Statement regarding Mott funding and Flint Community Schools

Since our founding nearly a century ago, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation has focused on supporting the needs of our home community, and especially its children. From 2013 through 2020 alone, we granted more than $70 million directly to, or in support of, Flint Community Schools. We have always been happy to partner with the district to serve Flint kids.

On June 16, the Flint Board of Education passed a resolution directing that, “… the Superintendent must cease all communication, as well as meetings (in-person, virtually or over the telephone) with all partners and community foundations as well as affiliates of partners and community foundations, without the presence of the Board President and his or her designee.”

We sent a letter to Flint BOE President Carol McIntosh on July 16 regarding the need for the Mott Foundation, and organizations we fund to support FCS, to be able to communicate directly with the superintendent.

This is not a request or condition that’s specific to FCS. To ensure that any grants we award meet both the goals of our grant agreements and the requirements of the IRS, we must be able to communicate with the leaders of the organizations that receive or benefit from our funds.

Today, the district issued a statement. Given the absence of any direct communication from the district to Mott, it leads us to conclude FCS has elected not to continue receiving Mott Foundation grant funds.

This is not the outcome we hoped to see. We ask only that we and our grant recipients that support FCS be permitted to have timely and direct communication with the superintendent to responsibly administer and implement grants.

We hope to resume dialogue with the district soon. And we will continue to look for ways to support Flint kids and families.