Foundations As Community Hubs: A New Trend?

CEO Malaika Early Learning Center

President & CEO Kresge Foundation

 

 

Rip Rapson has served as president and CEO of The Kresge Foundation since 2006 and has led its transformation from a funder of building projects into a national philanthropy focused on expanding pathways to opportunity for people with low incomes in America’s cities, including its hometown of Detroit. In 2026, he received the Council on Foundations Distinguished Service Award and was named to the TIME100 Philanthropy list, underscoring his national leadership in the sector. Previously, Rapson served as president of the McKnight Foundation in Minneapolis, where he advanced early childhood development, launched a regional public-private-philanthropic economic development organization, and strengthened environmental protections along the Mississippi River. Earlier, as Minneapolis deputy mayor, he oversaw a $400 million neighborhood revitalization initiative and helped reshape the city’s budgeting and family-focused policies. In 2025, he published Drawn to Challenge: Stories of Creative Leadership in the Public Interest (with Doodles).

President & CEO Greater Milwaukee Foundation

 

 

Gregory M. Wesley is President and CEO of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Wisconsin’s largest community foundation. Wesley leads the foundation’s responsible stewardship of $1.33 billion in charitable assets and its comprehensive community investments. Previously, Wesley served on the foundation’s board of directors. Born and raised in Gary, Indiana, Wesley began his career in Milwaukee as an attorney, practicing with Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan LLP. He went on to become the Medical College of Wisconsin’s first senior vice president for strategic alliances and business development and serve on its board of trustees. Wesley is founding co-chair of the ThriveOn Collaboration — a partnership between the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Medical College of Wisconsin, and developer Royal Capital — which gave rise to the historic ThriveOn King development, where the foundation is now headquartered. Wesley serves on the boards of several nonprofits including Teach for America Milwaukee, Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, and Black Arts Fest MKE. He is also a trustee for the Johnson Foundation at Wingspread. Wesley holds a B.S. from Indiana University-Bloomington and a J.D. from University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School. He and his spouse, Lisa, have two children.