Human Services Program is sponsored by The Kresge Foundation. The Kresge Foundation's Human Services Program focuses on advancing the social and economic mobility of families. While most funding is by invitation, they occasionally issue open calls for proposals within specific focus areas, often using a request-for-proposals process for initiatives in a cohort model.

Human Services - Kresge Foundation Our Story at 100 Promoting human progress since 1924, expanding equity and opportunity today Our Staff Our work is made possible by a staff of mission-driven professionals Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Central to how we operate and fund, we center DEI in all we do Careers Check for new openings and learn about working at The Kresge Foundation Board of Trustees Leaders who provide governance, expertise and support to our work Press Room Resources and information for commnunications professional American Cities Effective, inclusive community development in U.S. cities Arts & Culture Positioning culture and creativity as drivers of more just communities Detroit Expanding long-term, equitable opportunity in our hometown Education Addressing postsecondary attainment and closing equity gaps Environment Helping cities with equitable climate resilience strategies Health Building equity-focused systems of health to achieve well-being Human Services Increasing social-economic mobility for people with low incomes Social Investment Practice Unlocking capital for community development Strategic Learning, Research & Evaluation Building a culture of learning across the organization and support community learning priorities Initiatives Our time-bound funding programs can bring multiple Kresge teams together to co-create strategies Grants & Social Investments Grants Awarded A database of grants dating back to 2009 Social Investments Made A database of PRIs, guarantees and other investments How to Apply Details on eligibility, FAQs, Fluxx guidance and more For Current Grantees FAQs for partners, communicating about your work and more Expanding opportunities in American cities by centering racial equity to advance multi-generational social and economic success for families and communities.

We center racial equity and racial justice to advance multi-generational family social and economic success, which includes social and economic mobility. We define social and economic mobility as the movement of families between social strata and their ability to improve their wealth and economic status. This includes a person’s autonomy, power and ability to influence his or her environment and personal outcomes.

The Human Services Program’s work is grounded in power sharing, partnership, co-learning and co-creating with organizations from multiple sectors, families and communities. We adhere to a person-centered approach is strengths-based, grounded in the belief that people are resilient and inherently capable and operate with self-agency. Core to our strategy is a two-generation approach, developed by Ascend at the Aspen Institute.

The approach is grounded in multigenerational family social and economic success, which includes building family well-being by working with children and the adults in their lives together.

To realize multigenerational family social and economic success, we focus our grant making on fostering the next generation of public and nonprofit human services organizations, place-based opportunity ecosystems and developing supportive policy alongside robust field building efforts.

Human Services News & Views Organizations supporting mothers are making systems work better for families New program officers join Kresge’s Health, Human Services teams Kresge partners unveil digital learning platform to equip tomorrow’s human services leaders Martha O’Bryan Center National Coalition unveils policy solutions to help families overcome benefits cliff All Human Services News & Views Beyond the Cliff: The Challenge of Benefits Cliffs and How to Fix Them The 2Gen Investment Case: Making the Most of Capital in All its Forms Climate Resilience and Economic Security: How Philanthropy Can Drive Inclusive Solutions Environment, Human Services All Human Services Resources We Invest in These Cross-Cutting Strategies Our strategy that centers racial equity and racial justice to advance multi-generational family social and economic success includes a focus on three cross-cutting areas – NextGen, place-based opportunity ecosystems and supportive public policy and field-building.

Fostering the Next Generation of Nonprofit and Public Human Services Organizations Supporting organizations committed to multigenerational family economic success through centering racial equity and racial justice and applying a two-generation approach.

Place-Based Opportunity Ecosystems Advancing racial equity and racial justice by supporting cross sector efforts to improve how systems work to advance family social and economic success. Supportive Public Policy and Field Building Leveraging lessons learned from our place-based opportunity ecosystems and NextGen efforts to advance policy solutions and build the human services field.

We Invest in These Initiatives Through our initiatives we seek to partner and learn with organizations that go beyond traditional human services delivery methods and move toward new ways to create permanent pathways out of poverty. Initiatives are time-bound, cohort-based learning opportunities. Partners are selected through a competitive grant application process.

Supporting cohorts of nonprofit and public human services organizations through a two-year learning and action program Funding from the Human Services Program We use a full array of funding and investment tools to foster change, including project grants, operating support, planning grants and program-related investments.

Program-related investments may take the form of direct loans, guarantees that provide credit support to borrowers, or linked deposits. Applicants should be person-centered, outcomes focused and data driven, with an explicit focus on recognizing and addressing racial equity as a significant barrier to social and economic opportunity.

Human Services Grants Made Human Services Social Investments Made Human Services Program Team American Cities, Human Services Grants Management Associate Education, Health, Human Services Senior Program Team Assistant