Macomb County’s nonprofits are fighting for crumbs while neighboring counties feast, pulling in a far smaller slice of regional grant dollars even as demand for services keeps climbing. The gap does not show up as one big missed check, organizers say, but in the slow grind of smaller staffs, thinner reserves and fewer chances to chase major awards. For local funders and civic leaders, the data has turned into a conversation starter about how to unclog the pipeline.
An analysis commissioned by Advancing Macomb and completed by Grand Valley State University’s Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy spells out how lopsided things have become. Macomb, which makes up roughly 16% of metro Detroit’s population, captured roughly 2% of grants from Michigan private foundations and about 1% of grants from the nation’s largest foundations, according to Advancing Macomb. The report also finds that Macomb ranks last in metro Detroit for nonprofits per GDP and estimates the county would need roughly a 60% increase in nonprofit organizations and a 200% boost in nonprofit assets to reach the state urban median.
The dollar gap is just as stark. Nonprofits based in Macomb reported about $3.18 billion in total income in 2019, compared with Oakland County’s roughly $29.8 billion and Wayne County’s roughly $274 billion, as reported by Crain's Detroit Business. Observers say the shortfall is particularly obvious in education and public-benefit organizations, which the study flags as especially under-resourced.
Funders Say the Numbers Match What They See
Regional funders did not push back on the findings. After the study surfaced, Jim Boyle, vice president of programs and communications for the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, called the numbers “eye‑opening and validating” in coverage by Crain's Detroit Business. The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan has also pointed to a lack of nonprofit infrastructure and connections in parts of the county, suggesting the problem is less about need and more about capacity and access.
On the Ground, Small Groups Feel the Squeeze
At food distributions, neighborhood clinics and volunteer-run programs, leaders say the shortage of flexible, no-strings-attached dollars makes everything harder. Without that cushion, it is tougher to hire staff, carve out time to write competitive grants or map out multi-year programming. Many small groups report that constant front-line demands crowd out the behind-the-scenes work of building partnerships that might attract larger foundation support.
Efforts to Build Capacity Are Underway
Some groups are trying to flip the script. Local intermediaries have launched capacity-building efforts aimed at helping smaller nonprofits professionalize operations and go after bigger awards. The Michigan Nonprofit Association highlighted a regional “boot camp” for Macomb organizations designed to sharpen those skills, according to the Michigan Nonprofit Association.
Larger funders have started to move more money into the county as well. United Way for Southeastern Michigan announced a $5.3 million distribution across Macomb and neighboring counties in March 2026, an effort aimed at shoring up support for families across the region, as reported by ClickOnDetroit. Advocates say these are welcome moves, but not nearly enough to close the gap identified in the data.
The study lays out a relatively short to-do list: build more local capacity, strengthen connections to regional funders and create strategies to grow endowments and operating reserves. Supporters argue that with targeted investment and training, Macomb’s nonprofits could expand services without simply duplicating what larger agencies already provide elsewhere in metro Detroit. For now, the numbers give local leaders a talking point and a roadmap as they push for a more even share of philanthropic investment.
