OVERVIEW: The Gilbert Family Foundation’s funding pursues cures and treatments for neurofibromatosis. It also supports community and economic development in Detroit, where it is based.
IP TAKE: The Gilbert Family Foundation zeroes in on two rather specific areas of giving, both of which are close to home. The Gilberts lost their son Nick to neurofibromatosis in 2023 and supports research on the disease at top institutes and hospitals across the U.S. In its hometown of Detroit, funding supports organizations of every size working to make the city a safer and more hospitable place, especially for its most marginalized residents. Gilbert does not accept unsolicited proposals, but will occasionally post RFPs on its website. Detroit-area organizations may be able to get on this funder’s radar by networking locally.
PROFILE: Based in Detroit, the Gilbert Family Family Foundation was founded in 2015 by Rocket Loans founder Dan Gilbert and his wife, Jennifer. Dan Gilbert is is a graduate of Michigan State University and earned a J.D. from Wayne State University. He worked for his family’s firm and eventually started a mortgage company, Rock Financial, with his brother. This company was eventually purchased by Intuit and renamed Quicken Loans, which became one of the leading providers of home loans in the U.S. Gilbert stayed on as the company’s CEO, and two years later, he and a group of investors bought back the company and expanded its operations into other areas of real estate business. Jennifer Gilbert is an interior designer who established her own business, POPHOUSE, and also serves on the board of Rocket Companies. The Gilberts are majority owners of the Cleveland Cavaliers and a number of other area sports teams.
The Gilbert Family Foundation’s stated mission is “building opportunity for Detroiters and accelerating a cure for neurofibromatosis.” Neurofibromatosis, which is of personal interest to the Gilberts, is a rare genetic disease that causes tumors to grow in the nervous system and throughout the body. The Gilberts’ son, Nick, was born with type 1 neurofibromatosis (NF1) and passed away, sadly, in 2023 at the age of 26. The foundation’s two main areas of giving are Curing NF and Building Opportunity, which supports community and economic development in Detroit.
Grants for Public Health, Neuroscience, Science Research and Diseases
The foundation’s Curing NF grantmaking program supports “bold research initiatives that are accelerating a cure to neurofibromatosis.” Funding and research relating to this particular disease lag behind those of other genetic diseases that occur at similar frequencies. The foundation is committed to “taking risks” and supporting “multi-disciplinary ‘Dream Teams’ of scientific experts” working on NF1 cures. The program names four areas of focus.
- The subprogram for Vision Restoration supports research leading to therapies to slow or reverse optic passage nerve damaged caused by gliomas, which commonly develop in NF1 patients.
- Grants for NF1-related Brain Tumor Research focus on projects that develop therapies to treat brain gliomas and prevent their “developing into higher grade tumors.”
- Funding also supports Gene Therapy Research that addresses “the underlying genetic abnormalities” associated with neurofibromatosis. areas of interest include gene and RNA editing, mutation supression and gene replacement therapies.
- A subprogram for Next-Gen Models funds research to develop pre-clinical models for new drugs and therapies. This subprogram is still in its early stages, but IP’s Paul Karon reports that early funding will support “test promising methods called organoid and assembloid technologies” which use “stem cells to create tissue and organ cultures.”
- Research grants typically support the work of researchers at top-ranked universities, hospitals and institutes including the Boston Children’s Hospital, the Schepens Eye Research Institute in Boston, the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
- In addition to these lines of research, the foundation gave $375 million for the development of a new medical and rehabilitation center within Detroit’s Henry Ford Health System in 2023. The new facility, set to open in 2027, represents a partnership between the Ford Health System and Northwestern University’s Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and will house the Nick Gilbert Neurofibromatosis Research Institute, the first institute of its kind.
Grants for Detroit Community, Economic Development, Arts and Culture
The Gilbert Family Foundation’s other main giving program, Building Opportunity, provides funding to projects that break down long-standing barriers and create opportunities for Detroiters. This program focuses on community projects in the areas of Housing Stability, Economic Mobility, Public Spaces and Arts and Culture.
- Housing Stability grants focus on an array of efforts that aim to provide “safe and stable housing to Detroit families.” Areas of interest have included foreclosure prevention, home maintenance and repair assistance programs and eviction defense. Grantees include the United Community Housing Coalition, Michigan’s Legal Services and the Green and Healthy Homes Initiative.
- Grants for Economic Mobility support programs that “provide Detroit residents and small businesses with opportunities to build economic prosperity for themselves and future generations.” Grants target communities where “residents have been systematically excluded from opportunities to build wealth.” The foundation’s areas of specific interest include entrepreneurship, workforce development and “connecting residents to quality job opportunities.” Grantees include the Invest Detroit Foundation, the E. Warren Development Corporation and Strategic Community Partners Inc.
- The foundation also pursues a specific goal to creating and maintain safe Public Spaces “within a half mile of every Detroit residence.” Access to recreational activities and opportunities for residents to “connect in unique ways” are priorities here. Recipients include the Downtown Detroit Partnership, the Greening of Detroit and the North Corktown Neighborhood Association.
- Grantmaking also supports Arts and Culture programs that provide both broad access and “contribute to the economic growth” of the city. Grantees of this subprogram include the Motown Historical Museum, the Paradise Valley Cultural and Entertainment District Conservancy, Detroit Opera and Shakespeare in Detroit.
Important Grant Details:
With the exception of funding for the Nick Gilbert Neurofibromatosis Research Institute, grants range widely from $500 to about $6.3 million.
- Curing NF is the larger of the foundation’s two grantmaking initiatives and focuses solely on research toward cures and treatments for neurofibromatosis.
- Grants stemming from the Building Opportunity program are mainly limited to housing, economic opportunity, public spaces, and arts and culture programming in the city of Detroit.
- This funder does not accept unsolicited proposals but occasionally posts RFPs on its website.
- For information about Gilbert’s past grantmaking see its Impact Report or past tax filings.
Send a message to the Gilbert Family Foundation via the form on its contact page. The foundation’s phone number is listed as (313) 782-9500. Find social media links at the bottom of the website.
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