The Fred A. and Barbra M. Erb Family Foundation has committed the lead philanthropic gift to DPS, Detroit’s public media station, as its works relocate its headquarters back to the Motor City.
The $7.5 million grant is positioned as a challenge opportunity for Detroit PBS in the form of a 1:1 philanthropic match. Each dollar raised will be matched 1:1 by the Erb Family Foundation through June 2027.
The Erb Family Foundation’s commitment honors the legacy of Fred and Barbara Erb, their lifelong love of and commitment to Detroit PBS, and the shared values of sustainability, servant leadership, and collaboration toward a just and civil society.
In April 2024, Detroit PBS purchased property at 234 Piquette Ave., in the Milwaukee Junction neighborhood (between John R and Brush streets), where it will renovate and expand an existing building to serve as a traditional television station.
It will be part of a campus that will include an organizational headquarters, video production and broadcasts, 90.9 WRCJ radio production and broadcasts, arts performances, a journalism hub, and a community events space.
The campus will serve the region through accessibility and a commitment to meeting the unmet needs of this community through storytelling.
John Erb, the foundation’s chair and son of Fred and Barbara Erb, noted his father was emotionally invested in Detroit PBS (then known as WTV or Detroit Public TV), which was one of only two nonprofit boards he served on.
He said his father enjoyed the jazz and educational programming as a viewer and listener for decades and advocated for the station’s move to its longtime home in the New Center area north of the Fisher Building in 1971.
Likewise, Barbara Erb enjoyed PBS nature programming and had been actively involved with Detroit PBS since the earliest days of its live TV auction in 1969. The new campus will be an extension of the Erbs’ belief in the enjoyment and educational power of Detroit PBS and 90.9 WRCJ.
Leslie Erb Liedtke, Erb Family Foundation trustee and daughter of Fred and Barbara Erb, has said the family is proud the foundation is recognizing their parents’ legacy and their shared love of public television.
Detroit PBS expects to begin construction on the campus later this year, with an opening scheduled for fall 2026.
To join the Erb Family Foundation in this effort, contact Jenna Moritz, director of philanthropic giving at Detroit PBS, at jmoritz@detroitpbs.org or visit detroitpbs.org/detroitcampus to learn more.
The Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation was founded in 2007 to advance environmentally healthy and culturally vibrant communities in metropolitan Detroit and a flourishing Great Lakes ecosystem. Since 2009, the foundation has paid out more than $165 million in grants. In 2022, it announced its intention to spend down its assets by 2035.
To learn more about the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation, visit here.
To learn more on how to donate, visit here.
