- Coming up next, a celebration of philanthropy in the community.

We'll look at the role of nonprofits during these unprecedented times.

Plus we'll hear the inspirational stories of how generosity and compassion can change lives.

And Detroit's top leaders talk about the future of charitable giving.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy this special program, National Philanthropy Day 2020, Rising to the Challenge Together.

(triumphant music) - [Announcer] Support for National Philanthropy Day 2020, Rising to the Challenge Together, is provided by Beaumont Health.

Ralph C. Wilson, Jr.

Foundation, Plante Moran, Huntington Bank, PVS Chemicals, Incorporated, Urban Science, and by these sponsors.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, the Remington Group, Wayne State University, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, Hope Network, Hudson-Webber Foundation, the Children's Foundation, Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan, Schoolcraft College Foundation, Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation, and Hammond & Associates.

The Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater Detroit Chapter presents National Philanthropy Day 2020, Rising to the Challenge Together.

- Good evening, I'm Stephen Henderson.

Every November, the country celebrates Philanthropy Day by recognizing the generous contributions of individuals and organizations.

Normally, the Greater Detroit Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals holds a really large event to honor these philanthropists, these volunteers and fundraisers.

However, the pandemic has forced the organization to change its plans this year.

Instead, AFP Detroit is joining with Detroit Public Television to present tonight's program, National Philanthropy Day 2020, Rising to the Challenge Together.

Over the next 90 minutes, we're gonna hear from the people and the organizations that are making a difference in the lives of Southeast Michigan residents through volunteerism or by providing financial support and in kind services.

We're gonna take a deep dive into the importance of charitable giving, especially during these challenging times.

Plus we'll hear how nonprofits are addressing the urgent needs of the community.

Let's get started with a conversation about philanthropy in Detroit with Mayor Mike Duggan and the president and CEO of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr.

Foundation, Dave Egner.

Mr.

Mayor, it's always great to be with you.

Thanks so much for doing this.

And so many things we could talk about, given what's going on in the world right now.

I'm just thinking about what's happened with COVID since March, what Detroit has been through.

The impact it's had on our city, the health system's overload.

You're in a unique position, having been the former CEO of the DMC.

Can you talk a little bit about philanthropy and volunteers and the role of those nonprofits through COVID?

- Well, it was everybody pitching in right out of the gate, we got hit so hard and so fast.

But you look at what Dan Gilbert's operation did, setting up a massive appointment process for the testing, and then all of the healthcare organizations pitching in at the Fairgrounds and getting it up and running quickly.

And then we had significant philanthropic support in order to provide cab rides for people who didn't have a car to go to the drive-through site, and then once we got a chance to breathe, we said, what are we gonna do about all of these businesses who have finally filled in so many storefronts in Detroit who now have no cash coming in?

And another huge philanthropic partnership that ended up helping us put several million dollars in terms of grants and loans in the hands of these businesses, as well as personal protective equipment.

It was just remarkable, the way this community came together.

- Thinking forward to getting through this crisis and what's coming and knowing that this program's gonna air just before Giving Tuesday, what advice would you give to people who are contributing to charities right now?

I think we've got not only COVID, but if you look at, go back and look at the Great Recession.

Three years after the Great Recession, we've lost one in six nonprofits because they simply couldn't survive the financial turmoil.

So what would you say to donors at this point and foundations and others, what should we be looking at?

- Well, I think we've still got a five month window before we're back up on our feet in the country where the vaccines are widely enough distributed.

And so the question is, what do you do?

And there's gonna be more and more need for support, particularly on the small business side, but also on the home security side, people facing eviction.

And then you have the extra problem, you can't just say to people, okay, don't pay your rent, you're not gonna be evicted, because you have landlords who have got mortgage payments and their own responsibilities.

And so all of the progress we have made in this city in getting houses and neighborhoods occupied, all of the progress we made in getting storefronts reopened, we're gonna need some assistance to keep those folks going another four or five months.

There's lots of good programs out there, of course, a lot of the groups have come together in Detroit Means Business, where we've basically consolidated all of the small business support activities into that initiative.

And then I would say also continued support to Detroit public schools, the support for the laptop initiative was transformational.

But it's one thing to get folks connected, it's another to have some ongoing support for the education side of this new way of teaching and the like.

But I really see this as five more months of significant challenge.

And I think if everybody pitched in in the area they can, we'll get through it.

- Looking back over the last five or six years, perhaps pre-COVID, because now our, all of our resources and thoughts have shifted somewhat.

Philanthropy and government in the city of Detroit have played a pretty, had a pretty dynamic partnership.

Comment on that a bit, are there some things that philanthropy should be looking at differently with the city?

- It's been amazing.

Motor City Match.

There's gotta be close to 100 businesses open in this city today, largely African American owned, largely Detroiters, who wouldn't have been there if people hadn't pitched in to do that.

So you think about how we help the storefronts, the Detroit at Work program, which has now become, I mean, everybody in the country is calling in, because we're landing companies, Amazon was one of them, where we're saying, if you land here, we will help you screen and recruit your workforce for you.

Whereas you go to other places that, before COVID hit, we're looking at 2% unemployment, you were basically out of luck, we've had enormous support from philanthropic groups on the workforce development side.

These have been transformational.

We had cases where philanthropy stepped in to jumpstart an initiative.

And I sat in the room I'm interviewing with you from now two weeks ago with a manufacturer in the hardware industry who came down to two sites, us and Indianapolis.

He put the Indianapolis tax abatement proposal on the table and said, can you beat it?

And I said to him, I'll match it.

He says, you won't beat it?

I said, no, I won't beat it.

'Cause if you don't wanna be here, I don't want you here.

But let me tell you why Detroit is a long-term advantage.

What we have in Detroit at Work will fill your workforce more effectively and for the long-term value of business.

He called back a week later, 100 jobs coming to Detroit instead of Indy.

That was something, David, that you and others helped get Detroit at Work going, and so it's been just a phenomenal partnership.

Of course, the Strategic Neighborhood Fund has been transformational, I can go down the list where you guys came in, got us started.

And then we really built a lot of momentum off that.

- I have to say, there is, while there's much work to be done, I have great confidence knowing that you're in a leadership position, pushing us in that direction and giving us clarity.

- So thank you for you and all of our other philanthropic partners.

I hope you're proud of how it's gone.

(triumphant music) - Former Michigan governor George Romney was passionate about public service and volunteerism.

He initiated several volunteer programs while in office, and he later chaired the National Center for Voluntary Action.

Our first honoree tonight is receiving the award that's named for Governor Romney, which honors lifetime achievement in volunteerism.

Lizabeth Ardisana of ASG Renaissance was nominated by the civil and human rights organization Focus: HOPE for her service to the nonprofit community, including sitting on the boards of the Skillman Foundation, CS Mott Foundation, and Focus: HOPE.

- I think philanthropy in this timeframe that we're living in with so many issues like COVID and racial justice, I think it is just a unique time for philanthropy to play an extremely important role.

Philanthropy has the opportunity to look and understand what's really needed, to think about how we best take all the energy and all the thinking that people have done and how do we put that into action.

So I think the future of philanthropy is extremely important.

And I think that the really great thinking that's going on across all the different roles of philanthropy is really important.

I think the challenge for us in philanthropy going forward is how do we all collaborate and make sure we're working on the things that are most important and have the greatest impact.

I've been involved with Focus: HOPE for many years.

And what I love about Focus: HOPE is how it works across all kinds of different needs, from childcare to food programs.

But what's most important to me is workforce development.

For me, the most important thing in life is to have a job where you can contribute, take care of your family and friends, and feel like you're contributing.

And a job is the core of that.

And a lot of times, people don't have the jobs that they need to have only because they just haven't been given the right training or the right opportunity, and Focus: HOPE has just been, over the many years I've been involved, a tremendous force to help people in the community really find the greatest opportunities and really develop careers.

And I've just enjoyed being a part of that.

I'm motivated to volunteer for, really, for lots of reasons.

One is I think that I've been given every opportunity in life and I was really blessed.

And I'm hoping that in some way, when I volunteer to help somebody else, I pass that on.

But the other reason, and maybe just as important, is I meet so many interesting people, both the people in philanthropy who have devoted their total lives to this, plus all of the really interesting, smart, hardworking people that just need a little bit of help.

So it really expands my life and really adds a lot of value to everything that I do.

(triumphant music) - National Philanthropy Day is a time to acknowledge the importance of stepping up to help others and make the world a better place.

Fundraising executives are instrumental in helping nonprofit organizations achieve their financial and volunteer goals.

The Children's Foundation nominated our next honoree, Chuck Hammond of Hammond & Associates, for this year's Dr.

John S. Lore award for outstanding fundraising executive.

- Well, I was led to a career in fundraising by I was working for political campaigns of all things in the late 1970s.

And I literally answered an ad for a job at the United Foundation in 1980, which was charitable fundraising as opposed to political fundraising, of course.

And I got that job and I haven't looked back since.

That was a great place to begin my career.

It taught you at a young age how to deal with some pretty high powered corporate leaders in the community.

And as I got into the job and I just developed a great appetite for fundraising as a profession, but also for seeing how the dollars that we raised helped transform their lives.

And that's what has inspired me all these years, frankly.

The role of a fundraiser has changed over the course of my 40 year career.

Fundraising 40 years ago was just emerging as a profession.

Colleges and universities and hospitals and healthcare systems were ahead of the rest of the nonprofit industry, which has since caught up.

But it just wasn't an established profession back then, and a lot of people would ask you, you do that for a living?

And you reply, yes, I do this as a full-time living.

Corporate giving 40 years ago in the Detroit area was, played a much more prominent role than it does today.

Foundations have really come online in the last 20 years to make a huge difference in the community.

And we're now seeing in recent years that transfer of wealth from one generation to the next is creating new foundations, like the Davidson Foundation, the Ralph Wilson Foundation, et cetera.

And that's really gonna carry us into the future.

But remember, over 80% of giving in the United States comes from individuals.

I do think fundraising is being challenged in this environment of pandemic.

And there's been a lot of civil unrest in this country this past summer and issues around racial disparities, particularly in fields like healthcare, have emerged as a big priority.

So as we move beyond COVID, and right now, a lot of fundraising, a lot, I should say a lot of grant-making in the Detroit area is focused on COVID relief, which is a wonderful thing to see.

But as we move into the future, issues of social justice, equity, racial disparities in healthcare, et cetera, as I've mentioned, I think are going to be lifted up as philanthropic priorities in our community, and we're going to see more and more of that focus in the next five years.

(triumphant music) - Throughout tonight's program, we're gonna recognize outstanding volunteers at organizations all across Southeast Michigan.

They are the people who inspire others with their passion and their commitment to giving.

AFP Detroit honors them as distinguished volunteers and donors, and you'll see their names on the screen at various times tonight.

Plus you can find their full profiles at npddet.org.

Here's our first group of recipients along with a look at the generous sponsors and partners of this distinguished honor.

- Since 1992, Detroit and the Association of Fundraising Professionals has thrown one of the nation's largest celebrations of National Philanthropy Day.

It's not by accident.

Detroit and Michiganders are some of the most generous individuals in the world.

Our companies like Ford, General Motors, Rock Financial, are some of the nation's most generous companies.

And we are home to some of the world's largest foundations.

Kresge, Mott, Kellogg.

Michigan has long been a leader in generosity and volunteerism.

I wanna congratulate tonight's honorees.

Some, like Mariam Noland of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, I know well through their leadership on issues critical to Michigan.

But all of them have demonstrated a passion and willingness to sacrifice for their community and the needs of others.

These are true heroes and sharing their stories and the work that the charities they support, it's important.

By amplifying their work, hopefully, even more will join them.

This year, our state stepped up.

We stepped up to a health crisis, despite anger and division.

And I wanna thank all of you on National Philanthropy Day for your generosity of spirit and your kindness, not just these honorees, but everyone who puts their own needs aside for a moment to help others.

As we approach year end, I wanna remind you to think about volunteering and supporting those causes that matter the most to you and your community.

This has been a challenging year for our nonprofits.

And they need your support now more than ever.

- Goes without saying that this has been a year like no other in recent history.

The global pandemic and massive protest against racial injustice have rocked the nation and the world.

We invited four of this year's AFP Detroit award recipients to talk with the Skillman Foundation's president, Tonya Allen, about the impact of these issues on nonprofits and on philanthropy.

- So today, we have Dustin McClellan, Lizabeth Ardisana, Henry Grix, and Howard Israel, who all have been philanthropists in their own ways to help our region, especially as we fought off the COVID pandemic.

So thanks for being here, everyone.

- Thank you.

- I'm gonna start with you, Beth, if you don't mind.

I'm just curious, from your vantage, you've been a business leader.

You have served in so many volunteer capacities, including foundation boards for my, the Skillman Foundation's board, as well as the Mott Foundation's board.

And so I'm just wondering, from your perspective, how has small businesses and entrepreneurship been a focus of the COVID response and what do you think we can do more in the region?

- Good question, Tonya.

I think, as I look around us, and I'm really a medium sized business, because the businesses that are really impacted are the small, small businesses.

And they're dramatically impacted.

And I think that the foundation community, the nonprofit community, the volunteer community has really done a lot to help those businesses to get out the business for them and to encourage people to use those businesses as well as provide supports.

But I think there's a lot more we need to do.

I mean, these are the businesses, they probably represent 50% of the economic strength of our area.

And the more that we can do to think about what they need, to help them, it's not going to end quickly, right.

I mean, we're gonna continue to have these issues going forward into 2021 and maybe even longer.

So I do think, for those of us who work on foundations or other nonprofits, it's really where we have to focus.

It represents such a big part of our community.

We're seeing more and more financial institutions, foundations providing support.

We've gotta get behind low interest loans, we've gotta get behind support, we've gotta get behind really helping bring business to small, small businesses.

I think it's the most important thing we can do.

- I couldn't agree with you more.

I heard an expert talk about how the Great Recession is where we lost wealth due to housing.

And today, with the COVID recession, we're losing wealth when it comes to businesses, and that's particularly true when it comes to people of color in our country, so thank you for that, I agree with you.

Dustin, I'm gonna go to you next, if you don't mind.

So you're a young man, but you've had a long history in philanthropy.

So can you just talk about how you got engaged in being a philanthropic leader and how, and what advice you would give to young people on how they, how we can get more young people to do the things that you've done?

- Sure, thanks so much, Tonya.

I think the impetus for me getting engaged in philanthropy and community work really comes from my background and upbringing, growing up in the inner city of Pontiac in somewhat of a challenging environment.

And being able to come out of that environment through mentorship and empowerment has really driven me to stay engaged in the local community of Pontiac.

And so the pressing needs of our community have always been at the very forefront of my mind.

And so not only are they at the very forefront of my mind, but I have been serious about leading people to make change, leading organizations that make change, and trying to encourage our young people to be a part of that as well.

What we're seeing in Pontiac is just an incredible group of grassroots leaders that are saying, both in the small business arena and in the nonprofit and philanthropic arena, that are saying, we wanna be a part of making a difference.

We don't wanna sit on the sidelines, we're not gonna let COVID let us sit idly by, we're gonna come together and be a part of the change, and not just be a part of the change, but work together collaboratively.

And a lot of our work has been convening those leaders and those champions together to say, let's work together to move our community forward.

And I'm just excited to be a part of that, a small part of that, and look forward to the continued great work we'll be able to do together.

- Oh, that's so inspiring.

And I don't think anybody would view the work that you're doing as being small, quite honestly, you and your generation are ushering our country into a new phase.

And so I just wanna say thank you for that.

So now we get to go to Howard and Henry.

It's good to see you, gentlemen.

I just wanted to jump in with you two, you've both been such important activists and philanthropy leaders, particularly in the LGBT community.

And right now, our country is right in the midst of having discussions about what does it mean to have diversity and inclusion.

What do you feel like this moment means, particularly for the issues that you care deeply about?

- It's, this is a difficult time for all the reasons that have already been talked about.

And I think, but if we were to think back 30 years, Howard and I wouldn't be here.

The fact is that our lives, at least, as white gay men, have gotten better, we're more accepted.

But, and we see though that there's some progress and then there's steps backward for diversity in general.

And I think we just have to take heart and take heart from hearing Dustin speak, for example, that the next generation is gonna give us hope.

And the words of Dr.

King always come to my mind, that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.

And so we're hopeful.

We think there'll be some setbacks.

The arc isn't a straight arc, it's up and down.

But we think we're on the path.

- And like Henry said, we personally are very fortunate in our lives.

But as progress has been made, a lot more people have become public about their sexual orientation, their identity.

And that has increased the umbrella, the LGBT+ umbrella.

And with that, those advancements comes pushback.

And the pushback is not only aimed at LGBTQ+ people, it's aimed at women, at all minority groups, African Americans, people with disabilities, indigenous peoples.

I mean, the list goes on and on and on.

And we take hope in that diversity is gonna happen no matter what the old white men in power are saying, diversity is gonna happen.

And it's gonna take some battles and struggles and fights, but the momentum has started and it's not gonna be pushed back in any closet.

- Oh, thank you, I loved both of your comments, such wise things and advice to us all.

And it makes me think about, I always say our country was created by a group of imperfect men seeking a more perfect union.

And the great wisdom in that was that they said to everybody in the country that it's your responsibility to also seek that more perfect union.

- That panel had a lot more to say, of course, and you can see their entire conversation on the Association of Fundraising Professionals' website at npddet.org.

(triumphant music) Let's turn now to this year's new Spirit of Philanthropy Award, which recognizes innovative contributions to the community, especially in times of need.

The recipient, Pontiac Community Foundation, was nominated by AFP Detroit board member, Sommer Brock, and Oakland University.

The young organization responded quickly and aggressively to meet the challenges brought on by COVID-19.

Here's the president and founder, Dustin McClellan.

- When COVID-19 first came to our doorstep, we as an organization felt a responsibility to make sure that the needs of the Pontiac community were being met.

And so our first action was pulling together local leaders, organizations in a collaborative way to say, what are the anticipated needs of our community, what are the needs right now, and how can we work together to meet those needs over time?

I had no idea that we would be able to launch such a substantive collaboration or that we would need to do so for such a length of time.

But I'm so excited that the Pontiac Community Foundation, Oakland University, Lighthouse, ReciproCity Apps, and also Oakland County, we've all been able to come together with a wide range of community organizations, leaders, and agencies to lead a pandemic response.

And we coalesced our work around mycovidresponse.org, which is a one-stop shop for the greater Pontiac area, even to the extent of Oakland County, to come and express their needs, whether that be food, assistance, rental assistance, virtual tutoring, prayer and grief support, a wide variety of needs, express those needs there and have those met by one of our agency and community partners.

The motivation behind starting the Pontiac Community Foundation really began with my upbringing.

Born and raised in the city of Pontiac and born and raised in somewhat challenging circumstances.

And several years ago, I realized that those circumstances still existed.

Disparities in health, disparities in race, poverty, issues in education, healthcare, et cetera.

And so after working in the nonprofit world, working in local neighborhoods for eight years, I really searched out what would be the kind of organization that could lead systemic change in Pontiac and also bring more funding to this community.

As a young and new organization, particularly leading in the city of Pontiac, initially, it was challenging to bring new attention to the need in Pontiac.

There are needs on other sides of us and rightfully so, in the city of Detroit and also the city of Flint, which are more medium to large sized cities.

But the city of Pontiac is a microcosm of those two communities with very similar challenges.

And so bringing attention to this city was a challenge in the very beginning and at times continues to be so.

But we're really excited that, I think, as a part of our efforts and others, that nine regional funders have made a major commitment to funding initiatives and seeing change in the city of Pontiac, and we're excited to be working with them.

So even in the midst of challenges and some issues perhaps in starting an organization like this at a city like this from the ground up, we're so excited that we've been able to meet those challenges and grow our organization over the last few years.

(triumphant music) - This next award is named after the late publisher of the Detroit Free Press, the incomparable Neal Shine.

The iconic newspaper executive was known for promoting excellence, courage, and integrity in the media.

And he was also a civic activist who was deeply committed to improving our community.

This year's recipient of the Neal Shine Award for Media Commitment to Philanthropy was nominated by the Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan and Habitat for Humanity.

Here is journalist Priya Mann of Detroit's WDIV-TV.

- I had a lot of strong female mentors when I was a kid, especially starting with my own mom.

And seeing a lack of representation in television when I was a kid growing up, I knew that I had a voice and I knew that I deserve to be at the table.

And I worked very hard to find a chair, but it doesn't matter if you're not pulling up a chair for the girl coming up behind you.

So that's why it's so important to me to talk to young girls about the challenges you're facing.

I think that we live in a society where there are just impossible standards, not just for women who are on television, but women in general, and now with social media, I think it's really important for young girls to see their own value not only when they see somebody who looks like themselves, but also someone who understands how challenging it is to be a young girl trying to find your voice.

And actually, Meghan Markle said something and I repeat this often.

She says, we often talk about women needing to find their voice.

In reality, we need to encourage people to listen.

And I think that's something that's really important when I am talking to young girls, is to listen, to hear what their experiences are like.

And I end up leaving, walking away so inspired.

Philanthropy has always had a very special place.

And I think that now, it is just so important, if you can give back, to give back.

And I think as a journalist, we're on the front lines of the trauma that people are experiencing.

And you witness it, you interview families where parents have lost jobs.

You're talking to families where kids aren't going to school, you're talking to families who've lost loved ones.

Here in Detroit, at the start of the pandemic, Detroit was hit incredibly hard, this was a virus that was disproportionately killing black and brown people.

And then you see the city, they rise up, they start to enforce and practice some of those CDC guidelines.

And you start to see those numbers coming down in Detroit, and you see this community coming together.

It's very humbling to be on the front lines of that in order to hear those stories and to see how resilient Detroit is, to see how resilient the people are.

And I think that it just speaks to A, wanting to give back in one way, but the other, I just walk away talking to these families feeling hope, hope for the future.

There's been so many times where I've talked to families who are dealing with something so tragic and so life-changing and devastating, and they still find a way to inspire others, whether it's through forgiveness or how they've learned to cope with something unthinkable.

I humbly am a very small cog in a much larger wheel.

I think that in my small little world, in my small little way, I am trying to make a difference, trying to lead the world in a better place than I found it.

I think that it can go hand in hand, a lot of journalists, they get into the industry, they get into the business because they're passionate about social justice.

And I feel like part of connecting with the communities, connecting, especially in my case, with young people and seeing that next generation, I think that giving back is a way not only to help in whatever small way you can, but I also learn as well.

I learn as much from these young girls as I hope that maybe I can plant a seed or a small nugget that will later grow.

(triumphant music) - We wanna take a couple of minutes now to recognize the board of directors at the Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater Detroit Chapter.

In addition to helping promote philanthropy and volunteerism in Southeast Michigan, they're motivated every day to help others through their individual work with a variety of causes in our community.

Take a look.

(bright music) - Hi, I'm Steve Ragan with Hope Network.

We raised money to help people overcome challenges.

- I'm Sommer Brock from Cranbrook Horizons-Upward Bound and I fundraise to provide college access, because every student deserves a quality education.

- My name is Melissa Weisse from Leader Dogs for the Blind.

I raised funds to provide highly trained leader dogs and white cane training for people who are blind or visually impaired from across the country, because everyone deserves a life of independence and opportunity, and it's urgent that we reach more people who are blind and in need.

- Hi, my name is Leslie Carmona, and I work for Wayne State University.

One of the many reasons that I love working for Wayne State is because of the incredibly diverse student population that we serve.

The opportunities that the university offers to these individuals is incredible and I love being a part of it.

I also adore that it's in the heart of my favorite city, Detroit.

- I'm Ryan Dinkgrave with Eastern Market Partnership.

I raised money for food access and nutrition education, because no man, woman, or child should go hungry in the richest country in the world.

- Hi, I'm Diane Gulyas from the University of Michigan Dearborn, and I raised funds for the College of Arts, Science, and Letters at the University of Michigan Dearborn to help students achieve their dreams of completing a college education and transforming their lives, the lives of their families, the communities in which they live and work, and the world.

- I'm Marah Casey from Teach for America Detroit, and I raised money for equitable education, because all children should have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.

- My name is Erika George and I work for the Empowerment Plan.

I raised money to break the generational cycle of homelessness so women and families in need have the tools they need to become the powerful architects of their future.

- I'm Tanya Griffith from Oakland University.

I raised money for Aspire.

Advance.

Achieve.

The largest comprehensive campaign in the history of Oakland University.

Because together, we will make a difference in our community and beyond.

I'm proud to serve on the board of AFP.

- Hi, I'm Nina Holden with the Detroit Institute of Arts and I raised money to bring 90,000 kids a year to the museum for free school field trips, or this year, to bring free video school field trips to the schools.

- Hi, I'm Stephanie Maurice from Focus: HOPE.

I raised money for Focus: HOPE, because I believe in the dignity and beauty of every person working toward a metropolitan community where all people can live in freedom, harmony, trust, and affection.

- I'm Paula Rodriguez-Durant with Michigan Humane.

I raised money to improve and save lives through compassionate care, community engagement, and advocacy for animals, because I believe in the value of the human-animal bond and creating safer and more humane communities.

- I'm Kristin Rossi with the Alzheimer's Association Michigan chapter, and I raised funds for all people struggling with Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia.

- I'm Rebecca Hepner from Kids Alive International.

I raised money to rescue, redeem, and restore vulnerable children, meeting their spiritual, physical, educational, and emotional needs, because I believe every child deserves to live free from the bondage of hunger, abuse, exploitation, and redeemed into God's love.

- We wanna continue the dialogue now on the role of philanthropy during these challenging times.

Dave Egner of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr.

Foundation led a conversation with a group of community leaders and Philanthropy Day awardees about the current and future outlook for charitable giving.

- Joining me on the panel, Melanca Clark from the Hudson-Webber Foundation, Jim Anderson from Urban Science, Tricia Keith from Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Mariam Noland from the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan.

We hope to have a good conversation about the world of philanthropy and fundraising and volunteerism in what is a changing world and certainly, we are in a different place than we were seven months ago.

So I, while I don't wanna be negative about the topics and the discussions, I think we would be remiss if we didn't talk about the elephant or the elephants that are in the room.

The impact of COVID, the impact of civil unrest following the murders of George Floyd and others.

These are issues affecting all of us in many major ways.

There's a lot of studies that will show, as we did in the recession, we could lose one in six or more of the nonprofits in the state of Michigan.

Do you think our safety net's in jeopardy, are the nonprofits in jeopardy, how about institutions focused on quality of life?

So how will things change for the institutions we depend on within our community?

Melanca, let's start with you.

- Sure.

Thanks, David, for that question.

Without a doubt, our safety net is in jeopardy.

And I, when you think of the nonprofit sector, it's not just, the thing that is so terrible about this moment is that obviously, the demand on services are higher than ever, given the challenges that we're all facing, and these are our frontline organizations that are serving our communities, and at the same time, face all the challenges that the economy forces on them.

So it's worth thinking about just the question mark about the funding, and I think it's worth noting, I mean, we're sitting here as philanthropists, but certainly a major part of our nonprofit sector's budgets are government contracts.

And so I think the question of what's going to happen with a stimulus for state and local governments is one that is not answered, but that is deeply important to this sector.

And philanthropy is not gonna be able to fill that gap by itself.

- I agree with everything that Melanca just said.

I think it is also an opportunity for a number of organizations to look at what they're doing.

I think from the nonprofit philanthropy or from the nonprofit side, all of we corporations who are supporting are really having to evaluate our model and what we're doing right now with the impact of COVID in having to re-engineer and redesign some things.

I think it's an opportunity for the nonprofit sector to look at that in the same way, it's a hard thing to look at, but I do think it's really important that that's looked at.

But on the philanthropic side, when we think about giving from a corporate perspective right now, we've, it's been an opportunity for us to make a very clear focus on the mission.

And for us, that mission is health access and quality.

And it made, frankly, it took out a lot of the noise.

Because there was such dire needs in those areas for us to be able to specifically target some of the dollars that much more quickly, I think organizations, one of the things that they've learned is that they've had to speed up decision making and we've been able to get the money out faster.

And so I think there's been some opportunities, in general, there is a dark cloud.

But I think we have to also look at some of the opportunities that are coming out of it, and I think it's crystallized some things for us.

- Jim, are the nonprofits gonna suffer through this process?

- Well, I think it depends on how they're structured.

I have been a long time advocate of endowment.

And with endowment, yes, there's some fluctuation in the market value, but the spend rate is generally held constant and the mathematical formulas are set up so that, at the end of the period of time, there's been a steady payout over time.

So they're pretty much immune to ups and downs of the economy.

So from that perspective, that's one of the big advantages I see to endowment.

And from the donor side of things, that's what I, that's one of the reasons I advocate it.

It's a stabilizing force for nonprofits.

I think, like many households in America, many nonprofits spend most of the money that comes in the same year it comes in, and it goes out at the same time.

And that's a problem.

But from, again, a donor point of view, there is still, even without endowment, a buy now, pay later or a commit now, even if it is not endowment, and pay later to make it easy for the donor to get past the hurdle they're in.

Now, that leaves short though the receiver that doesn't have an endowment backing up their activities and doesn't have current cash coming in.

And that's a problem.

No doubt about that.

- And Jim, I think that's probably the majority of our sector in Southeast Michigan and Michigan in general, is the endowment is sometimes the hardest money to raise.

Someone though who has been helpful on endowment raising for years is Mariam Noland at the Community Foundation.

And Mariam, are we, are our institutions in trouble and how do we get more money into endowment if that's part of the solution?

- Well, that's a great lead in, because our sweet spot is building endowment, not just for the Community Foundation, but for all of the nonprofits that are in the position that they can really start building an endowment.

And we're helping 230 organizations build endowment with us right now.

Having said that, endowments are critical because they are a predictable source.

Yet the crisis has really shown that the business model of most of our nonprofits are gonna need to change.

And it's already been referred that you've gotta look at various sources and what's the public sector's role in this, at least in the helping us all climb out of this situation.

But I just wanna raise up that I think it's changing the role of boards of our nonprofits.

They are gonna have to really step up, help management look at how to innovate, how to change if you can.

And to meet the crisis at the same time you're trying to stay alive and raise your dollars.

So in the short run, I think you're gonna see a lot of change.

Are we gonna have a great loss in the number?

Maybe.

Nonprofits are a little hard to kill off, and that's a negative way to talk about it.

But I think you will see that two or three years from now, we're gonna look different in this sector.

- You can hear more of that conversation at npddet.org.

Turning now to the Outstanding Foundation Award sponsored by Plante Moran, which recognizes community involvement by a private foundation.

(triumphant music) This year's recipient, Hudson-Webber Foundation, was nominated by the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy.

It's not the first time the Foundation has won this award, which is unusual.

But it's clear their work has become even more urgent in our community.

Hudson-Webber supports the city's built environment, community and economic development, arts and culture, and safe and just communities.

Here's the Foundation's president and CEO, Melanca Clark.

- I think the most pressing issues facing our community are twofold.

One is inequality.

And that is true in our community and frankly true in our nation.

In Michigan alone, we've got 40% of the population that is, even before COVID, struggled to meet their basic needs, and our economy is just not producing enough living wage jobs.

And the other thing facing our community and our nation is structural racism.

And that's the legacy of 12 generations of slavery, four generations of sanctioned Jim Crow segregation.

And then following that, disinvestment in our communities, federally sanctioned efforts that segregated our communities and also denied access to mortgages, which took away wealth, access to wealth and home ownership.

Differential access to education, inequitable funding, and differential access to healthcare.

So philanthropy has an important role to play in alleviating these issues.

And I think this moment of reckoning that is happening is forcing philanthropy to really consider and rethink what we fund and how we fund.

And I think on that question of what, we are past the point, I think, of feeling like investments that ameliorates symptoms are really the highest and best use of our dollars.

And I think that many foundations and funders are thinking about how do we get into the business of addressing root causes and system change, because that will be the true measure and lever that needs to be moved to see better outcomes.

On the how, I think the other thing that is happening in our field of philanthropy is a real taking stock of our own accountability.

And that is thinking about, are our investments informed by those that are most proximate both to the challenges that we're trying to address and also the opportunities?

Are our investments informed not just by those of us that are sitting in the foundations, but by those in the community?

Do they really have seats at our tables?

Are we making room for them and inviting them in to lead in the spaces that our power and privilege brings us into?

I am happy to talk about the riverfront, and I'm really proud to acknowledge that Hudson-Webber is one of the earliest partners of the Conservancy.

It's been a relationship over 15 years in the making, and I couldn't be more proud of supporting their stewardship of what is really a world class park.

When I think about the riverfront, I think that an asset like that really speaks to the identity and aspirations of Detroiters, and as a Detroit resident myself, I am, it's such a gem for our community to have and it also is, the other thing I really wanna speak to is the fact that the way that the Conservancy has planned its programming and the built environment that it's creating has really been informed by the community.

(triumphant music) - Our next awardees have made it their life's mission to support and advocate for the LGBTQ community.

Howard Israel and Henry Grix were nominated by the ACLU of Michigan for their unwavering commitment to human rights and to equality.

The two men receive the Edmund T. Ahee Jewel Award for outstanding volunteer fundraiser named in memory of the late philanthropist and jeweler.

- We think it's always important to give money to organizations that support our values and our thinking and who support progress for minority groups and groups that are being assaulted physically and emotionally and intellectually and in terms of their legal rights.

So it's important to always support these organizations.

The way it's changed is certainly the tone of the whole world and especially the United States, that LGBTQ people are much more visible than we've ever been.

We've had more freedoms than we've, certain segments of this community have had more freedoms.

But there's a number of segments that are under attack and are prevented from being happy, healthy, strong people.

- We're motivated to support organizations that we think are important, particularly at this moment in time.

And I'm particularly honored that we were nominated by the ACLU of Michigan, which we think promotes equal justice, both social and legal, for all.

And we worked with them on the effort to expand the right to vote by absentee ballot in Michigan.

And we're, I think, very proud of that.

We've also just learned an enormous amount from the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, both of us, and serve on a couple of boards there.

I'm fortunate to be on the DMC Foundation board too there and it's, those are, we're proud of the fact that we've been able to learn so much by contributing.

- We feel that we're getting back a hell of a lot more than we're putting in.

I mean, it's easy for some people to write checks and to be financially participatory with these organizations.

But we have the feeling that we are really doing something important when we hear that the ACLU is having successes, when Ruth Ellis Center, when LGBT Detroit, when the Community Foundation has successes, we feel very much a part of that success.

And we're very grateful for that, we feel very fortunate that we're in a position where we can give and participate in that manner.

- I think we're concerned that smaller nonprofits are gonna fall by the wayside.

So giving and philanthropy I think are going to be increasingly important because of the increasing needs and also the increasing difficulty of gathering funds and distributing them, whether it's food or dollars or services that are sorely needed.

So now is a time for all of us, I think, if we can, to give.

(triumphant music) - The late Detroit Tigers manager Sparky Anderson was passionate about caring for the next generation.

His charity, CATCH, is in its 33rd year of providing financial support to sick children and to their families.

It's that same spirit of giving that led AFP Detroit to create the Sparky Anderson Award for Youth in Philanthropy.

This year's recipient is my alma mater, University of Detroit Jesuit High School, nominated by Focus: HOPE.

What I enjoy about philanthropy and why I'm committed to helping others is because, when I look at other people that are in need, I really see God in their eyes.

And I see, in our communities, I think there's a lot of need that just goes unnoticed.

And at first, I was a little bit unsure about joining the Ignatian Service Corps and all the other service that I do.

But I think that I really have become much more aware of how much need there really is in the community, and helping others has really just been an amazing experience, I think, for me.

But so at first, when I started this club, I wasn't helping out at the club, I wasn't really sure of what I was getting myself into, but I think I've become so much more aware of all that, all the need that there is.

And it's so good to truly be able to help out the community in all the different things that I do.

- At U of D Jesuit, we have a philosophy that we just wanna raise young men for others to the greater glory of God.

And the idea is to instill in them compassion and empathy and confidence and give them the opportunity to see beyond their own selves and to realize that there's a broader world out there.

At U of D Jesuit, we want to educate the whole person.

We do a great job with math and science and English, but we want the guys to be out in the community, to know people, to relate to what's happening in our community and in our society.

You can talk about it in a classroom, but when you're at somebody's door, it's a whole different story.

- One Saturday every month, the ISC goes to the Focus: HOPE warehouse in Detroit and they pack these boxes of food for the senior citizens at the apartments in downtown Detroit.

The Warren apartments.

And so usually what the program is is we pack for about two hours, we load a van, and then a bus takes us to the apartments where we deliver each box individually to each senior.

But because of COVID, now we have split it up into different shifts.

So what we do is we have a group that just packs and then we have a group that just delivers to the apartments.

Giving back to the community is actually, it really makes me feel good as a person.

But I think that that's not the most important thing about service, I think that's a secondary thing that happens when you help others, 'cause going out in the community and serving others is obviously not something that most people prioritize.

But I think when you actually go out of your way to do it, seeing these people and seeing how much that you can help them really makes both the community improve, 'cause you're helping others, as well as your own dignity, I think, improve, because you are helping others, you're making a difference, and it just feels so good to do that and to know that you're actually benefiting our society as a whole.

(triumphant music) - Let's take a moment now to check in with a past National Philanthropy Day award winner, journalist, author, and philanthropist Mitch Albom.

He was recognized in 2012.

He's the co-founder of the nonprofit SAY Detroit, which is now actively responding to the needs of the community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

- We pivoted pretty quickly, we saw back in February that COVID was gonna be something very serious here in Detroit, given the way Detroit is laid out and given how many multi-generational homes we have in Detroit and inability to get the testing or poverty, people with pre-existing conditions.

I could just tell that we were gonna get slammed, and of course, in the early weeks and months, we did.

So I actually, we didn't have any funding put aside separately for COVID, our things were pretty much earmarked.

So I, strange as it sounds, I wrote a book online.

It was a novel that I put together very quickly and I did it over eight weeks.

And it was set in Michigan and it was about a street corner where there were different families living on the street corner and on the different ends of it and how they interacted with one another as this virus came in.

And that was a thinly veiled thing about coronavirus, but it was really a look at how human beings react when they're scared and when they're threatened and when they get sick, and it went on for eight weeks, I would write a chapter each week, and we used that to raise money.

We didn't charge for it, but we asked people to make donations.

And people read it around the world and made donations to something we called Detroit Beats COVID-19.

And with the money that we raised, as soon as it came in, we spent it.

And we did everything from, gosh, we fed seniors who were homebound, up to 2000 seniors every week, to make sure that they didn't have to leave their homes, make sure bringing food to them, PPEs for first responders, thermometers for fire stations and the like.

But the biggest thing that we did amongst others was we opened COVID centers.

And we actually opened the first COVID testing center for people to walk up to.

Because you remember, there was only that one up on Eight Mile by the Fairgrounds for a while there, and you had to drive through it and a lot of Detroiters don't have cars.

So we tested thousands of people throughout the city, we still continue to do that.

- Now let's continue with this year's philanthropy offerings.

(triumphant music) The Outstanding Corporation Award recognizes companies that provide financial support and encourage others to get it.

This year's recipient, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, was nominated by Wayne State University for its commitment to build healthy communities.

Here's Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan president and CEO, Dan Loepp.

- Really, on behalf of the 10,000 employees at Blue Cross, we're really honored to receive this award.

It's been our mission as a company for 81 years to be a trusted partner in the community.

We support programs and organizations with contributions, volunteers, employee drives, annual giving initiatives.

We're trying to make a difference, I mean, that's what we do at Blue Cross.

We take our social mission very seriously.

For example, we are the largest funder of free clinics in the state.

Millions of dollars have gone to free clinics over the years, because we think that's an important part of what we do in fulfilling our social mission.

I'm proud of all the employees at Blue Cross, we pitched in very quickly to do what we needed to do in our community.

That was partnering with providers, waiving copays and deductibles around COVID testing and COVID services, moving into telehealth really quickly.

So people could handle visits with their doctors virtually, which is a big deal and has been a big deal during the COVID pandemic by lengthening the ability to get prescription drugs on a 90 day basis, which slowed down, you need to go to the pharmacy.

And then over one billion dollars to support the healthcare ecosystem throughout Michigan.

When you cover half the people in the state, your ability to answer the phones and pay the claims is essential to the healthcare ecosystem.

And our teams and our people I think have done a great job in collaborating with everyone and getting the job done.

Blue Cross is part of the fiber of Michigan, we have customers and subscribers in every zip code in the state of Michigan.

We're in every community in the state of Michigan.

And so to be able to be part of those communities, we need to know what's going on when there's opportunities with employee-based programs.

And whatever we can do, we do, because we're part of Michigan.

And I think our social mission and what we do in community responsibility is very much part of who we are as a business.

(triumphant music) - The most significant national philanthropy day honor is the Max M. Fisher Outstanding Philanthropist Award.

The late businessman and philanthropist Max M. Fisher was a champion for the city of Detroit's Renaissance, he supported numerous charitable and civic organizations, and he raised millions of dollars for philanthropic and political causes here and all around the world.

The Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation continues to be a humanitarian force in our community, and they have a special relationship with AFP Detroit.

Here to tell us more about the legacy of Max and Marjorie Fisher is their granddaughter and foundation board member, Amanda Fisher.

- Max and Marjorie, my dearie and pops, instilled in our parents and their grandchildren and great-grandchildren the joy of giving.

Their legacy lives on in the core values of philanthropy and leadership that we will pass on for generations to come.

My grandmother once said about our partners in this work, I could never give enough to show how grateful I am that they have let me into their lives.

And for us and for my family, giving together means working shoulder to shoulder with our selfless staff, our professional partners in the field, and our neighbors who live closest to the issues we hope to face.

And they are giving us the gift of allowing us to walk alongside them.

Humility is a core value that my grandparents instilled at us.

And while neither my pops or dearie sought attention for their work, they were so proud to have their names on this award, because it emulates exactly what they stood for, leadership, love, bettering the community, and it celebrates so many amazing philanthropists.

And Mr.

and Mrs.

Anderson are now just etched on a long list of philanthropists who continually give with their heads, their hearts, and their hands, who bring light to the amazing projects through their giving and set an example of humility and philanthropy, truly loving the people who will use the resources and help repair the world, and we couldn't be more proud.

(triumphant music) - The Max M. Fisher Outstanding Philanthropist is a leader whose generosity helps transform our community and local nonprofits.

This year's recipients, like the Fishers themselves, are a power couple in Detroit philanthropy.

Jim and Patty Anderson were nominated for this honor by Wayne State University and Beaumont Health.

- Jim and Patty Anderson exemplify the criteria for the Max M. Fisher Award for Outstanding Philanthropists.

And it is my privilege and pleasure to say a few words about them.

Jim is a visionary leader in all aspects.

His company, Urban Science, his philanthropy, and his volunteerism.

He serves on the Wayne State University Foundation board of directors.

(audience applauding) And I know personally how hard he works to ensure the success of the university.

Jim is accountable to his own high standards in philanthropy and business.

And as a volunteer leader, he holds others accountable too.

Jim doesn't just give and walk away.

He gets engaged and does whatever he can to ensure the organizations, programs, and people he and Patty support are successful.

He is one of those people who gives generously, applies his expertise, serves as a leadership volunteer and as a relentless advocate for what he believes in.

This is a word for both Jim and Patty, but so far I've mentioned everything about Jim, that's because I know him a little bit better because we work together.

But I've been with Patty enough to know that Jim would not be whole or complete without her.

They're very different people, but they have a few things in common.

First, they're very humble donors.

Secondly, they're absolutely committed to their family.

And they are just nice people.

They do what they do not for the recognition that comes with giving, but they do it because they just want to make a difference.

Individually, they're great people.

But together, they're just absolutely terrific.

- Jim made a major gift to the College of Engineering, the largest gift in the history of the College of Engineering.

And one of the largest at that time of the University.

A $25 million gift.

With that gift, we established Jim and Patricia Anderson Engineering Ventures Institute to really bring the innovation entrepreneurship culture to the college, to the faculty, and the students.

(audience applauding) And that was the public phase of our university capital campaign, which ended in October of 2018.

The Institute mission is to translate research and development into innovation and entrepreneurship.

So moving from R&D to I&E.

R&D requires faculty publishing, go get funding from federal government and so on.

And innovation really talks about creating new solutions that can be lead to commercialization, and you're dealing with venture capitalists and so on.

Jim's leadership, I think, is lead by example.

I think one of the really thing that I admire about him, he rolled up his sleeves and do the work himself and make sure that people follow.

And Jim has never taken it cannot be done, it can't be done for an answer.

- I support Wayne State for at least two reasons.

One is, if it hadn't been for Wayne State, my college career, wherever it might have been, would have taken me down a completely different path than I ended up.

In other words, because I chose Wayne State for my education, I was able to make the connections that eventually ended up in my ability to start Urban Science.

Wayne State is perfectly located with want to be entrepreneurs that need a break and industry partners that need help from entrepreneurs.

That's the connection I made with the auto industry 43 years ago.

And that opportunity for similar connections, to connect problem solvers with problem owners, is what made Urban Science what it is and can make many more entrepreneurs equally successful too.

- Wayne State helped us, I mean, they gave Jim the education that he has.

This all takes a lot of time.

Jim has gone a lot.

He's working a lot.

But he's very dedicated to Detroit, to Wayne State, to his family.

So for me, it's how I give back, is I take care of the house, the family, and as much office I can to be able to help him do what he does best.

- I started with $1000 in Urban Science.

And today, we're about a $200 million company.

The leveraging of that small amount of money to what I think of as a large amount of money is possible for many people coming out of Wayne State, still in graduate school at Wayne State, that simply would like a direction on how to replicate what Patty and I have been able to replicate.

- I think it's an honor to receive this.

I'm not sure I'm qualified, Jim certainly is.

But I'm very proud of him, I'm proud of everything he does.

We have been blessed, we have a beautiful family.

Haven't spent as much time with them because we're busy, but we're hoping that it's gonna change some day and we're gonna be able to watch all that's been created and go feeling good about what we've done.

- The outlook for the philanthropy going forward is a positive one, because I believe in the United States and its ability to maintain leadership in entrepreneurship.

It's the land of the free where everyone gets a chance to go for the gold ring.

(triumphant music) I got that chance with $1000.

We'd like to give that chance to many, many other people, to take the chance, work just as hard, and produce similar results.

- Tonight's final award is a first for the National Philanthropy Day celebration.

It's the Special Lifetime Achievement Award for Leadership in Philanthropy, honoring a woman who has led and supported many charitable initiatives in the community, including the Grand Bargain that helped Detroit emerge from bankruptcy.

Mariam Nolan was nominated by the Detroit Institute of Arts for her exceptional leadership at the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan over the past 35 years.

Here's the foundation's chairman, Jim Nicholson.

- Mariam is a absolute force to be reckoned with in terms of leadership.

I think the crowning bit of her leadership was when she facilitated the Grand Bargain, where she acted as the catalyst that brought together all 10 foundations to save the DIA, the Detroit Institute of Arts.

So that will go down in the history books as one of the great achievements, one of the miracles, if you will, of Detroit.

And it was, would not have happened without Mariam.

But she does lots of other things in this community.

She started here 35 years ago with Joe Hudson and has built a marvelous organization that now has assets that exceed a billion dollars.

And that's pretty impressive from starting from zero.

The Foundation, over the life of its 35 years here in Detroit, has given, granted more than a billion dollars in grants to enhance our community.

So it's a force for good in our community and it is growing.

And its reputation is excellent in the community at large and in the nation.

- I've been in philanthropy for more years than I can count, it's been a long time.

And philanthropy has changed over the years.

It's changed a lot for the Community Foundation, because we didn't exist when I came here, and now we have benefited from the generosity throughout this region.

And I think that we are now helping this community understand that endowments matter.

We have many organizations that are now building endowments that have not before.

And I think that we are beginning to see individuals recognize that they can continue to help charities and build a legacy in their name or anonymously to make sure that the charities they care about forever are getting the support that they think they should have.

So in that sense, I think the permanent type of philanthropy, endowments, have changed a great deal.

I don't think I've seen much change in the engagement of both corporate and other foundations.

They've been engaged pretty consistently.

The engagement of donors, individual donors of all ages is heartening for me.

To see the young people, now they're gonna be more online givers, but I think we've seen an increase in the engagement of the next generation in building philanthropic habits for the future.

One thing that I'm really proud of in relation to the Community Foundation over the years is that, from day one, we always thought that we should work in collaboration, collaboration with the individuals that we're going to be working with to make change, other foundations, other donors.

And so I see that a spirit of engagement and collaboration, something that has been important as we've faced some of the tougher issues, the issues where none of us can make a difference alone.

The willingness of other foundations and corporations to join in joint efforts, whether they're initiatives, in our case, one of our earliest was to start building greenways.

And we're excited to see the hundreds of miles of greenways that now exist in Southeast Michigan.

To the new economy initiative.

And yes, the Grand Bargain, which was a bit of a, we didn't do that one alone at all, that was a huge community philanthropic effort.

(triumphant music) So collaboration, working together, I think that we feel that we've had a little role in that, and I really think that holds great promise for the future.

- The latest reports show charitable giving was up for the second quarter of this year, proving that Americans are stepping up to the challenge during these tough times.

The entire world will celebrate giving and generosity on December 1st, known as Giving Tuesday.

AFP Detroit president Steve Ragan of Hope Network talked with Sandy Pierce from Huntington Bank and Kellie Ray of Plante Moran about the importance and benefits of giving by year's end.

- Sandy, you in particular serve on so many boards in the community and volunteer at so many different organizations.

Of course, Huntington is so involved in supporting the community.

Could you just share with us a little bit about what you're seeing regarding the financial condition of the nonprofit sector and our local charities?

There've been some very dire predictions that many of our charities may not even survive the kind of economic impact long-term that we're seeing.

- I've heard the same statistics, Steve.

And if you think about this unprecedented year, this isn't a financial crisis, it's a public health crisis.

We have social unrest, we have an economic recession, we have political divisiveness.

And when you combine all of that together, it is, it should be no surprise to anyone that those organizations that are suffering the most are those that are trying to do good for the communities that they serve.

- Kellie, I know Plante Moran, you've been a long time supporter of National Philanthropy Day.

Some of the early data is showing that actually, donors are, have given more during the COVID crisis.

And I think we see this a lot, that our community really responds.

- When the COVID crisis hit and their other sources of revenue really fell off a cliff for a lot of organizations, so if they were relying on fundraising events or if they were relying on program service fees really of any kind, and organizations recognized right away that they needed to go to their loyal donors and ask for support during the COVID crisis.

And many of the donors in our community really stepped up and did that, supported the organizations and helped them get through the immediate crisis.

But a lot of organizations are worried that now they have to go back to those same donors and ask for the year end gifts that they traditionally would receive.

- How has this last year impacted Huntington's philanthropy and community involvement?

- As soon as the pandemic and the shelter at home shut down so many of the businesses and really put pressure on the nonprofits, we put out a charitable response fund.

So beyond our normal charitable giving, we added quite a lot into just a segregated charitable response fund.

And that was for nonprofits to be able to give them to help them, help bridge them, frankly, to the PPP process.

And then when PPP, the loans were out there to be applied for, what we did at Huntington is we opened it up to nonprofits that were not customers.

Most of the financial institutions did it for customers only.

We specifically helped hundreds of nonprofits that were not customers in our footprint in order to get the PPP, and my fingers crossed, another allocation of PPP comes forward from the CARES Act in the next several months, because that will really help.

- Now, there are also some special incentives for individual donors to contribute (indistinct) money, aren't there?

- Yup.

So the CARES Act this year really tried to incentivize both individual and corporate donors to increase their giving.

Even if you're not itemizing your deduction, you can take a $300 deduction this year for cash gifts to charities.

And then for donors who are giving more support, the limit has been increased.

So historically, donors were limited to 60% of their adjusted gross income.

That's been increased to 100% this year.

And then they, the limitations for corporations were also increased significantly this year as well.

- So we really do encourage everybody watching today or on one of the on demand broadcasts to please take the time to think about helping their favorite charity one more time at year end.

And we wanna congratulate all of the nearly 100 honorees that we've recognized during this show and the organizations that they volunteer and work with.

There are just some incredible honorees we've profiled today.

We wish we had much more time with all of them.

But they really have helped our community through this challenge, but through the challenges that we face every day in our community.

So congratulations to all of them and thank you to all of our supporters.

Remember, Giving Tuesday is December 1st this year.

But please support and get involved with your favorite nonprofits every day of the year.

Thank you.

(triumphant music) - That'll do it for this special presentation of National Philanthropy Day 2020, Rising to the Challenge Together.

Thanks for watching.

(triumphant music) We encourage you to go to npddet.org to watch extended versions of the conversations you heard tonight on the importance of charitable giving.

You can also read more about the honorees.

And our special thanks goes to Hour Media for partnering with AFP Detroit and Detroit Public Television to bring you tonight's program.

Stay well and good night.

- [Announcer] Support for National Philanthropy Day 2020, Rising to the Challenge Together is provided by Beaumont Health, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr.

Foundation, Plante Moran, Huntington Bank, PVS Chemicals, Incorporated, Urban Science, and by these sponsors.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, the Remington Group, Wayne State University, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, Hope Network, Hudson-Webber Foundation, the Children's Foundation, Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan, Schoolcraft College Foundation, Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation, and Hammond & Associates.

(calm piano music)