The Political function of Philanthropy: The Steve and Amy Van Andel Foundation

 “In any case, the hidden hand of of foundations can control the course of social change and deflect anger to targets other than elite power.” 

 – Joan Roelofs, Foundations and Public Policy

For the past 10 years, GRIID has been monitoring foundations in West Michigan, particularly the large family foundations that those who are part of the Grand Rapids Power Structure have created. Our monitoring of local foundations has been part of our larger critique of the Non-Profit Industrial complex in Grand Rapids.

GRIID has been providing information and analysis on the various DeVos Family Foundations, using the most recent 990 documents that foundations are legally required to submit. These 990 documents must be submitted within a three-year period, which is why the 990s that we will be examining are from 2020, since most foundations prefer to submit their 990 documents at the last minute, thus minimizing public scrutiny. So far we have posted articles about the Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation, the Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation, the Doug and Maria DeVos Foundation, the Dan and Pamela DeVos Foundation, the Cheri DeVos Foundation, and the Jerry & Marcia Tubergen Foundation.

The Steve and Amy Van Andel Foundation

GRIID has always done our Foundation Watch work by looking at the foundations associated with the most powerful families in West Michigan, like the DeVos family and the longtime family friends, the Van Andel family. The Steve & Amy Vandel Foundation was founded in 2005, with assets of $111,040,892. The most recent 990 document for their foundation is 2021, where a total of $8,504,096 was spent in contributions. 

As we reported last year, the Steve & Amy Van Andel Foundation has contributed heavily to the Religious Right and the Political Right, along with charity-based non-profits in West MI, which we categorize as hush money. When we say hush money, we mean that these entities will not publicly challenge the system of Capitalism, the wealth gap, structural racism and other systems of oppression, which the Van Andel family benefits from and perpetuates through their own political funding.

Below we provide some categories of organizations/entities that have been the beneficiaries of Van Andel Foundation funds, with some analysis. To view the 990 document for the Steve and Amy Van Andel Foundation, go to guidestar.org and you can find the information they are required to make public. 

Religious Right/Conservative Christian Groups

• Camp Rogers – $125,000
• St. Thomas the Apostle Church – $37,000

Political Right and Think Tanks

• American Enterprise Institute – $20,000
• Grand Action Foundation – $125,000
• The George W Bush Presidential Library Foundation – $1,000,000
• The Heritage Foundation – $10,000
• Township of Ada – $1,000,000 
• Traffic Squad Safety and Community Action Fund – $12,000

The Heritage Foundation is one of the oldest Far Right Think Tanks in the US and is known for essentially crafting the policy agenda for the Reagan Administration. The Grand Action Foundation supports the work of Grand Action 2.0, which has pushed major development projects in downtown Grand Rapids since the mid-1990s, beginning with the Van Andel Arena. These development projects always rely heavily on public subsidies, without public input. The American Enterprise Institute is currently the largest conservative Think Tank in the US and during the George W. Bush administration, AEI was regarded “as the intellectual command post of the neoconservative campaign for regime change in Iraq,”

Education Institutions

• Hillsdale College – $4,200,000
• West MI Aviation Academy – $50,000

The West MI Aviation Academy was founded by Dick DeVos and is a Charter School located at the Gerald R Ford Airport. 

Hillsdale College has a long history of practicing and promoting far right values. The former President of Hillsdale College, George Roche, was also on the advisory board of the US affiliate of the World Anti-Communist League, according to Scott and Jon Lee Andersen’s book, Inside the League: The Shocking Expose of How Terrorists, Nazis, and Latin American Death Squads Have Infiltrated the World Anti-Communist League.

Hillsdale College has hosted forums over the years with speakers such as Manuel Ayau, a member of Guatemala’s Amigos del Pais, a group linked to the death squads in Guatemala. Hillsdale also houses the late John Bircher Clarence Manion’s tape collection, with lectures from former Nicaraguan Dictator Anastasio Somoza Hillsdale’s magazine, Imprimis, which provides a forum for anti-minority views. 

In another book by Russ Bellant, The Coors Connection: How Coors Family Philanthropy Undermines Democratic Pluralism, the author writes: 

“Longtime Hiilsdale President Roche is opposed in general to social engineering plans, among which he includes affirmative action and public education. Roche has attacked the Civil Rights Restoration Act as frightening federal intervention. He calls affirmative action “the putrid backwash of all the tired social engineering schemes and complains that its advocates are so hypersensitive that a school’s unwillingness to set up advanced bongo drum programs is called racist.” 

Bellant goes on to say: 

“The selection of contributors for Hillsdale’s monthly magazine, Imprimis, also reflects the school’s far right political views. In one issue, Gerda Bikales, a founder and former executive director of the English Only organization, US English, condemned the advocates of cultural diversity and bilingual education. She attacked the skilled language planners and other militant advocates who promote bilingual education, as well as those who aggressively pursue diversity and cultural pluralism.”

Groups receiving Hush Money

• Children’s Healing Center – $50,000
• Hand2Hand – $25,000
• Harbor Springs Festival of the Book – $100,000
• John Ball Zoological Society – $75,000
• Kids Food Basket – $33,333
• Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation – $500,000
• Safe Haven Ministries – $10,000
• South End Community Outreach Ministries – $10,000 
• Trillium Institute – $500,000 

Foundations rarely make contributions without strings attached. The Steve and Amy Van Andel Foundation has a long history of funding far right and religious right groups, which GRIID documented 10 years ago when we started this project.  Lastly, it is worth noting that the Steve and Amy Van Andel Foundation compliments the campaign contributions to GOP candidates, which is also pretty substantial, according to OpenSecrets.org.