Ruth Rawlings Mott
Ruth Rawlings Mott was a mother, a local leader and philanthropist, and an active partner in the community alongside her husband, Charles Stewart Mott. With characteristic generosity, she endowed her namesake foundation with her heart, her home (Applewood), and resources to benefit Flint many years into the future. Her legacy of caring and providing opportunities for others is part of the ongoing work of the Ruth Mott Foundation, which announced its first community grants in 2001.
Ruth grew up in El Paso, where her father was a family practice physician serving those in need on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Ruth’s mother was a kindergarten teacher, businesswoman, and founder of the El Paso YWCA.
Her parents’ care for children and spirit of giving lived on in Ruth. She went east to study physical education and returned home to teach. She later opened a dance studio where she delighted in teaching children, including those of her friends, and performed with her studio partners. She met Charles Stewart Mott in 1932. After they married in 1934, Ruth moved to Applewood, C.S. Mott’s Flint estate, where they raised their children and nurtured a family legacy of giving and civic participation.
She established the Ruth Mott Fund in 1975 to further her civic and charitable work in Flint and began to plan for Applewood’s future. It was her vision that Applewood be opened to the public as a place of beauty and learning and in honor of the legacy of her husband, C.S. Mott.
OUR MISSION
Working with the community, we connect people, ideas, and resources for a vibrant and inclusive Flint.
OUR VISION
Flint is a just and equitable community where all thrive.
OUR VALUES
Ruth Mott’s values inspire us to:
Cultivate trust. We cultivate trust first through kindness, respect, and empathy. We build lasting relationships in community by being inclusive, accountable, and learning from each other.
Pursue justice. We pursue justice by acknowledging and addressing systemic harms and individual social, economic, and racial inequities. In privileging community voices, we prioritize the people who have direct experience navigating barriers to opportunity, well-being, and hope.
Promote civic engagement. We promote civic engagement for a vibrant and inclusive Flint. Commitment of time, talent, and treasure builds responsibility, creative problem solving, and a stronger community.
Commit to the long term. We commit to the long term by devoting our time and resources with advocacy and courage to build a vibrant and inclusive Flint. We will evolve, grow, and adapt alongside our community.
