Two years ago, the Gilbert Family Foundation and Rocket Community Fund made a joint, $500M philanthropic commitment to build opportunity and equity in the city of Detroit. We are proud to share our progress on our vision for a more equitable hometown.
Since we made that announcement, we’ve been able to launch impactful programs like the Detroit Tax Relief Fund and the Detroit Eviction Defense Fund, which have collectively helped more than 12,000 Detroit families gain more safe and stable housing. And while stabilizing housing is our first priority, we understand that by making follow-on investments that connect these same families to resources in workforce development, entrepreneurship, arts and culture and public space, we will impact their ability to thrive.
In 2022 alone, the Gilbert Family Foundation launched Venture 313, a $10M, three-year investment that builds on the success of Rocket Mortgage Detroit Demo Day by supporting founders at every stage of their entrepreneurial journey. We also launched the Thriving Neighborhoods Fund, a $500,000 investment into 20 grassroots organizations focused on elevating Detroit neighborhoods. We have helped over 1,400 families become homeowners through Make It Home and also launched the Detroit Home Repair Fund to support residents with critical home repair needs. 2002 also saw the expansion of our Education and Employment team, where we hired a dedicated program manager to focus on Career Education while also continuing to support digital inclusion efforts across Detroit. Through Connect 313 and affiliated partners, including the support of Rocket Community Fund and the Rocket Mortgage Classic, 100,000 Detroit families are now enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity Program. Working with our partners at Human I-T, we’ve helped bring digital resources, low-cost internet and training to Detroit residents (including supporting the construction of the first-ever Human I-T brick-and-mortar storefront, opening in this summer). These are only a handful of the investments we’ve made and the programs we’ve created in service of our joint commitment.
Thanks to the collaborative efforts of both organizations and the hard work of our program teams and our partners, we have made an incredible amount of progress. We will continue to work together to move the needle on our shared vision for a more equitable Detroit!
Click here to see a breakdown of funds committed as of March 2023.
If you’re interested in find out more about our accomplishments in 2022, read the Gilbert Family Foundation’s annual report. For the Rocket Community Fund annual report, click here.