Flint is home to the 38-acre Flint Cultural Center campus, a unique community gem in a city the size of Flint. The organizations on the FCC campus provide a wide range of opportunities for people of all ages to learn about, experience, explore and pursue arts and cultural activities. Today, those organizations are the Flint Cultural Center Academy, Flint Institute of Arts, Flint Institute of Music (including the FIM Whiting Auditorium, Flint Repertory Theatre and Flint School of Performing Arts), Sloan Museum of Discovery, Longway Planetarium and the Gloria Coles Flint Public Library. While it’s situated several blocks away from the Cultural Center Campus, the FIM Capitol Theatre also is part of the FCC.

C.S. Mott and the Mott Foundation have played integral roles in the growth and evolution of the FCC campus since the beginning. Between 1928 and 2025, the Foundation granted nearly $292 million to support FCC institutions.

In 1953, Mr. Mott gifted 32 acres of his own land to the Flint Board of Education for further development of a college and cultural campus. In May 1954, the president of the FCS Board of Education appointed a survey committee, which included a Mott Foundation representative, to “study the building site needs of the Flint Community Players and FIA.”

A Committee of Sponsors led fundraising efforts, through which local school children, residents, businesses and foundations pitched in to raise about $30 million — $10 million more than the original goal — to support the creation of a cultural district in Flint. Members of this group pledged gifts of at least $25,000 toward the project. Mr. Mott was an honorary chairman of the Committee of Sponsors, along with Harlow H. Curtice, then General Motors president, and Enos A. DeWaters, a retired chief engineer for Buick.

There is no question that the College & Cultural Center complex given to the Flint community more than 20 years ago represents not only a unique plan for enriching the educational and cultural activity of what might otherwise be typified as ‘just another industrial city’ but also demonstrates the unusual spirit of philanthropy and love for Flint that characterized the people most responsible for the remarkable growth of this city.” Cathy Nelles, Mott Foundation assistant to the president and program officer, in a July 23, 1981, memorandum to William S. White, Homer Dowdy and others

Construction that began in the mid-1950s and continued into the 1960s gave rise to Longway Planetarium, Bower Theatre, DeWaters Art Center (later occupied by FIA), Flint Public Library, Sloan Museum, Sarvis Center and Whiting Auditorium. One of the first cultural districts of its kind in the nation, the then-called Flint College and Cultural Center originally included the campus of Mott Community College, which became an independent, tax-supported institution in 1969. The Dort Music Center, which today is part of the FIM, was built in 1971 following a fire that destroyed the original building.

By February 1957, endowment funds for the campus were established to maintain and operate FCC buildings. In 1992, the FCS Board of Education and the Committee of Sponsors undertook a community engagement and strategic planning process, which resulted in the establishment of the FCC Corporation.

By fostering access to arts, history and science, the Flint Cultural Center Corporation helps to enhance the quality of life for Genesee County residents, stimulate employment and bolster the local economy.” Mark Sinila, CEO of the FCC Corporation

Initially, FCC Corporation managed the grounds on behalf of the school district under a lease management agreement. Then, in October 2004, the FCS Board of Education deeded the FCC campus, except for the Flint Public Library and the Sarvis Center, to the FCC Corporation. From 1993 to 2002, FCC Corporation raised $56 million for endowments and capital improvements, including $24 million from the Mott Foundation. This set the stage for the FCC campus as it currently exists.

“By fostering access to arts, history and science, the Flint Cultural Center Corporation helps to enhance the quality of life for Genesee County residents, stimulate employment and bolster the local economy,” said Mark Sinila, CEO of the FCC Corporation. “Flint Cultural Center institutions encompass top-tier museums, music initiatives, performance venues and even a planetarium. Accessible to individuals of all ages, from students to seniors, these venues showcase exceptional art, artifacts and performance unmatched elsewhere. They provide interactive educational opportunities beyond traditional mediums, and we’re really proud to offer that to the community.”

Campus improvements and expansion

A majority of the buildings on campus were built in the 1950s and 1960s. However, significant capital projects, including renovations and new facilities, began in the 1990s. Between 1999 and 2023, over $102 million in capital projects took place on the FCC campus, including the demolition of the Sarvis Center and the addition of the Flint Cultural Center Academy.

In 2018, Flint and Genesee County residents approved the Genesee County Arts Education and Cultural Enrichment Millage, which has become a growing source of public support for six local arts organizations, including those on the FCC campus.

Recent construction and renovations on the FCC campus include:

• The Flint Cultural Center Academy, a K-8 public charter school, opened on the FCC campus in the fall of 2019. The Mott Foundation granted a total of $33.5 million to the Flint Cultural Center Foundation to support construction.
• The fully renovated Gloria Coles Flint Public Library was reopened in May 2022. The Mott Foundation granted $15 million to support the project.
• Shortly thereafter, the newly renovated Sloan Museum of Discovery reopened in July 2022. The Mott Foundation granted $15 million to support renovations.

The Mott Foundation continues to support operations, programs, capital projects and endowment-building needs of the organizations on the FCC campus. At the same time, each organization continues to diversify funding to support high-quality, dynamic programming that responds to the interests of the community.