Detroit Lions Charities
Allen Park, MI · EIN 38-2945709. Reported 94 grants totalling $5,992,780 to 57 organizations across tax years 2020-2023, on Form 990 Schedule I.
Does this grantmaker accept applications?
Its tax return does not say, and we will not guess. Private foundations file Form 990-PF, which asks outright whether they fund only organizations they select themselves -- 78% say yes, and that one answer is what lets the rest of this site tell you which foundations are worth approaching. Grantmaking charities like this one file a regular Form 990 instead, and the IRS never puts the question to them. Anyone claiming to know the answer from the filing is inventing it.
Three things in the filing do bear on it:
- What kind of organization it is. For Detroit Lions Charities, the IRS classifies it as a philanthropy and voluntarism organization (NTEE T50Z).
- How spread out its giving is. 57 distinct organizations, with 17% of the dollars going to the largest single recipient. That is genuinely spread out -- the mark of a funder making many independent decisions rather than underwriting one institution.
- How much its list changes. 46% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 3 year-to-year transitions. That is below the 57% median for grantmaking charities, and well below the 67% private foundations manage. A list that turns over this much is one a newcomer can realistically join.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $26,500. Half of what it reported fell between $15,000 and $78,500; the smallest was $5,200 and the largest $500,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.
2 of those grants were non-cash -- goods, property or services worth $42,893 in total. In-kind giving is real support but it is not a cheque.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by the EIN the filer reported, not by name, so an organization that was typed differently in two years appears once rather than twice.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan | Detroit, MI | $1,002,500 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Henry Ford Health System | Detroit, MI | $714,472 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Playworks Education Energized | Oakland, CA | $552,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| National Football League Foundation | New York, NY | $500,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| City Year Inc | Boston, MA | $392,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Pure Heart Foundation | Detroit, MI | $226,500 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Detroit Police Athletic League Incorporated | Detroit, MI | $219,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Downtown Boxing Gym Youth Program | Detroit, MI | $181,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| United Way for Southeastern Michigan | Detroit, MI | $173,443 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Detroit Public Schools Foundation | Detroit, MI | $155,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Empowerment Plan | Detroit, MI | $120,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Detroit Justice Center | Detroit, MI | $103,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Family Assistance for Renaissance Men | Detroit, MI | $96,213 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Lomas Brown JR Foundation Inc | Waterford, MI | $83,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Alternatives for Girls | Detroit, MI | $78,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Detroit Phoenix Center | Detroit, MI | $78,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Yunion | Detroit, MI | $78,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| United Charitable | Ashburn, VA | $78,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Northend Christian Community Development Corporation | Detroit, MI | $75,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Haven Inc | Pontiac, MI | $70,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Eastern Market Corporatioin | Detroit, MI | $62,579 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Catch Foundation | Detroit, MI | $62,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Scholastic Book Fairs | Cincinnati, OH | $58,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Detroit Crime Commission | Southfield, MI | $55,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Detroit Cody High School | Detroit, MI | $53,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Education Foundation for the Flint Community Schools | Grand Blanc, MI | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Sharefest Community Development Inc | San Pedro, CA | $48,542 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Battle Creek Public Schools | Battle Creek, MI | $43,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Give Merit Inc | Detroit, MI | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Wayne County Sheriffs Reserve Officers Foundation | Detroit, MI | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Beyond Basics | Farmingtn Hls, MI | $36,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Detroit Public Schools Community District | Detroit, MI | $35,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| St Louis Public Schools | St Louis, MI | $32,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Detroit Public Safety Foundation | Detroit, MI | $32,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| American Heart Association Inc | Dallas, TX | $29,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Detroit Metro Sports Commission Inc | Detroit, MI | $25,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Forgotten Harvest Inc | Oak Park, MI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Motor City Mitten Mission | St Clr Shores, MI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Bridgeport High School | Bridgeport Charter Twp, MI | $23,600 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| School District of the City of Pontiac | Pontiac, MI | $21,131 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Calvin Johnson JR Foundation Incorporated | Tyrone, GA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| National Football League Alumni Inc | Mount Laurel, NJ | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Superior Central | Eben Junction, MI | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors | Arlington, VA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Detroit | Detroit, MI | $16,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Harper Woods High School | Harper Woods, MI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Mount Clemens Community Schools | Mount Clemens, MI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Wayne State University Police Department | Detroit, MI | $14,800 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Annapolis High School | Dearborn Heights, MI | $12,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Evergreen Community Development Initiative | Flint, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Lawton High School | Lawton, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| The Vaughn Mcclure and Jeff Dickerson Foundation | Chicago Ridge, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Carrollton High School | Saginaw, MI | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Childrens Center of Wayne County Inc | Detroit, MI | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Michigan High School Football Association Inc | Battle Creek, MI | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Cots | Detroit, MI | $7,300 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Oxford Community Schools | Oxford, MI | $5,200 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
21 of 57 (37%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold. Remember the $5,000 floor: an organization funded every year at $3,000 shows up here as never funded at all.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose column of its filings, largest first. This is the closest thing to a statement of what it funds, in its own words.
- Nfl Foundation
TO SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY (COVID19 RELIEF) - Boys and Girls Club of Southeastern Michigan
TO SUPPORT THE DETROIT COMMUNITY - Henry Ford Health
TO SUPPORT THE DETROIT COMMUNITY - GAME ON CANCER - Playworks Education Energized
TO SUPPORT YOUTH PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PROGRAMS - Detroit Police Athletic League Inc
TO SUPPORT ATHLETIC LEAGUE FOR PUBLIC SERVICE GROUPS IN METROPOLITAN DETROIT - The Empowerment Plan
TO PROVIDE HOMELESS WITH COATS TO PROTECT THEM FROM THE HARSH ELEMENTS
What kind of organizations it funds
By each recipient's own IRS classification, for the 39 of 57 recipients we could match to a registered organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses -- Schedule I reports the recipient's EIN, so this is a lookup rather than a name match.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants reported | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 28 | $1,942,193 | $25,000 |
| 2021 | 29 | $1,575,389 | $23,600 |
| 2022 | 17 | $982,203 | $20,000 |
| 2023 | 20 | $1,492,995 | $78,500 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- Form 990 arrives about a year after the year it covers, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a grantmaker winding down.
Where its money goes
71% of its giving went to organizations in Michigan. Community foundations and federated funds are usually the most geographically bounded funders there are -- being outside the footprint is normally disqualifying in a way that a weak programme fit is not.
Down to the city
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Funders that support the same organizations
These grantmakers and private foundations gave to organizations this one also funded. Shared grantees are the strongest signal available that two funders have overlapping priorities -- and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.
How to approach this grantmaker
- Look for a published programme first. Unlike most private foundations, organizations of this kind often do run open, deadlined grant cycles with written guidelines. Its own website is the authority on that; this page is the authority on who it has actually paid.
- Check you are its size. The median reported grant is $26,500 -- and because grants under $5,000 need not be reported, it very likely writes smaller cheques than this page can see.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving concentrates in Michigan.
- Read the recipient list for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer and a cheap one to get.
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Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Detroit Lions Charities's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2020-2023). Nothing here is scraped, inferred or estimated.
On its most recent return it told the IRS it made grants to 19 section 501(c)(3) organizations and 0 other organizations. That is the filer's own count for one year; the totals above cover every year we hold.
Address of record on the latest return: 222 Republic Drive, Allen Park, MI, 48101.
EIN 38-2945709 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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