Established in 1924 by Sebastien Kresge, founder of S.S. Kresge Company which became Kmart, the Kresge Foundation seeks to expand opportunities in the United States' cities. The organization had an endowment of $3.7 billion as at December 31, 2018.
In 2015, the Kresge Foundation's Board of Trustees chose to complement its grant-making activities with impact investments through loans, deposits, equity and others. The organization's goal is to deploy a $350 million pool of funding by 2020 on programs such as health care clinics, affordable housing, social service providers and real estate to advance economic development. As of 2019, the Foundation had $251 million of committed capital to program and mission-related investments.