20, 2013.

Related Events
08
October 2025
Past Event
Relearning Great Power Diplomacy: A Conversation with Wess Mitchell
Featured Speakers:
Wess Mitchell
A detail photo of “A Peace Conference at the Quai d'Orsay” by William Orpen. (Wikimedia Commons)
08
October 2025
Past Event
Relearning Great Power Diplomacy: A Conversation with Wess Mitchell

Join Hudson’s Peter Rough for a discussion with Wess Mitchell on the future of great power diplomacy.

A detail photo of “A Peace Conference at the Quai d'Orsay” by William Orpen. (Wikimedia Commons)
Featured Speakers:
Wess Mitchell
09
October 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
How Promoting Freedom in North Korea Makes America Safer and Stronger
Featured Speakers:
Representative Young Kim (R-CA)
Greg Scarlatoiu
Sean Chung
Rose Jang
Hannah Oh
Moderator:
Getty Images
09
October 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
How Promoting Freedom in North Korea Makes America Safer and Stronger

Join Hudson Institute for a discussion on the connection between human rights in North Korea and US national security.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Representative Young Kim (R-CA)
Greg Scarlatoiu
Sean Chung
Rose Jang
Hannah Oh
Moderator:
09
October 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
The View from Bucharest with Foreign Minister Oana-Silvia Țoiu
Featured Speakers:
H.E. Oana-Silvia Țoiu
Getty Images
09
October 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
The View from Bucharest with Foreign Minister Oana-Silvia Țoiu

With Peter Rough, Foreign Minister Țoiu will discuss Black Sea security, the war in Ukraine, Russia’s hybrid attacks, and Romania-US relations.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
H.E. Oana-Silvia Țoiu
10
October 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
The Deepening Russia-China Partnership
Featured Speakers:
John Lough
Sergey Aleksashenko
Moderator:
Getty Images
10
October 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
The Deepening Russia-China Partnership

Join Hudson Institute for a panel discussion on how the United States and its allies can combat the rise of this authoritarian alliance.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
John Lough
Sergey Aleksashenko
Moderator: