West Michigan Foundation Watch: The David and Carol 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

The David and Carol Van Andel Foundation

I have already written about the five different DeVos Foundations, with my most recent post on the DeVos Family Foundation. Now I want to look at the other significant foundations that members of the Grand Rapids Power Structure have, beginning with the David and Carol Van Andel Foundation.

The David and Carol Van Andel Foundation gave $8,404,702 in 2024, with $111,617,386 left in total assets in that foundation.

The David and Carol Van Andel Foundation made contributions to dozens of entities in 2024, but there are some clear categories of groups they contributed to, such as the Religious Right, Think Tanks, Education-centered groups, and social service entities, to name a few.

Before I dive into how the David and Carol Van Andel Foundation distributed their funds, I wanted to point out that David Van Andel is chairman and CEO of Van Andel Institute in Grand Rapids, along with numerous other business investments.

Religious Groups

• Bethany Christian Services – $300,000
• Cascade Fellowship CRC – $90,000
• Grand Rapids Christian Schools – $200,000
• Grand Rapids Nehemiah Project – $350,000
• Mel Trotter Ministries – $1,000,000
• Pine Rest Christian Hospital – $2,000,000
• Potter’s House – $65,010
• Salvation Army – $85,000
• Wedgewood Christian Services – $60,000
• Western Theological Seminary – $500,000

These religious groups practice varying degrees of conservative politics, which fit into the ideological framework that the Van Andel family is committed to.

Pro-Capitalist Groups

• The Acton Institute – $43,500

The Acton Institute has long been supported by the Van Andel family, primarily because the their view that Capitalism and Christianity a great bedfellows.

Van Andel created or connected groups

• Grand Action Foundation – $3,000,000
• Grand Rapids Downtown Market Education Foundation – $15,000
• Grand Rapids Public Museum Foundation $50,500
• Opera Grand Rapids – $408,000 (sits in the Board of Directors)
• Van Andel Research Institute – $61,430

It is instructive to see that in 2024, the David and Carol Van Andel Foundation contributed $3 million to the Grand Action Foundation, an organization that the Van Andel family has been involved in since it was founded, plus an organization that has convinced the City and the County to use hundreds of millions in public tax dollars to fund the Amphitheater and the Soccer Stadium. Not surprising, the new soccer team will be jointly owned by the DeVos and Van Andel families.

It is also not surprising that the David and Carol Van Andel Foundation contributed to Bethany Christian Services, which has reverted back to it’s more ridged and ideological stance on issues like only hiring Christian staff and taking an anti-LGBTQ position. Like the DeVos family, the Van Andel family doesn’t give money just for the fun of it, they use their foundation funds to strategically support the Christian and political right entities, especially in West Michigan.

Groups receiving Hush $

• 3 – 11 Youth Housing  – $54,000
• Blandford Nature Center – $245,000
• Boy Scouts of America – $70,000
• Children’s Healing Center – $125,000
• Girl Scouts of Michigan Shore to Shore – $140,000
• Grand Rapids African American Health Institute – $70,000
• ICCF – $25,000
• Kids Food Basket  – $50,000
• John Ball Zoological Society – $2,005,000
• Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital – $666,666
• New Image Youth Center – $250,000
• Pine Rest Foundation – $11,000,000
• West Michigan Sports Commission – $50,000
• Women’s Resource Center – $50,000

These groups all provide some sort of social service – people fleeing domestic violence, those who are housing insecure, people with disabilities, adoption and immigration. There are root causes to all of these issues, but these groups are not likely to address root causes and larger systems of oppression. When the Van andel family foundations make contributions, this will increase the likelihood that systems of oppression will not be addressed by these groups.

Foundations rarely make contributions without strings attached. The David and Carol Foundation has a long history of funding far right and religious right groups, which GRIID began documenting over a decade ago when I started this project. Lastly, it is worth noting that the David and Carol Foundation, like all of the foundations by members of the Grand Rapids Power Structure, compliments the campaign contributions they make to further impact public policy and promote their religious and capitalist ideologies.