Mott Foundation

Mott Foundation, philanthropic trust created (1926) by automobile executive Charles Stewart Mott (1875–1973) to support programs dealing with selected urban problems. The foundation originally concentrated most of its activities in its home, Flint, Mich., where it continues to fund community-centered activities to promote education, health, and understanding in a time of great economic and social change. In addition to its Flint programs, the foundation funds programs to fight poverty and its effects, environmental conservation programs, and programs that encourage "free and pluralistic democratic societies," especially in the United States, the nations of the former USSR, and South Africa. In 1998 its endowment exceeded $2.3 billion.