# Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan

Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan is an Endowment / Foundation based in Detroit, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Endowment / Foundation
- **Headquarters:** Detroit, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** 333 West Fort Street, Suite 2010, Detroit, MI 48226, United States
- **Founded:** 1984
- **Assets under management:** ~$1.2 billion (Altss estimate)
- **Website:** cfsem.org
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/cfsoutheastmi

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan launched in 1984 under founding president Mariam C. Noland, emerging from a wave of institution-building that redefined how Detroit's corporate and civic wealth could be pooled. Board chair David Provost, retired chairman of TCF Bank, anchors a governance structure that blends legacy banking relationships with a professionalized investment committee. Unlike a private foundation tied to a single fortune, CFSEM aggregates hundreds of donor-advised funds and endowments into a unified investment pool. That pool pursues a strategy spanning venture capital fund commitments, secondaries purchases and a direct corporate bond portfolio. The investment committee, led by Christopher Rizik — who also serves as CEO of Renaissance Venture Capital Fund — tilts the foundation toward Michigan's entrepreneurial ecosystem. Publicly reported moves include co-investment partnerships with the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation on the Inclusive Arts Fund, while the New Economy Initiative, one of its largest field-of-interest funds, has directed over $180 million into metro Detroit business development since 2008. International exposure runs alongside a home-region bias that keeps much of the activity within the United States and specifically the industrial Midwest. CFSEM operates from a single headquarters at 333 West Fort Street in downtown Detroit. A team of undisclosed size manages not only traditional grantmaking but also accepts complex non-cash gifts — cryptocurrency, closely held business interests, and patent rights — and maintains ownership of commercial real estate including its headquarters and the Sosnick Courtyard parcel. In May 2025, Nicole Sherard-Freeman formally succeeded Richard DeVore as President and CEO after serving as chief operating officer, marking the first leadership transition in over a decade. The foundation holds active memberships in the Council on Foundations and the Detroit Regional Chamber. Its structural differentiator is the combination of Renaissance Venture Capital Fund leadership on the investment committee with a balance sheet that captures gifts ranging from liquid securities to operating business shares. That pipeline gives the committee a vantage point on private Michigan companies that most community foundations — which typically outsource investing to an OCIO and limit themselves to marketable securities — never access.

## Sectors

- Venture Capital
- Fund of Funds
- Secondaries & Special Situations

## People

- Nicole Sherard-Freeman — President and CEO
- Christopher L. Rizik — Chair of the Investment Committee
- David T. Provost — Chair of the Board of Trustees
- Mariam C. Noland — Founding President and President Emeritus

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan?

The Investment Committee, chaired by Christopher L. Rizik, sets asset allocation and selects managers. Rizik is also the CEO of Renaissance Venture Capital Fund, a fund-of-funds that invests in Michigan-focused venture capital firms. Day-to-day management is overseen by the foundation's internal staff under President and CEO Nicole Sherard-Freeman, who took office in 2025.

### How does CFSEM source its venture capital deal flow?

Through Christopher Rizik's dual role at Renaissance Venture Capital Fund, the foundation gains visibility into early-stage Michigan companies and the venture firms that back them. It also co-invests with other regional foundations, such as the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation on the Inclusive Arts Fund, and administers the New Economy Initiative, which has seeded hundreds of metro Detroit businesses.

### How is the New Economy Initiative related to CFSEM?

The New Economy Initiative is a field-of-interest fund housed within CFSEM, supported by multiple national and regional foundations. Since 2008 it has deployed more than $180 million into entrepreneurship support organizations, small business programs, and ecosystem-building efforts across metro Detroit. CFSEM provides fiduciary and administrative oversight, while NEI operates with its own advisory structure and program staff.

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/community-foundation-for-southeast-michigan-cfsem

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