Detroit Lions Charities
Allen Park, MI · EIN 38-2945709. Reported 119 grants totalling $7,344,532 to 66 organizations across tax years 2020-2024, 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. 66 distinct organizations, with 14% 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. 47% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 4 year-to-year transitions. That is below the 56% median for grantmaking charities, and well below the 67% median for private foundations. It describes the organizations it already funds, not whether it would consider a new one.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $28,000. Half of what it reported fell between $15,000 and $80,000; 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 Greater Detroit | Detroit, MI | $1,039,250 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Henry Ford Health System | Detroit, MI | $914,472 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Playworks Education Energized | Oakland, CA | $652,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| National Football League Foundation | New York, NY | $500,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| City Year Inc | Boston, MA | $472,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Detroit Police Athletic League Incorporated | Detroit, MI | $264,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Alternatives for Girls | Detroit, MI | $260,630 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Downtown Boxing Gym Youth Program | Detroit, MI | $260,630 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Pure Heart Foundation | Detroit, MI | $226,500 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| United Way for Southeastern Michigan | Detroit, MI | $181,268 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Lomas Brown JR Foundation Inc | Waterford, MI | $164,630 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| The Yunion | Detroit, MI | $158,630 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Detroit Public Schools Foundation | Detroit, MI | $155,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Empowerment Plan | Detroit, MI | $120,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Detroit Crime Commission | Southfield, MI | $115,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Wayne County Sheriffs Reserve Officers Foundation | Detroit, MI | $110,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Detroit Justice Center | Detroit, MI | $103,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| United Way of North Carolina | Cary, NC | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Family Assistance for Renaissance Men | Detroit, MI | $96,213 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Catch Foundation | Detroit, MI | $79,500 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Life Remodeled-a Nonprofit Corporation | Detroit, MI | $79,130 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Detroit Phoenix Center | 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 |
| Scholastic Book Fairs | Cincinnati, OH | $58,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Detroit Public Schools Community District | Detroit, MI | $54,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| American Heart Association Inc | Dallas, TX | $53,970 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| 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 |
| Beyond Basics | Farmingtn Hls, MI | $36,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Detroit Metro Sports Commission Inc | Detroit, MI | $35,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| St Louis Public Schools | St Louis, MI | $32,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Detroit Public Safety Foundation | Detroit, MI | $32,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| 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 |
| Wayne State University | Detroit, MI | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| 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 |
| Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan | Detroit, MI | $13,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Annapolis High School | Dearborn Heights, MI | $12,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Morley Stanwood Community Schools | Morley, MI | $11,057 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Chadtough Defeat Dipg Foundation | Saline, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Evergreen Community Development Initiative | Flint, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Heat and Warmth Fund | Detroit, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| 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 |
| Arts and Technology of Pontiac | Ponitac, MI | $8,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| 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 |
| Cadillac Area Public Schools | Cadillac, MI | $7,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Oxford Community Schools | Oxford, MI | $5,200 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
25 of 66 (38%) received money in more than one year over the 5 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 - Henry Ford Health System
TO SUPPORT CANCER PATIENTS - Alternatives for Girls
SOCIAL JUSTICE INSPIRE CHANGE - TO SUPPORT THE DETROIT COMMUNITY - Playworks Education Energized
TO SUPPORT YOUTH PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PROGRAMS
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 44 of 66 recipients we could match to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's, not ours -- 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 |
| 2024 | 25 | $1,351,752 | $36,750 |
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
72% 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.
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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 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 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 $28,000 -- 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.
Related guides
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 5 returns (tax years 2020-2024). Grant figures are from its returns. Recipient classifications, the concentration and retention figures and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations from them, described in how we build this.
On its most recent return it told the IRS it made grants to 25 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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