The Michigan Masonic Charitable Foundation has been helping charities in need around the state since 1891, but the mid-Michigan based foundation (located in Alma) was compelled a decade ago to target a large amount of its annual resources to support youth literacy in Detroit after meeting with SAY Detroit founder Mitch Albom in 2015, when the SAY Play Center was in its infancy.
The SAY Play Center had not been open for even a year when the Michigan Masons stepped up in the fall of 2016 and entered in a 10-year partnership ($5 million over 10 years) with SAY Detroit to support the program and its services. SAY Detroit’s partnership with the Michigan Masons is a rarity in the nonprofit world where many funders are reluctant to enter into multi-year funding agreements. The children hold an annual event each fall to celebrate the Masons, which presented its 10th $500,000 check on Wednesday, November 19.
The Michigan Masons were also presented with a Certificate of Recognition from the City of Detroit at the ceremony.
