Enabling Communities
Strong, engaged communities are necessary to call for, create, and maintain strong systems. Our Enabling Communities investments undergird our efforts across the three youth-serving systems we focus on and include support for parent engagement, community leadership, public policy, nonprofit community journalism, and narrative change.
Recent Grants
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Learning & Evaluation Reports
Safety Strategy Review 2013-2016
Prepared by JFM Consulting Group A review of the Foundation’s safety strategy from 2013-2016, during which time the Foundation set ... More
Kids Matter Here: An Analytic Review of the 10-year Good Neighborhoods Initiative
In 2006, the Skillman Foundation set out to change conditions for Detroit kids by creating the 10-year, $120-million Good Neighborhoods ... More
Civic Leadership: Highlights from the Good Neighborhoods Initiative
Authored by Mark A. Lelle An examination of the Skillman Foundation's civic leadership practice. Download the report ... More
Strengthening Grassroots Community Leadership in Detroit
An evaluation report on the Community Connections Grants Program (2006-2015), a resident-centered grant program working to strengthen civic engagement and ... More
The Added Value of Long-Term Investment in Neighborhoods: Two Case Studies from the Skillman Foundation’s Good Neighborhoods Initiative
What difference can 10 years of steady, responsive philanthropic support make to a resourceful but distressed neighborhood? What is the ... More
Neighborhood Impact Statements
Written by Neighborhood Governance Organizations The Good Neighborhoods Initiative was structured around residents leading change in the their neighborhoods. To ... More
Maximizing Returns: Investing in Nontraditional Leaders
Co-authored by resident leaders Mohammad Dawood, Jerry Ann Hebron, Lisa Luevanos, Mary Luevanos and Victor Robinson Learnings from a group ... More
A Decade in Review: Conditions in Detroit and the Skillman Good Neighborhoods
Authored by Data Driven Detroit A report on the overall context for the initiative that draws from a wide range ... More
Community Leadership Strategy: the Arc of Learning, and Neighborhood Profiles
By the University of Michigan Curtis Center This report describes the strategy for building community leadership during the initial years ... More
Social Innovation: Accomplishments and Early Lessons
Authored by Susan Parker, Clear Thinking Communications This report explores the Skillman Foundation's use of innovative financial tools and relationships ... More
Smart Collaboration at the Grassroots Level
This report examines how to build powerful collaborations through the lens of the Community Connections Small Grants Program. View the ... More
State of the Detroit Child 2012
The typical data picture one gets for Detroit is fragmented, based on a series of individual, topic-specific portraits. The Skillman ... More
Good Neighborhoods, Good Schools and Skillman’s Strategy for Place-Based Change
This report provides an overview and topline analysis of the Foundation's place-based work from 2008 to 2010. View the full ... More
Resilience, Resolve, Results: a Compilation of Readiness Phase Studies of the Skillman Foundation’s Good Neighborhoods and Good Schools Initiative, 2008-2010
This report is a compilation of the executive summaries of the Readiness Phase evaluation reports and provides an overview of ... More
Changing the Odds for Kids (Part One): What Capacity Do the Supports and Opportunities in the Six Good Neighborhoods Provide for Young People and What Characteristics of a System are in Place?
This first assessment of the systems of supports and opportunities (SOSO) informs the Foundation and its partners about availability and ... More
State of the Detroit Child 2010
The typical data picture one gets for Detroit is fragmented, based on a series of individual, topic-specific portraits. The Skillman ... More
Concerning Kids: A Skillman Foundation Study
Concerning Kids: A Skillman Foundation Study was the first-ever comprehensive series of polls on what residents of metropolitan Detroit think, ... More