Two-Year Report
2020 & 2021
The work of our grantees mobilizes our investments, and we are humbled by their impact which makes our region sustainable, just, vibrant, and flourishing.
Letter From the Chair and President
It may sound like a cliché, but writing a bi-annual report note when we are just emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic is a surreal reflection. We are grateful for people who kept their neighbors and communities safe by staying home to slow the spread of the virus or continuing to serve essential services. Our team spent most of the last 16 months at home, but we did not miss a beat and we successfully ran our grants program through the pandemic and supported our grantees in their missions along the way. Our hats go off to our grantees and staff for their focus and commitment.
In this letter, we reflect on two years of work for our 2020 and 2021 fiscal years. These were incredible times, but also one of steadfast work and determination in mobilizing and implementing our current five-year strategic plan. Terrific progress has been made in our efforts to tighten and narrow our areas of impact and measure our impact at the grant level, program area level, and the whole foundation level.
In our Great Lakes program, we expanded and deepened our stewardship efforts. While difficult to measure, understanding and commitment of people are ultimately the most important drivers for public policy and organizational action. We are pausing new grants in green stormwater infrastructure while we conduct a study of combined sewer overflows in the region to determine our role in solving this issue. Lastly, we are getting a good start in addressing some “emerging contaminants” to the waters of the Great Lakes, which is also part of our new strategic plan.
In our Arts program area, we continued participation in the general operating support program known as Detroit Arts Support, expanding our grantees into the tri-counties. General operating support is critical for the financial health of arts and culture organizations and we are working to measure our effectiveness in these programs. During these two years, we made several COVID-19 relief grants for organizations terribly hurt by the loss of ticket revenue during the pandemic. Despite the pandemic, we are thrilled by recent expansions in jazz education programs in the region which are strongly linked with Fred Erb’s passion.
In our Environmental Health, Justice, and Sustainable Development program area we made significant changes and achieved terrific new milestones. We are fully ratcheting up our work in addressing blood lead level challenges among Detroit children and asthma linked to diesel exhaust and other air pollutants in Detroit. We also commissioned and commenced a new comprehensive sustainable business program in Detroit (Sustainable Business Network of Detroit) with many partners that will accelerate progress and collaboration. We are confident that bringing this focus to metro Detroit is something our founders would have been pleased to see given their visionary grantmaking 25 years ago when forming the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan.
In the past two years, we also saw changes to our team. Daryl Larson, our original chief financial officer, retired at the end of 2019. Our long-time vice president of programs, Jodee Raines, moved on to an exciting new role in a Detroit advocacy organization. We thank both of them for their service. We congratulated Melissa Damaschke as our new vice president of programs and welcomed Tara Tuomaala as the arts program officer and Jamie Konopacky as the Great Lakes program officer. Our Erb Family Foundation team is strong and well-positioned to continue our mission.
We truly appreciate all the great work of our grantees. Their work mobilizes our investments, and we are humbled by their impact which makes our region sustainable, just, vibrant, and flourishing.
John M. Erb, Chair
Neil C. Hawkins, Sc.D., President
Fred and Barbara
Devoted parents and grandparents, Fred and Barbara Erb’s philanthropy was strongly influenced by their desire to create a better world for both current and future generations.
This desire, together with their experience as family business owners, a shared love of nature, and a deep sense of fairness and justice, led them to view their philanthropy through the lens of sustainability – development that harmonizes economic, environmental, and social interests, meeting the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future.
Born on February 11, 1923, in Detroit, Fred attended Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills where he excelled in sports, music, science, and math. In 1942, Fred transferred from Cornell University to the University of Michigan where he met his future wife, Barbara. With the onset of World War II, Fred joined the Army Enlisted Reserve and was called to active duty in June 1943. While stationed in Maryland he spent his weekends in New York City listening to jazz greats like Art Tatum, Billie Holiday, and Sidney Bechet, furthering what would become a lifelong love of jazz.
After the war, Fred and Barbara married and Fred resumed his education. Shortly after graduation, Fred went to work for his uncle’s lumber and coal business in Royal Oak. The business grew rapidly under Fred’s leadership, and in the 1970s Erb Lumber became the largest lumber supplier in Michigan. Fred was also active in real estate development, often lending money to new builders unable to access traditional financing – a reflection of his entrepreneurial spirit.
Barbara Erb was born in Detroit on April 17, 1924, as Barbara Jean Morley. As a young child, Barbara spent her summers in Bayfield, Ontario. Barbara’s time on the shores of Lake Huron instilled in her a lifelong love and respect for the Great Lakes and the natural environment, which would later influence her and Fred’s philanthropy.
An early environmentalist, Barbara was an organic gardener committed to nutrition and wholesome eating long before these issues became mainstream. She practiced organic gardening, frequented the local farmers markets, took her recyclables to the department of public works, and was known in every health food store in town. Always community minded, Barbara’s philanthropy included a broad array of organizations.
After years of charitable giving, Fred and Barbara made their largest gift to create the Frederick A. and Barbara M. Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise, a joint master’s degree program at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and School for Environment and Sustainability.
In 2007, as parents and grandparents with a concern for the environment and a love of the arts, Fred and Barbara established the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation, with a mission of advancing an environmentally healthy and culturally vibrant metropolitan Detroit and a flourishing Great Lakes ecosystem.
Fiscal Year Overviews
Fred and Barbara’s philanthropy was driven by their desire to create a better world for both current and future generations. The Foundation’s mission of advancing an environmentally healthy and culturally vibrant metropolitan Detroit and a flourishing Great Lakes ecosystem, is a direct result of that legacy. We view our grantmaking through the lens of sustainability: the harmonizing of economic, environmental, and social interests, meeting the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future.
The Foundation’s primary goals are to improve Great Lakes water quality; promote environmental health, justice, and sustainable development; and support the arts. We also support Alzheimer’s research. These interconnected goals work together to realize Fred and Barbara’s vision of a sustainable metropolitan Detroit community and Great Lakes region.
FY 2020
Total Grants: $12,305,676
Great Lakes, $5,126,776
Alzheimer’s Research, $750,000
Environmental Health, Justice, & Sustainable Development, $2,088,500
Arts, $3,340,400
Special Opportunities, $1,000,000
FY 2021
Total Grants: $12,087,240
Great Lakes, $4,791,500
Alzheimer’s Research, $600,000
Environmental Health, Justice, & Sustainable Development, $1,871,000
Arts, $3,450,240
Special Opportunities, $1,374,500
Great Lakes
We supported local efforts that promote green stormwater infrastructure, reduce agricultural runoff, and nurture stewardship in the watersheds impacting metro Detroit and Bayfield, Ontario.
Stewardship
Our Desired Outcome is a healthy Great Lakes, evidenced by increased stewardship and improved water quality in the Bayfield, Clinton, Detroit, Huron, Raisin, and Rouge watersheds. To achieve that outcome, we support efforts to increase individual and institutional stewardship; improve understanding of emerging contaminants; and coordinate best practices and policies at the state, federal, and binational levels.
Spotlight: Detroit Public Television
Detroit Public TV is a PBS member station that produces local programming like “Great Lakes Now.” The award-winning regional news show encourages informed and responsible action to address issues affecting the Great Lakes.
With partnerships, contributors, and content from across the Great Lakes Basin, the 30-minute broadcast series promotes a Great Lakes identity, increases water literacy, and encourages binational stewardship. The program’s audience reaches beyond Detroit and currently airs on more than 30 PBS affiliate stations in the U.S. and Canada. Shorter clips are shared on social media channels and during the pandemic Facebook watch parties were organized.
Green Stormwater Infrastructure
Our Desired Outcome is the elimination of untreated combined sewer overflows in the Detroit River system through optimal use of green stormwater infrastructure. To achieve that outcome, we support efforts to build awareness and demand; research and demonstrate ecological and economic feasibility; and align public and private efforts around green stormwater infrastructure.
Spotlight: Oudolf Garden Detroit
Located on Belle Isle, the beautiful public Oudolf Garden, designed by well-known garden designer Piet Oudolf, weaves ecology and artistry in its rain gardens and wetlands. As part of the Garden, a stormwater demonstration garden was built, along with a related curriculum for community education.
The Garden’s connection to a world-renowned designer, along with its beautiful setting, will help bring global attention to Detroit and the Great Lakes. In addition, visitors will learn how green stormwater infrastructure protects water quality in our watershed.
Agricultural Runoff
Our Desired Outcome is to improve the health of the western basin of Lake Erie by reducing phosphorus from runoff and subsurface drainage from agricultural fields. We aim for a 50% reduction from the 2008 baseline loading levels by 2025. To achieve that outcome, we support efforts to increase farmers’ adoption of sustainable conservation practices, including education, policies, market drivers, and financial incentives, and to engage businesses developing those solutions.
Spotlight: Environmental Working Group
Environmental Working Group is completing a two-part project to help reduce nutrient pollution runoff to Lake Erie from Michigan’s portion of the western Lake Erie basin watershed. Using geospatial tools, and with expert assistance from State of Michigan agencies, it is locating farms on the landscape and assessing their cumulative nutrient impacts. After identifying potential nutrient pollution hotspots on the landscape, technical experts will identify conservation practice opportunities on fields and adjacent to streams.
This project will increase the capacity of state agencies, farmers, and partners to work together to implement precision conservation practices, reduce nutrient pollution, and address the harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie.
Environmental Health, Justice & Sustainable Development
Our vision for Environmental Health, Justice, and Sustainable Development is beautiful, healthy, and prosperous neighborhoods.
Lead
Our Desired Outcome is a reduction in elevated blood lead levels in children in Detroit and Wayne County by reducing lead hazards in housing and soil. To achieve that outcome, we support efforts to develop cost-effective remediation methods for homeowners; incentives for landlords to reduce exposure in rental properties; collaboration between property owners, businesses, government, and nonprofit organizations; and design of effective policies and policy enforcement through increased public education and engagement.
Spotlight: Southwest Detroit Business Association
The Michigan Hispanic Contractors Association is an advocacy organization building relationships and capacity through education, training, and investment. Together with the Southwest Detroit Business Association (SDBA), the Association sponsored a pilot program for contractors to become certified in lead abatement and remediation. This program was created to respond to the need for qualified contractors for the City of Detroit’s $8.9 million lead abatement initiative.
Two barriers to participation were identified during the pilot training program: the financial ability to take time off from work to attend a full week of training plus testing days, and a lack of access to transportation. In future trainings, SDBA will address these barriers to continue to grow the workforce of contractors, supervisors, and workers who are vital to safe lead removal.
Asthma
Our Desired Outcome is a reduction in incidences of asthma in Detroit and Wayne County through improved ambient air quality. To achieve that outcome, we support efforts to develop new methods to measure, improve, and monitor air quality; and promote effective policies and policy enforcement.
Spotlight: The Ecology Center
The Ecology Center works with consumers, corporations, and policymakers to develop innovative solutions for healthy people and a healthy planet. Ecology Center is the convener of the Air Quality Sensor Learning Collaborative. The Collaborative, working with schools, community partners, academics, and government agencies to install air monitors and tracks local air quality data. This information is used to inform partners and the public at large.
As a first step in helping the Collaborative work toward meaningful and cost-effective ways to reliably measure air quality, the Foundation is supporting an audit of air monitors in the City of Detroit. Researchers will assess what data are being collected, how the data are being analyzed and used, and if and where there are gaps in monitoring. This effort will help build government and nonprofit capacity to monitor air quality compliance and enforce existing regulations.
Arts
Keeping the beat…
Our vision for the Arts is a culturally vibrant metropolitan Detroit region where arts contribute to the area’s economic, social, and creative well-being.
In recognition of the extreme challenges from COVID-19 restrictions that confronted our community and its arts organizations, we made one-time grants totaling $735,000 in 2020 to nine Erb family legacy organizations that had special significance to Fred and Barbara Erb.
In addition, our continued general operating funding provided grantees with resources to transition their programs to digital platforms and keep the arts accessible to the community. This critical support gave organizations the stability and flexibility to respond to revenue losses due to the cancellation of fundraising events and live performances.
Anchor Arts
Our Desired Outcome is a culturally vibrant metro Detroit, evidenced by financially healthy organizations and a coordinated sector. To achieve that outcome, we provide flexible funding to select arts and cultural organizations; support improved business models that increase capacity and impact of those organizations; and invest in holistic efforts that strengthen the field.
Spotlight: Detroit Arts Support
Detroit Arts Support is our partnership with The Kresge Foundation, DeRoy Testamentary Foundation, and Hudson Webber Foundation that offers grants to arts and cultural organizations across the metro Detroit area through a streamlined application process. Awards are structured as multi-year general operating grants to support organizations’ capitalization.
The COVID-19 pandemic emphasized the need for unrestricted support, like that from Detroit Arts Support, so that organizations can be better prepared to respond to challenges, seize opportunities, and remain nimble. In 2020, the Erb Family Foundation expanded the geographic scope of its support to include eight new grantees across Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne Counties.
Jazz Education
Our Desired Outcome is to continue Detroit’s strong jazz tradition and Fred Erb’s legacy of jazz patronage by educating the next generation of jazz musicians. To achieve that outcome, we support efforts to provide and improve jazz instruction for youth.
Spotlight: JazzEd Detroit
JazzEd Detroit is a partnership that brings together five of the top jazz organizations in the area: Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts, the Carr Center, Detroit Jazz Festival, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and Michigan State University Community Music School-Detroit. Together, they break down barriers to accessing high-quality jazz education by reaching youth musicians of all skill levels, performers, and educators with programming that explores Detroit’s great jazz tradition.
In 2020, when in-person instruction was interrupted, JazzEd Detroit connected students to online instruction, including video “MasterClasses” with celebrated jazz figures like Marion Hayden and Marcus Elliot. “JazzEd Tracks” enabled youth to play along with recordings of professional jazz musicians.
Alzheimer’s Research
Finding new paths…
While there currently is no cure for Alzheimer’s, there is abundant opportunity for research and development. To help create a world free of Alzheimer’s disease, we allocate a portion of our funding to leading research organizations.
Alzheimer’s Research
Our Desired Outcome is improved prevention, management, and treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias. To advance that outcome, we support leading research on lifestyle changes, basic research, and early career researchers.
Spotlight: Alzheimer’s Association U.S. POINTER Study
The Alzheimer’s Association’s U.S. Study to Protect Brain Health Through Lifestyle Intervention to Reduce Risk (commonly known as U.S. POINTER) targets the risk factors that negatively affect cognitive functions in older adults. The study examines the effect lifestyle interventions – such as diet, exercise, social interaction – have on protecting memory and thinking.
Study results could have large-scale implications for public policy regarding care of today’s fast-growing population of older Americans.
Grant Guidelines
Great Lakes
Our Desired Outcome is healthy Great Lakes, evidenced by increased stewardship and improved water quality in the Bayfield, Clinton, Detroit, Huron, Raisin, and Rouge watersheds.
To achieve that outcome, we support efforts to increase individual and institutional stewardship; improve understanding of emerging contaminants; and coordinate best practices and policies at the state, federal, and binational levels.
We will measure impact through reporting on water quality in our target watersheds.
Our Desired Outcome is to improve the health of the western basin of Lake Erie by reducing phosphorus from runoff and subsurface drainage from agricultural fields. We aim for a 50 percent reduction from the 2008 baseline loading levels by 2025.
To achieve that outcome, we support efforts to increase farmers’ adoption of sustainable conservation practices, including education, policies, market drivers, and financial incentives, and to engage businesses developing those solutions.
We will measure progress by tracking phosphorus loads into western Lake Erie.
Our Desired Outcome is the elimination of untreated combined sewer overflows in the Detroit River system through optimal use of green stormwater infrastructure.
This grant-making is paused while we complete a study of combined sewer overflows in Southeast Michigan to determine our efforts going forward.
Environmental Health, Justice, and Sustainable Business
Our Desired Outcome is a reduction in elevated blood lead levels in children in Detroit and Wayne County through reduced lead exposure in housing and soil.
To achieve that outcome, we support efforts to develop cost-effective remediation methods for homeowners; incentives for landlords to reduce exposure in rental properties; collaboration between property owners, businesses, government, and nonprofit organizations; and design of effective policies and policy enforcement through increased public education and engagement.
We will measure impact by tracking the number of children with elevated blood lead levels in Detroit and Wayne County.
Our Desired Outcome is a reduction in incidences of asthma in Detroit and Wayne County through improved ambient air quality.
To achieve that outcome, we support efforts to develop new methods to measure, improve and monitor air quality; and design effective policies and policy enforcement.
We will measure impact by tracking incidences of asthma in Detroit and Wayne County.
Our Desired Outcome is that Southeast Michigan is a national leader in sustainable business, and the regional business community is collaboratively engaged in a flourishing and just economy, society, and environment.
To achieve that outcome, we support efforts to build capacity for businesses of all sizes to implement sustainable practices; connect organizations with regional sustainability leaders; and bridge the gaps in our education-to-professional pipeline through internships, mentoring, and curriculum.
We will measure impact through an annual review and report of the sustainable business landscape in the region.
Arts
Our Desired Outcome is a culturally vibrant metropolitan Detroit region, evidenced by financially healthy organizations and a coordinated sector.
To achieve that outcome, we provide flexible funding to select arts and cultural organizations; support improved business models that increase the capacity and impact of those organizations; and invest in holistic efforts that strengthen the field.
We will measure impact by tracking the capitalization of arts organizations in metropolitan Detroit.
Our Desired Outcome is to continue Detroit’s strong jazz tradition, and Fred Erb’s legacy of jazz patronage, by educating the next generation of jazz musicians.
To achieve that outcome, we support efforts to provide and improve jazz instruction for youth.
We will measure impact by tracking jazz education students.
Alzheimer’s Research
Our Desired Outcome is improved prevention, management, and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
To advance that outcome, we support leading research on lifestyle changes, basic research, and early career researchers.
We do not accept unsolicited proposals in this area.