Benson & Edith Ford Fund
Detroit, MI · EIN 38-6066333. Reported 125 grants totalling $6,008,070 to 47 recipients across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
Does this foundation accept applications?
Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. Benson & Edith Ford Fund did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $10,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $3,000 and $25,000; the smallest was $1,000 and the largest $700,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| College for Creative Studies | Detroit, MI | $2,107,694 | 5 | 3 | 2024 |
| Teen Street Skills | Michigan, MI | $1,200,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| College of Creative Studies | Detroit, MI | $606,876 | 2 | 1 | 2021 |
| Henry Ford Health System | Detroit, MI | $555,000 | 12 | 4 | 2024 |
| Detroit Institute of Arts | Detroit, MI | $400,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| The Henry Ford | Dearborn, MI | $260,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Alzheimer's Association | Southfield, MI | $100,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Capuchin Soup Kitchen | Detroit, MI | $60,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Michigan Humane | Bingham Farms, MI | $60,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Tacoma Boat Builders | Tacoma, WA | $60,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Fair Lane | Dearborn, IL | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Urban Renewal Initiative | Grosse Pointe, MI | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Racing for Kids | Grosse Pointe Farms, MI | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| The Henry Ford Estate - Fairlane | Dearborn, MI | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Baptist Health South Florida | Tavernier, FL | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Baptist Health South Florida Foundation | Tavernier, FL | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Empowerment Plan | Detroit, MI | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Gleaners Community Food Bank | Detroit, MI | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Ocean Reef Chapel Foundation | Keylargo, FL | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Detroit Public Tv | Wixom, MI | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Detroit Symphony Orchestra | Detroit, MI | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| St Jude's Children's Hospital | Royal Oak, MI | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Interlochen Center for the Arts | Interlochen, MI | $16,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Interlochen Center of Arts | Interlochen, MI | $16,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Girl Scouts | Detroit, MI | $15,000 | 3 | 2 | 2022 |
| Gleaner's Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan | Detroit, MI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Detroit Artists Market | Detroit, MI | $12,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Grosse Pointe Historical Society | Grosse Pointe Farms, MI | $12,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Pewabic Society Inc | Detroit, MI | $12,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Boy Scouts of America | Detroit, MI | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Mclaren Northern Michigan Foundation | Petoskey, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Motown Museum | Detroit, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The Children's Center | Detroit, MI | $10,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Christ Church Grosse Pointe | Grosse Pointe Farms, MI | $9,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Detroit Historical Society | Detroit, MI | $8,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| St Jude Children's Research Hospital | Royal Oak, MI | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Mariners Inn | Detroit, MI | $7,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Detroit Goodfellows | Detroit, MI | $6,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| The Greening of Detroit | Detroit, MI | $6,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| United Negro College Fund | Detroit, MI | $6,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Detroit Riverfront Conservancy | Detroit, MI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| UNCF | Detroit, MI | $4,000 | 2 | 1 | 2021 |
| Christ Church Grosse Poin | Grosse Pointe Farms, MI | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Detroit Educational Television Foundation | Wixom, MI | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Detroit PBS | Wixom, MI | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Old Newsboy's Goodfellow Fund | Detroit, MI | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Wayne State University | Detroit, MI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
33 of 47 (70%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold.
Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 71%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is about typical. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.
- College for Creative Studies
BENSON & EDITH FORD SCHOLARSHIP - Henry Ford Health System
DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHIATRY AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION - Alzheimer's Association
CHOCOLATE JUBILEE DONATION - Baptist Health South Florida Foundation
MARINERS HOSPITAL WELLNESS CENTER - Baptist Health South Florida
MARINERS HOSPITAL WELLNESS CTR, PHYSICAL THERAPY - College of Creative Studies
BENSON AND EDITH FORD SCHOLARSHIP
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 79 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 41 | $1,614,876 | $10,000 |
| 2022 | 33 | $1,449,089 | $10,000 |
| 2023 | 27 | $1,611,105 | $8,000 |
| 2024 | 24 | $1,333,000 | $7,750 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.
Already committed for future years
Form 990-PF has a separate schedule for grants approved but not yet paid. Benson & Edith Ford Fund has 3 of them, worth $1,800,000. This is the one part of the filing that looks forward rather than back.
| Organization | Location | Approved |
|---|---|---|
| College for Creative Studies | Detroit, MI | $1,500,000 |
| Henry Ford Health System | Detroit, MI | $200,000 |
| Detroit Institute of Arts | Detroit, MI | $100,000 |
Where its money goes
97% of its giving went to organizations in Michigan. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $10,000. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Michigan.
- Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
- Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Benson & Edith Ford Fund's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.
Address of record on the latest return: 1901 St Antoine Street 6TH Floor, Detroit, MI, 48226. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.
EIN 38-6066333 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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