Letter from the President

Dear Friends,

I am so pleased to join the Trustees and staff of the McGregor Fund in celebrating the 2026 cohort of the Eugene A. Miller Fellowship Program. This year, we are welcoming 11 extraordinary leaders into the program, our largest group of Fellows to date.

We recognize what it means to answer the call to rest in this moment of turbulence and uncertainty. We’ve watched each of these leaders and their teams provide essential care for our community while working under intensifying resource limitations, unjust political pressure, and the weight of unrelenting urgency. Choosing to rest in this context is an act of courage.

Over 15 years and 57 sabbaticals, the McGregor Fund Miller Fellows have taught us that working to exhaustion and burnout is itself an injustice. That’s why we’ve evolved the program to support what our partners tell us they need most: rest, recovery and renewal.

This year, we paired sabbatical awards with an additional $10,000 to support each leader’s team during their absence. Over the last year, in addition to continued partnership with Monica Marie Jones, we also welcomed Allandra Bulger to directly support organizations navigating leadership transitions; and we deepened our commitment to field-building across the rest ecosystem. We invite our funding peers to join us in supporting meaningful restoration for community-sustaining nonprofit leaders and their organizations.

To our partners and our newest Miller Fellows: Thank you for all that you do and give, and for modeling what it looks like to honor the call to rest.

In solidarity,

Kate

Rest is Justice

This round of sabbaticals coincides with our launch of the continuation of the Fund’s Rest is Justice campaign, inspired by our 2022-23 Biennial Report.

Over the cohorts, the Miller Fellowship has evolved in response to what fellows tell us they need most: rest, recovery and renewal. Nonprofit executives, particularly those at smaller, community-grown and BIPOC-led organizations, carry extraordinary weight, and deserve extraordinary support. This is especially true now, as leaders continue essential community care while working under intensifying resource limitations and unrelenting political pressure.

We invite you to watch our Rest is Justice feature and listen to several of our grant partners as they share their experiences leading their organizations, stepping away to rest, and then reimagining work along with their teams.

Above: Current and alumni Miller Fellows with Miller Rest Team leaders, Allandra Bulger and Monica Marie Jones, at a recent fellowship gathering.

The 2026 Miller Fellows

Over 15 years and through 57 sabbaticals and counting, the Miller Fellows program has honored outstanding, experienced leaders of McGregor-funded nonprofit organizations in metropolitan Detroit. The program supports these leaders in stepping away from their day-to-day responsibilities and in undertaking a self-designed sabbatical to rest and rejuvenate themselves.

The 2026 Miller Fellows cohort is the Fund’s largest ever: 11 fellows, representing a total investment of more than $700,000. For the first time, each sabbatical award is also paired with additional funds dedicated to supporting the fellow’s team during their absence. We know that true rest requires knowing your organization is properly supported while you are away.