Davidson Foundation Gives $18M to Detroit Jewish Community
The William Davidson Foundation made $30 million in grants for the Jewish community of Detroit.
The foundation, named for the late owner of the Detroit Pistons basketball team, also allocated $18 million to help improve economic conditions in southeast Michigan.
The funding for Jewish life includes a $5 million, five-year grant to support the PJ Library, which provides free Jewish children’s books and music to families; $8 million over five years to support the Hebrew Free Loan’s interest-free college loan program for students; up to $15 million for a tuition assistance program at the Hillel Day School, a nondenominational K-8 school; and $1.2 million for a three-year fellowship program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Davidson, who owned Guardian Industries, a maker of glass, automotive and building products, supported an array of Jewish causes during his lifetime, including the Conservative movement’s Jewish Theological Seminary, where the graduate school of education bears his name. He died in 2009 at 86.
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