Thank you for your interest in The Skillman Foundation and our President’s Discretionary Fund. Unfortunately, we are no longer accepting requests this year. Grant requests for 2026 will open in late January. Please stay in the know about developments to our strategies and grantmaking opportunities by subscribing to our monthly newsletter. Thank you for being a champion of Detroit youth.

The President’s Discretionary Fund is a $1 million annual grant fund for small, one-time grants that support 501c3 nonprofits that serve Detroit youth but fall outside The Skillman Foundation’s grantmaking priorities.   

The fund is not designed to provide continuous support each year to an organization. Grants are typically $2,500 – $10,000 and fund efforts such as:  

• Pilot programs or one-time projects 
• Projects focused within systems adjacent to education (e.g., health, housing, and justice) that support Detroit youth 
• Fundraisers or other event sponsorships (Due to limited funds and high demand in this category, these requests are infrequently funded.) 

These grants do not fund: 

• For-profit institutions 
• Endowments, building campaigns, or capital costs, including construction, renovation, or equipment 
• Political campaigns, or support for activities or lobbying for or against legislation 
• Direct funding to individuals or for personnel/staffing expenditures  

If your organization and grant request fit the above description, please send your inquiry to grants@skillman.org. The following information must be included to be considered.  

• Primary contact name, title, direct organization email, and phone number 
• Organization name, EIN, website address, and social media 
• Amount requested 
• Brief description of what the requested grant would fund  

Typically, you can expect a response within 2-3 weeks of submission; however, when we experience an increase of requests this will cause a delay in response time. Grants typically take between 3-5 weeks for approval and payment.