The Gilbert Family Foundation (GFF) has made another investment to support the Detroit community.
As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the foundation awarded a $6.4 million renewal grant to the city’s tech ecosystem through Venture 313, a coalition of organizations including TechTown Detroit, Invest Detroit Ventures (ID Ventures), and Detroit Development Fund.
The foundation’s investment in Detroit is a long-held commitment and has been consistent for years. GFF has a strong interest in investing in Detroit’s “creative talent and cultural vibrancy,” Akua Hill, director of arts and culture at The Gilbert Family Foundation, told AFROTECH™.
“The challenge has been creating stronger pathways that transform that talent into sustainable careers, businesses, and wealth-building opportunities,” Hill said.
Pensole Lewis College Of Business & Design
The foundation is now expanding its support for Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design (PLC). When it reopened in 2022, the Gilbert Family Foundation was among its founding supporters, according to a press release. PLC is a first-of-its-kind in the nation, as the Historically Black College and University is fully dedicated to design education, per information shared with AFROTECH™.
“GFF being one of our Founding partners making it possible for PLC to be in the most creative city in America will only elevate what is possible for those that live here or move here,” Founder Dr. D’Wayne Edwards told AFROTECH™. “In my opinion, GFF is Detroit, and our partnership allows us to authentically help Detroit and Detroiters understand what is possible for the future of their lives and this city.”
One of PLC’s most recent developments is Detroit’s digital learning platform, ePLC, which introduced 400 students to topics including character development, research, visual storytelling, strategic problem-solving, and Afrofuturism, taught by two-time Academy-Award-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter in partnership with adidas, according to information shared with AFROTECH™.
“The top 3 students earned a chance to present their designs to Ruth,” Edwards explained.
PLC has positioned more than 800 students to go on to pursue careers in design at companies such as Nike, Jordan, Converse, Carhartt, adidas, PepsiCo, Apple, COACH, GM, VERSACE, Timberland, Vans, The North Face, New Balance, and more over the past 16 years, he said.
As it relates particularly to New Balance, Edwards added that this marks the 10th year of the partnership, with nearly 300 students securing one-year paid internships and more than 40 being hired as designers. This includes Jatonah Henry, a PLC Detroit alum who is now an apparel design associate at New Balance.
“PLC is the one of the most important turning points in my life … They taught me you don’t need to follow a straight line in order to get where you want to be. I learned to collaborate cross-functionally and to foster my hard design skills as a professional,” Henry said in a statement shared with AFROTECH™.
PLC plans to continue bridging the diversity gap in talent in the creative industry. A new commitment from GFF, totaling $10 million, will support these efforts.
“More broadly, this investment supports the growth of a stronger and more inclusive creative economy and recognizes the sector as a key engine for economic development,” Hill said. “In doing so, it helps position Detroit’s cultural vibrancy as a driver of economic growth rather than an overlooked asset, and helps ensure the city’s creative economy reflects the diversity, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit of its people.”