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Pathways Foundation

FARMINGTON HILLS, MI EIN: 45-6643839 Website

Pathways Foundation is a private family foundation established in 2012 and located in Farmington Hills, Michigan. The foundation supports visionary partners and leaders working to create equal access to opportunity for all who call metro Detroit home. The foundation operates on a trust-based grantmaking philosophy, providing unrestricted funds to partner organizations and trusting them to leverage social and systemic change most effectively.

Financial Overview

From 2024 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing

Total Assets

Annual Giving

$2.4M

-0.3% YoY

Grant Count

19

+0.0% YoY

Avg Grant Size

$126K

-0.3% YoY

Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated April 2026.

Mission & Focus Areas

The foundation's philanthropic work centers on three core areas:

Food Justice

  • Reimagining local food system functionality
  • Challenging community thinking about food access
  • Current partners include Keep Growing Detroit, Forgotten Harvest, and Eastern Market Partnership

Educational Opportunities

  • Supporting learning access regardless of economic status
  • Investing in programs providing knowledge across various industries
  • Current partners include College for Creative Studies, Big Green, Detroit Horsepower, Midnight Golf, and Detroit Food Academy

Women's Equality

  • Addressing systemic issues women face through lack of opportunity and support
  • Supporting programs that develop foundational skills to empower women
  • Current partners include Orchards Children's Services, Planned Parenthood, and Girls Group

Grantmaking

Grant Range

**

How to Apply

**

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Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

Metro Detroit, Michigan, with primary focus on the Detroit area and surrounding communities.

Grant Distribution by State

8states

Cities

AMERICUSANN ARBORBAR HARBORBINGHAM FARMSBOSTONBOULDERDEARBORN HEIGHTSDETROITFARMINGTON HILLSGROSS POINTELANSINGLOS ANGELESNEW YORKO FALLONOAK PARKPONTIACSOUTHFIELDTROY

Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Assets & Revenue

  • Total assets: $29.1 million (2023)
  • Total revenues: $1.7 million (2023)
  • Total expenses: $2.8 million (2023)

Revenue Composition (2023)

  • Investment income and dividends: $875,220
  • Net gain from sale of non-inventory assets: $870,151

Historical Assets

  • 2023: $29,041,535
  • 2022: $31.7 million
  • 2021: $30.9 million
Revenue
Expenses
Qualifying Distributions
Net Investment Income
$0$0.275$0.55$0.8250000000000001$1.120202021202220232024
Metric202420232022
Total Assets
Revenue
Expenses
Qualifying Distributions
Net Investment Income
Distributable Amount

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$599K$1M$2M$2M16 grants202018 grants202118 grants202219 grants202319 grants2024

Grant Insights

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2024

WE SHALL READ$300KFRIENDS OF ACADIA$250KGIRLS GROUP$250KPLANNED PARENTHOOD$250KBRILLIANT DETROIT$150KDOWNTOWN BOXING GYM$150KKEEP GROWING DETROIT$150KACLU OF MICHIGAN$125KCOLLEGE FOR CREATIVE STU…$120KBLACK LEADERS DETROIT$100K

Grant Size Distribution

90 grants across all recorded years

14<$50K33$50–100K29$100–250K14$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

Giving History

Grant recipients and amounts by year

No grants recorded for .

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The foundation was established by Jill and Todd Watson. Jill Watson is identified as the primary supporter. The foundation employs one staff member.

Compensation Overview

From 2024 IRS filing

From 2024 filing

NameTitleHoursCompensation
TODD R WATSONTRUSTEE
JILL WATSONTRUSTEE

Contact Information

Subject Areas

Focus areas based on grantmaking activity

Related Funders

Similar funders by location and focus area

Data last updated April 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated April 2026.

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