Pathways Foundation supports visionary partners and leaders working to create equal access to opportunity for all who call metro Detroit home.

We have been very fortunate in our lives, from supportive and loving family and friends, to the educations we obtained, to the jobs we had, to the places we could choose to live, to the resources available to us. Some of it was due to our own hard work, some of it was from maintaining great relationships with our loved ones, some of it was from making smart decisions with the opportunities we were given, and a very large part of it was just plain luck. 

We are keenly aware that we would not have achieved the success we have if all of those factors hadn’t aligned up perfectly, and we realize that for many people the opposite happens all too often. And that’s not fair. When we reached a point in life where we could take a step back, analyze, and ask, “Ok, what now?”, we knew that we had a strong moral imperative to do something good with the advantages we had been given. As much as was within our ability, we decided we needed to create similar opportunities for other people. We know each person must choose the path they want to walk on, but sometimes we can hold a door open to a new path and see if anyone goes through.

How best to do that is a different and equally important question. We knew couldn’t change the whole world, but hoped we could make it better for some. Being from Michigan, we eventually decided to largely focus on the Detroit area and on three main ideas. We decided to support those with a desire, like ours, to improve a person’s quality of life through education, food access, and equal rights for women. We found tons of smart, passionate people who have brilliant ideas on how to make that happen. While they have their boots-on-the-ground and are busy turning their visions into reality, we have the rewarding job of funding their work (although we’ve been known to roll up our sleeves, too).

We believe the work these organizations do creates a ripple effect. Every time an organization changes one person’s life, then maybe that person will have the opportunity to hold the door open for someone else.

And that is a cause worth investing in.

Jill & Todd Watson