McGregor Mission building in downtown Detroit. Courtesy McGregor Fund

The McGregor Fund

In 1925 Tracy and Katherine McGregor established the McGregor Fund—a philanthropic foundation dedicated to continuing their charitable work in perpetuity. It sought to “relieve the misfortunes and promote the well-being of mankind,” with Detroit and southeastern Michigan designated as its primary geographic focus. By 1932, when the McGregor Fund awarded its first grants, Tracy and Katherine had pledged most of their assets to its work. Under the McGregors’ direction, the board of trustees defined the Fund’s priorities: “human services, education, health care, arts and culture, and public benefit.”

The McGregor Fund's recent grants include: a $250,000 grant for the Greening of Detroit to expand its urban agriculture programs with the goal of making Detroit more food secure (01); a $1 million leadership grant to Neighborhood Services Organization (NSO), which is retrofitting the former Michigan Bell Building in Detroit to provide permanent supportive housing for individuals who were long-term, chronically homeless (02); and a $150,000 grant to Matrix Theatre Company as fiduciary of the Detroit Community Arts Alliance, a collaboration of four arts organizations, including Heritage Works (pictured) (03).  Courtesy McGregor Fund, Dave Krieger (photographer)

Over the past eight decades the McGregor Fund has been a mainstay of Michigan philanthropy, disbursing nearly $200 million in grants. In 2012 alone the Fund awarded 74 grants totaling over $7 million.