On Tuesday, about 75 people held a picket out in front of the Lansing Center, just east of downtown Lansing, where people were attending a conference hosted by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA).
The picket was organized by the Rent is Too Damn High coalition, made up of people from across the state that are part of tenant unions and other housing justice groups. Inside the Lansing Center was a totally different crowd, made up of MSHDA staff members, bankers, non-profit housing groups, developers and other people who believe that the market will fix the housing crisis.
The morning keynote speaker was a GOP Strategist and the closing keynote speakers were 2 guys who have a show on HGTV. Plus, all of the panel speakers were people who embrace the housing crisis from a market perspective. One of the panelists was Brooke Ossterman the Executive Director of Housing Next, an entity that was created by the GR Chamber of Commerce, which GRIID has previously written about.
I would also like to point out that MISHDA is essentially a mechanism that provides large public subsidies to developers and to non profit housing entities, what I like to call the Non-Profit Industrial Housing Complex, because they only want to provide piece meal housing solutions, but never want to address the root causes of the housing crisis.
Before the conference happened, MSHDA got wind of the planned picket and sent a letter to the Rent is Too Damn High, trying desperately to present themselves as the “good guy.” The Rent is Too Damn High sent a response that read in part:
Our choice to demonstrate at the Building Michigan Communities Conference was deliberate. As the leading state agency responsible for housing, MSHDA bears responsibility for housing conditions in the state of Michigan. As you acknowledge, the housing supply shortage remains severe. Most renters also lack any form of rent stabilization, right to renew their contracts, or right to counsel in eviction proceedings. Two million Michiganders with criminal or arrest records are subject to legalized discrimination in housing access, and others are discriminated against for their source of income. All of these factors are driving more renters into homelessness.
The response from the Rent is Too Damn High coalition also stated:
We understand that you are trying, but for renters on the brink of eviction, it’s not enough. Our demonstration at the conference intends to raise the ambitions and increase the tangible actions of MSHDA, its nonprofit and municipal partners, and the governor. Only with uncommon courage, administrative creativity, and outspoken political leadership will this crisis be solved.
Throughout the four hour picket, some of the people who were attending the conference did come out to offer support or at least were willing to engage in conversation. However, there were also several people who came out to make nasty comments directed at those who were protesting.
The Rent is Too Damn High picket involved lots of chanting and some marching in from of the Lansing Center. There were a few banners and most of the picketers held up signs demanding Social Housing, Renters Rights, Housing First and Rent Control, which also happens to be the four main demands of the statewide coalition.
More importantly were the short speeches and testimonies made by people from across the state. There were people from Washtenaw County, Kalamazoo, Detroit, Lansing and Grand Rapids who spoke about both the urgency of addressing the housing crisis from the perspective of renters and how the housing industry and the government has failed to seriously address the current housing crisis. All of the speakers had great things to say and help get the crowd pumped up during the nearly 4 hours of picketing.
The Rent is Too High coalition also talked about next steps and some upcoming actions for the rest of the year. They made it clear that despite the Democrats having control of the State Legislator they have not embraced housing justice nor the four demands by the coalition.
Lastly, people were encouraged to push for the passage of four pieces of legislation which would certainly benefit tenants and eliminate some barriers for those seeking secure housing.
- HB 4878 – Fair Housing for Returning Citizens
- HB 5237 – Tenants’ Right to Counsel
- SB 205-207; HB 4062-63 – End Source of Income Discrimination
- SB 801 – Expunge and Seal Eviction Records
On Sunday, MLive posted an article entitled, Will housing near new Grand Rapids amphitheater, soccer stadium be affordable? The headline should have read, “None of the 735 new apartments that will be connected to the Amphitheater and Soccer Stadium project will be affordable.”
Reading the MLive article was rather instructive, since it was fundamentally an exercise in the justification of over-priced rental costs that will exclude huge sectors of society who do not make enough money to afford to live next to the Amphitheater or the Soccer Stadium. What follows are some of the justifications.
Justification #1 – “We’re hopeful that we will be able to provide some level of affordability within the project, but we understand the challenges that are being faced,” said Kara Wood, Grand Action 2.0′s executive director. What the Grand Action 2.0 spokesperson is really saying is, “Gee, we would love it if poor people could live here, but it wouldn’t make sense to have poor people live next to these amazing transformational projects. Such projects are really designed to bring more money downtown and primarily benefit the members of Grand Action 20 and our friends.”
Justification #2 – “A huge part of affordability right now is lack of availability,” Bliss said. “So, we know that building housing at any price point will increase supply and increasing supply will reduce costs across the board … and we need housing across the entire spectrum.” Really, so Mayor Bliss thinks that the “market” will just magically provide an adequate amount of housing that is current too expensive for thousands of families in Grand Rapids to afford? In the current NeoLiberal Capitalist market, the plan is always to funnel more public money to projects that are privately owned. Get the public to pay for stuff that the professional class and the Capitalist Class will benefit from.
Justification #3 – “What we’re trying to do is provide a path to getting to an affordable housing agreement,” said Jono Klooster, interim economic development director for the city of Grand Rapids. “It’s kind of a reflection of where we’re at in the development of those projects, and a way to provide options and flexibility as we continue to make progress on these and identify the developers we will be working with.” Sounds like trickle down economics, where these people use warm and fuzzy language about affordability, but rarely practice it, and when they do it is merely token.
What is also instructive about this project is that Grand Action 2.0 wants to get the Grand Rapids Brownfield Redevelopment Authority to provide subsidies to both the apartment buildings for the Amphitheater and the Soccer Stadium. Grand Action 2.0 is asking the City to use the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority to grant $318 million in subsidies – $290 million for the amphitheater housing and $28 million for soccer stadium housing. I mean, why not. The MLive article already says that both Mayor Bliss and 2nd Ward Commissioner Ysasi support such a plan. Not surprising, Commissioner Ysasi sits on the Grand Rapids Brownfield Redevelopment Authority board, along with people who are part of the development industry, former elected officials, but all who are committed to NeoLiberal Capitalism.
Another person who sits on the Grand Rapids Brownfield Redevelopment Authority board is Brooke Oosterman, the executive director of Housing Next, which is an entity created by the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce. Considering how viciously the GR Chamber of Commerce was able to get the City of Grand Rapids to adopt ordinances to criminalize the unhoused, it would follow that they don’t want more poor people hanging out in the downtown area.
Near the end of the MLive article it states:
Estimated monthly rental rates for the amphitheater housing show an income-restricted, one-bedroom apartment would be $1,888 per-month, according to the city. The same unit at the market rate would be a $126 more at $2,014 per-month.
A two-bedroom unit in the same building would go for $3,157 per month at the market rate, and $2,267 per-month for an income-restricted unit. There are expected to be nine, two-bedroom income-restricted units in the amphitheater housing tower.
OK, so Grand Action 2.0 and the City of Grand Rapids wants us to provide $318 million in subsidies through the Grand Rapids Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, which is public money. Then they want to limit the number of income restricted apartments, which at the numbers listed above shows that what they mean by income restricted is restricted for those who don’t make a living wage.
If you are paying $1,888 a month for rent, that equals $22,656 a year. If you are lucking to make $15 an hour, you would make $31,200 a year as a gross salary. Take out taxes and you pretty much are going to afford much after paying rent for an income restricted apartment, except maybe food and a phone, but that’s about it.
All of this is to say that Grand Action 2.0 and the City of Grand Rapids don’t want poor and working class people to live in this city. On top of that, Grand Action 2.0 is happy to use public money to subsidize these so-called transformational projects, which is really code for – projects that will put more money in the pockets of those who are already disgustingly rich, like members of Grand Action 2.0.
When will the public wake up to this shit and resist the ongoing plundering that the Capitalist Class does to the rest of us, just so they can have their downtown playground for themselves and their cronies? What we need instead is Social Housing, which is one of the demands of the Rent is Too Damn High coalition in Michigan.
As a first term Representative of the 3rd Congressional District, Hillary Scholten has mad it clear from the beginning her time in Congress that she has a deep commitment to Israel.
In 2023, Rep. Scholten, like most members of Congress, voted for the annual $3.8 Billion in US military aid to Israel. In May, GRIID posted a piece that showed the difference between Rep. Scholten and Rep; Tlaib. Rashida Tlaib re-introduced a resolution calling on Congress to recognize “the ongoing Nakba and Palestinian refugees rights.” Rep. Scholten did not support that resolution, but she did post a message on her Facebook page that said, This week marks Israel’s 75th birthday. Happy Yom Ha’atzmaut! #Israel75.
In late July of 2023, Rep. Scholten signed in to a resolution, which stated:
(1) the State of Israel is not a racist or apartheid state;
(2) Congress rejects all forms of antisemitism and xenophobia; and
(3) the United States will always be a staunch partner and supporter of Israel.
In August of 2023, Rep. Scholten went on an AIPAC-sponsored trip to Israel, which solidified her allegiance to Israel. GRIID posted a piece about that trip, with AIPAC created videos you can find here.
Since the Israeli retaliation for the October 7th attack from Hamas, I have written 17 articles about Rep. Scholten and her unconditional support for Israel and her opposition to those who are opposing genocide. Many of these actions are in violation of International Law, specifically the Genocide Convention and the War Crimes Tribunal. What follows are links to those 17 articles demonstrating that Rep. Hillary Scholten has Palestinian blood on her hands.
Rep. Scholten endorses Israeli War Crimes in Gaza
Yesterday, I was arrested in Rep. Scholten’s office for demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza
Rep. Scholten says she is working hard to make sure US Imperialism wins the day in Gaza
Rep. Hillary Scholten voted for resolution that conflates Anti-Zionism with Antisemitism
Congresswoman Hillary Scholten just voted to for a bill that cements genocide as official US policy
Rep. Hillary Scholten continues to support genocide and she voted to criminalize speech
The Acton Institute thinks fraternity bros are a fabulous counter to the Palestine Solidarity university encampments
The Grand Rapids-based think tank, the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, continues its assault on people who stand in solidarity with Palestinians.
In a post from last week, GRIID noted that the Acton Institute was deeply critical of the student-led encampments in support of Palestinians that are happening all across the US. In their weekly podcast Acton Unwind, one of the participants even suggested that students who were organizing the encampments should be expelled.
Thus, it is no surprise that they would continue to be dismissive of the student-led campus Palestine Solidarity protests on another Acton Unwind show. However, this time they chose to celebrate fraternity bros who were “defending an American flag” at the University of North Carolina (UNC).
The Acton Unwind show was even entitled, Will fraternity bros save America? The discussion about the frat bros begins at 32:40 into the program. Apparently, some frat bros thought it was important to protect an American flag on campus from the students who were part of the University of North Carolina Palestine Solidarity protests. The pro-Palestine students had replaced the US flag with a Palestinian flag, which was going too far for fraternity members on campus. They put the US flag back up and then surrounded the flag poll to prevent anyone from messing with the American flag.
This action generated so much attention, especially after someone began a GoFundMe to raise money for the effort. They raised like $500,000 in no time, according to a story from USA Today.
The Acton Unwind host then read what the GoFundMe page said, which tells you something about the mindlessness of nationalistic thinking. Here is the text from the GoFundMe page:
We are overwhelmed by you glorious, Patriotic Americans who value good beer and great times. We are in contact with multiple leaders from different fraternities whose members helped defend the flag. Our gratitude goes to all of them and we will update supporters on what comes next.**
Commie losers across the country have invaded college campuses to make dumb demands of weak University Administrators.
But amidst the chaos, the screaming, the anti-semitism, the hatred of faith and flag, stood a platoon of American heroes. Armored in Vineyard Vines and Patagonia, fueled by Zyn and White Claws, these triumphant Brohemians protected Old Glory from the unwashed Marxist horde — laughing at their shrieks and wails and shielding the Stars & Stripes from Soviet missiles.
The Acton Unwind guests were then saying that the frat bros are being the leaders of a counter protest effort, by saying the Pledge of Allegiance, by singing God Bless America and being more patriotic. It is really quite brilliant what they are doing. They really found something to do!
The show took an even more bizarre turn, when the other guest on the show talked about his recent book, Heroic Fraternities: How College Men Can Save Universities and America. The author of the book, Anthony Bradley, then spoke for the next 10 minutes about how he feels that college fraternities can truly save this country.
While listening to the show I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry from the content. It is interesting how the Acton Institute considers itself an intellectual center, which is also laughable. Their podcast titled, Will fraternity bros save America?, is just another example of the far right/religious right ideology that they spew, which has nothing to do with intellectualism or critical thinking in the least bit. Maybe there needs to be a Palestine Solidarity protest at the headquarters 98 E. Fulton Street in downtown Grand Rapids.
Palestine Solidarity Information, Analysis, Local Actions and Events for the week of May 12th
It has been 7 months since the Israeli government began their most recent assault on Gaza and the West Bank. The retaliation for the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel, has escalated to what the international community has called genocide, therefore, GRIID will be providing weekly links to information and analysis that we think can better inform us of what is happening, along with the role that the US government is playing. We will also provide information on local events and actions that people can get involved in. All of this information is to provide people with the capacity of what Noam Chomsky refers to as, intellectual self-defense.
Information
Israel Wants to Destroy Gaza, Annex the West Bank: But What Does Gaza Want?
Israel Is Carrying Out a Horrific Ground Invasion of Rafah
Students Demanding Divestment: You’re on the Right Side of History
Israel Rejected a Cease-Fire. The Media Isn’t Telling Us.
As Peace Protests Are Violently Suppressed, CNN Paints Them as Hate Rallies
The Land and Sea Blockade Against Israel is Working
Norman Finkelstein: Build a Majority for Palestine
Analysis & History
Rashid Khalidi: Violent Settler Colonialism Caused This War
Illustration of Israeli Apartheid
Local Events and Actions
Nakba Day Rally in Grand Rapids
Wednesday, May 15 from 6 – 7:30pm, Monument Park
https://www.facebook.com/events/766861522201645?ref=newsfeed
Graphic used in this post is from https://visualizingpalestine.org/#visuals
Foundation To Combat Antisemitism video makes false claims and promotes their own brand of hate
The Foundation To Combat Antisemitism was founded by Robert Craft, a billionaire who is best know as the owned of the New England Patriots NFL football team.
Using is vast amounts of money, Kraft created the Foundation To Combat Antisemitism shortly after the Hamas attack in Israel. Here is what Kraft said, just after he created the group:
Since October 7, Jewish hate has continued to explode on college and university campuses, resulting in Jewish students feeling unsafe and under attack in the spaces they are meant to feel most safe and free.
Kraft doesn’t provide any evidence of the increase of Jewish hate, just a survey about how Jewish people feel.
In February, the Foundation To Combat Antisemitism launched its first video during the Super Bowl, which attempted to equate criticism of Israel with antisemitism. Dave Zirin, a Jewish sports writer, said this about Robert Kraft earlier this year:
The New England Patriots’ 81-year-old owner, Robert Kraft, writes seven-digit checks to the right-wing Israeli lobbying machine AIPAC, but his personal, political, and financial ties to Israel run deeper than the occasional donation. The multibillionaire married his late wife, Myra, in Israel in 1963 when Kraft, then 22, was older than the nation itself. Together they set up numerous business, athletic, and charitable ties to Israel, a record of which is proudly proclaimed on the Kraft company website. In particular, the Kraft Group boasts of its “Touchdown in Israel” program, where NFL players are given free, highly organized vacations to see “the holy land” and come back to spread the word about “the only democracy in the Middle East.” (Not every NFL player has chosen to take part.) Kraft also attends fundraisers for the Israel Defense Forces, currently—and in open view of the world, committing war crimes in Gaza.
In the most recent 30 second video produced by the Foundation To Combat Antisemitism, they are attempting to equate all of the Palestine Solidarity encampments that are taking place at colleges and universities across the country. The video’s tagline is, Don’t Bring Hate to the protest and uses images that suggest that students who are participating in the Palestine Solidarity encampments are violent, even though the video offers no evidence. What is really absurd about this video is that it doesn’t say anything about pro-Israeli groups that have attacked students, like what happened at UCLA.
The other thing that the Don’t Bring Hate to the protest video doesn’t address is how many instances where local police departments have been sent in to beat, harass and arrest students who are participating in the Palestine Solidarity encampments.
Lastly, the Don’t Bring Hate to the protest video fails to mention that many of the organizers who are involved in the hundreds of students encampments are Jewish.
Instead of producing a misleading video about how student protesters should behave, maybe the Foundation To Combat Antisemitism should make a video about the state violence directed at Jewish students who are organizing and participating in the Palestine Solidarity encampments at campuses across the country.
Last week, the local news ran several stories regarding the August Primary Election Ballot Initiative that will ask voters to support a hotel tax.
After a majority of the Kent County Commissioners voted to put the proposed hotel tax on the ballot for the August Primary, the local news media finally provided us with some of the players involved in the effort.
Here is what MLive reported the hotel tax has been and what it will mean if it passes in August. “Currently, the total tax on a hotel room in Kent County is 15%. That includes 6% sales tax, the 5% county hotel tax, and a 4% marketing assessment provided to Experience Grand Rapids. If voters were to approve a 3 percentage-point increase to the county’s 5% hotel tax, the total tax on a hotel room in Kent County would amount to 18%.” Just to be clear, the hotel tax is applied to any and all hotel rooms throughout Kent County.
MLive then goes on to provide us with a list of people who were in favor of the hotel tax ballot initiative, which “included Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss, as well as representatives from the Grand Rapids Chamber, The Right Place, the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention Arena Authority, and Grand Action 2.0.”
In a second MLive story, we also see who is going to be behind the campaign to get the hotel tax ballot initiative passed in August. Not surprising, the campaign will be run by SeyferthPR, which is the public relations firms that represents centers of power in West Michigan, like the groups that spoke to Kent County Commissioners about why they should put the issue on the August Ballot.
The MLive article also noted that John Helmholdt, the president of SeyferthPR, willing be overseeing the campaign, which is called Destination Kent. The campaign is supposed to officially launch on May 20th, so GRIID will certainly do a follow up post about the campaign and what narrative they will be using to get the hotel tax increase passed.
Helmholdt did provide some brief comments about how the campaign will be implemented: “So, we’ll spend time continuing to reach out to elected officials, appointed officials, hoteliers, individuals that have a stake in the passage of this important lodging proposal that is paid for by visitors.”
Those involved in the campaign are already saying that the increased hotel tax proposal will be used to cover some of the cost of the Grand Action 2.0-backed soccer stadium, along with the newly proposed aquarium that will be attached to John Ball Zoo. So let me get this straight, Grand Action 2.0, the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce, The Right Place and the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention Arena Authority want hotel tax money to be used to support other development projects, which will primarily benefit their economic interests.
I’m not opposed to a hotel tax in principle, I just don’t support the hotel tax increase if it is going to be used to pay for projects that are designed to attract tourists and to benefit the very same people/organizations who already have deep pockets. The whole thing is sort of a closed system, a loop or a self-serving scam designed to make the rich richer while tens of thousands of families in Kent County are struggling to pay rent and to feed their children.
Don’t be fooled by yet another scam to get the public to pay for more of the development projects that are owned and operated by members of the Capitalist Class in Kent County. Let them pay for these projects. They have more than enough money to cover the cost of soccer stadiums, amphitheaters and aquariums. Don’t be fooled by the narrative that they want to provide entertainment opportunities for the public. They want to get the public to pay for their downtown profit-making playground.
Rep. Scholten continues to vote in support of genocide, censorship and to suppress international solidarity
Last week I reported on Rep. Hillary Scholten’s vote to censor and punish campus protests that are happening across the country, with her claims that students were engaging in antisemitism.
Since then, Rep. Scholten has continued to vote on the wrong side of history and the wrong side of justice. On Wednesday, May 1st, Rep. Scholten voted for H.R.6090, known as the Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023.
This legislation is essentially a gap order and an attempt to silence people who are critical of the Israeli government and their genocidal campaign against Palestinians. Many groups, particularly Jewish groups, have come out against HR 6090. Americans for Peace Now said that while it is “deeply concerned about the escalating antisemitism in the United States and globally,” the legislation “poses a significant threat to free speech and open discourse.”
“Equating criticism of the Israeli government with antisemitism is a tactic used to stifle important discussions on Israeli policies and actions, thereby hindering the broader effort to combat true instances of hatred and discrimination against Jewish communities,” the group added.
Jewish Voice for Peace Action slammed what it called the HR 6090’s definition of antisemitism as, “controversial and dangerous mis-definition that does not help fight real antisemitism and is only a tool for silencing the movement for Palestinian rights.”
The other recent piece of legislation that Rep. Scholten voted for was H.R.6408. This legislation would grant the secretary of the treasury broad power to designate any charity as a “terrorist supporting organization” and remove its tax-exempt status within 90 days.
According to an excellent article from TruthOut, “This legislation is ominous given recent charges of terrorism disingenuously and inaccurately slapped on U.S.-based Palestinian organizations and student groups. In October 2023, for example, Jason Miyares, the Republican attorney general of Virginia, called for investigation of American Muslims for Palestine, and the Anti-Defamation League and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law wrote a letter to presidents of nearly 200 universities, requesting that all chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine be investigated for potentially providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization.
In response, the Charity & Security Network, a resource and advocacy center for nonprofit organizations that work in conflict zones, warned that without proper evidence such allegations constituted “a dangerous precedent for not only the U.S. legal system and the state of free speech but also for charitable giving and operations in crisis contexts like Gaza.”
By voting for these bills, Rep. Scholten has demonstrated that she will not question or challenge the Biden Administration on the matter of Israel and their current genocide against the Palestinians. Rep. Scholten also demonstrates her continued defense of Zionism by equating criticism of Israel with antisemitism, which not only promotes censorship, it stifles free speech and it threatens groups that want to practice international solidarity.
In Part I of this two part series, I looked at how the local commercial news media reported on the sunsetting of the Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation. I concluded that the local news was rather subservient to the DeVos family and miserably failed the public by not providing a more honest and transparent view of the foundation.
I (and others) have been monitoring the Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation since the late 1980s. When I was involved in the Indy Media project known as Media Mouse, we regularly monitored and wrote about their foundation. Prior to that, the independent journalist Russ Bellant was writing about the DeVos family for a variety of publications, but then published a book in 1996 entitled, The Religious Right In Michigan Politics.
Beginning in 2013, GRIID began to more methodically report on the most powerful foundations in West Michigan, which included the Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation. I have continued to do so on an annual basis to not only report on how much money they were providing in grants, but to what entities and how that impacted the public. However, before we get to an analysis of the Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation, I want to talk briefly about the function of foundations in general.
The function of foundations and the non-profit industrial complex
Foundations are primarily created by the rich and the powerful to fulfill several functions:
- Foundations are a way for members of the Capitalist Class to hide their wealth and not have it taxed.
- Foundations provide a public relations role for members of the Capitalist Class as a way to demonstrate their “generosity” and to shift the public’s attention away from how they made and expanded their wealth.
- Foundations provide the Capitalist Class with an opportunity to fund far right organizations and think tanks, which not only defend Capitalism, they craft public policy positions that benefit those with tremendous wealth.
- Foundations get to influence what Non-Profits do, since the grant money foundations provide always comes with strings attached that are at best reformist in nature and social service driven.
- By providing grants to Non-Profits, foundations also are able to condition Non-Profits into not criticizing what foundations do or the Capitalists that create them.
- Lastly, foundations provide funding to social service entities that assist individuals who are hurting, as a way to manage inequality, thus preventing working class people from rising up against the Capitalist Class. The agencies that provide social services act as a buffer for those with power.
In their groundbreaking book, The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond The Non-Profit Industrial Complex, the group INCITE! identified the Non-Profit Industrial Complex as a relationship between the State, the owning classes, foundations and the non-profit/NGO, social service and sometimes social justice organizations. These relationships often result in the surveillance, control, derailment, and everyday management of political movements. For the women of INCITE! the state and private power uses non-profits to:
- Monitor and control social justice movements;
- Divert public monies into private hands through foundations;
- Manage and control dissent in order to make the world safe for capitalism;
- Redirect activist energies into career-based modes of organizing instead of mass-based organizing capable of actually transforming society;
- Allow corporations to mask their exploitative and colonial work practices through “philanthropic” work;
- Encourage social movements to model themselves after capitalist structures rather than to challenge them.
All of this is to say that foundations, like the Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation, don’t operate in a vacuum. In fact, the Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation has always been a very strategic part of how the DeVos family uses their wealth, which we will now explore.
Funding hate, harm and far right Think Tanks
If you look at the 990 record of the Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation over the decades, you see certain entities that have received millions of dollars. These groups often are faith-based groups, groups that defend Capitalism or Think Tanks that influence public policy.
Some of the faith-based groups that have received funding from the Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation are:
- Focus on the Family
- Family Research Council
- Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church
- Haggai Institute
- Luis Palau Evangelistic Association
- Right to Life
- Prison Fellowship Ministries
Some common themes from all of these faith-based groups, and many more that have received funding from the Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation, are that they embrace an anti-LGBTQ politics, oppose reproductive freedom, preach a very heteronormative family structure, believe that people should pull themselves up by their bootstraps, and have close relationships with conservative and repressive governments.
Groups that defend Capitalism and are often Think Tanks that have received tens of millions in funding from the Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation are groups like:
- The Heritage Foundation
- The American Enterprise Institute
- Americans for Prosperity
- Freedom Works
- The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty
- The Mackinac Center for Public Policy
You can investigate what each of these groups promote by using the invaluable online site SourceWatch.org
All of the groups that I have listed so far that have received funding from the Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation have been the recipient of much larger amounts of money than most of the groups in West Michigan. I say this, since I think it is important that we understand that these groups don’t do charity work, they influence public policy and promote a religious right perspective that does real harm in this world.
Business Education, Religious Schools and the undermining of Public Education
A third major group that has received funding from the Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation are systems of education or groups that promote the privatization of education.
Regarding Universities and Colleges the Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation has consistently contributed to Calvin University, Calvin Theological Seminary, Western Theological Seminary, GVSU, GRCC, Davenport University in this area, and to King’s College and Northwood University. In some of these cases the funding was purely to support religious education, while places like GVSU has more to do with influencing campus policy and/or to promote Business Departments.
The Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation has also supported the promotion of charter schools or the privatization of education, which are also the function of many of the Think Tanks mentioned above.
A fourth Major area of funding for the Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation has been organizations that provide social services to individuals or families. Many of these groups are also faith based, but none of them advocate systemic change, only individual achievement. These groups also won’t question or speak out against how the DeVos family spends money in the political arena, which often goes to candidates that do not support an increase in the minimum wage, who don’t support labor unions or which don’t promote higher taxes for the super rich. When the Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation provides grants to these groups, I call it hush money, which just guarantees that the entities receiving the funds won’t question how the DeVos family increases their wealth or how they influence political outcomes. Some of these group that are local are:
- Guiding Light Mission
- Hope Network
- Mel Trotter Ministries
- Safe Haven Ministries
- ICCF
- Bethany Christian Services
One last arena that the Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation provide funding to are projects which were started by their children. This provides an opportunity to just shuffle funding around in house, since it ultimately goes to a project that was created by another DeVos. Some examples are:
- ArtPrize
- Start Garden
- Grand Rapids Initiative for Leaders
- Christian Leaders NFP
- West Michigan Aviation Academy
Anyone can see that the analysis that I have provided is way different than what the local news reported. While this is what the local news media should be doing, they have demonstrated over the past few decades that I have done news monitoring, that they are nothing more than stenographers for those with power. More importantly, we need people of conscience to understand and social movements to expose the blatant hypocrisy of the DeVos Family Foundations and not be fooled by their so-called philanthropy.
Last week, if you consumed any of the daily local commercial news media, it would have been near impossible for anyone to not come across the announcement from the DeVos family. The announcement was centered around the closing of the Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation, which has now ended after 54 years.
I counted 10 stories collectively from local commercial news media outlets about the sunsetting of the Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation. Last Tuesday hundreds of people – family members, friends, community leaders and non-profit groups – gathered at the Amway Grand Plaza to “pay tribute to the couple’s philanthropic legacy,” according to MLive.
In many ways, the MLive article encompassed the general tone of the all the local news media stories about the Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation’s history. Of course there were DeVos family members who were cited in the local commercial news coverage, along with people like former GVSU President’s Arend Lubbers and Mark Murray. Not surprising was the fact that both men had nothing but glowing words for the now deceased couple.
However, the public record is not so kind, or at least it is a bit more honest about what the legacy of the Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation. For example, while producing a documentary about the history of the LGBTQ community in Grand Rapids, I discovered in 1994, when faculty and staff at GVSU were meeting with then President Lubbers over the university’s willingness to offer domestic partner benefits, word got out that this was going to happen. At the time GVSU was raising money for a proposed health education building on Michigan St and Peter Cook and Rich DeVos had pledged millions. Once DeVos and Cook found out about the proposal by GVSU to offer domestic partner benefits, they threatened to withdraw their financial support if the university would support a domestic partner benefits policy. GVSU acquiesced to the wish of DeVos and Cook. Arend Lubbers sided with DeVos on this matter, not GVSU faculty and staff.
Another attempt to win domestic partner benefits was made in 2003, but then President Mark Murray blocked the attempt. Murray stated at the time, “As a University that has benefited from very generous support from the private philanthropic community, we must recognize the prevailing views of those who provide such support.” Translated, Murray was saying that he didn’t care about LGBTQ faculty and staff, he just wanted to make sure that members of the Capitalist Class in West Michigan – like Richard and Helen DeVos – would continue to give the university money.
Another example of how the local commercial news media treated the closing of the Ricard & Helen DeVos Foundation as some sacred entity, was a piece that WOODTV8 did, where two of the channel 8’s media personalities sat in the studio with Dick DeVos for 4 minutes. What is astounding was all of the superlatives the channel 8 people used when talking about Richard and Helen DeVos, but also how they did not question the narrative coming from Dick DeVos. Watch that WOODTV8 piece and you’ll see how subservient they are to the most powerful family in West Michigan.
In the end, the local commercial news media failed to not only include different perspectives on the legacy of the Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation, they failed to provide people in this community with a more robust understanding of the function of foundations. It’s difficult to know why the news coverage was so subservient to the DeVos family, although I suspect that a great deal of it has to do with not wanting to piss off the most powerful family in the area. In addition, after methodically monitoring the local commercial Neds media for the past 30 years, I would say that the simplistic coverage of the Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation coming to an end has to do with the fact that the local commercial news media – both editors and journalists – both have internalized the values of the rich and powerful, thus deferring to reporting on them as celebrities and saints.
In Part II of this series, I will explore the function of foundations, plus a more robust analysis of the 1,000 non-profits that the Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation contributed to over the passed 54 years.
Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy 