In a matter of months, $330 million has been promised by major foundations in an effort to save the collections of the Detroit Institute of Arts from being sold to alleviate the city's $18 billion debt load.

On Monday, an announcement was made that could save the museum's city-owned art from being used as collateral to cover such budget shortfalls as the city's pension funds (which constitutes about $3.5 billion of Detroit's deficits). Among the major contributors are the James L. Knight Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Kresge Foundation. Their $330 million in pledges will be used as collateral for the debt as opposed to the art.

DIA has been negotiating with U.S. Chief District Judge Gerald Rosen and attorney Eugene Driker, appointed mediators in Detroit’s bankruptcy, since Novemeber. Judge Rosen was key in navigating the plan.  The Knight's Foundation's website explained: 

… [W]hen Chief Judge Gerald Rosen and his mediation team facilitated an opportunity for us to work together for Detroit’s future, we readily agreed.  As a diverse group of local and national philanthropies, we are pleased to contribute to what we hope will be a balanced, workable plan that will enable Detroit to emerge from bankruptcy renewed and stronger.

The proposal we’ve been working on has one overarching goal: to enable Detroit and its citizens to focus on the task of renewing this great American city. Intended to be part of a larger, agreed-upon plan of adjustment, this plan furthers that goal in two critical ways, by helping the City honor its commitments to its retirees and preserving an extraordinary community cultural asset, the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Christie's appraised city-owned art in the DIA at more than $850 million. The museum has rejected all ideas to sell, "monetize" through loans, or otherwise use its renowned collections as collateral for the city's debts.

Various claims will need to settled in the bankruptcy case before the "Grand Bargain" deal can move forward.