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The David and Carol Van Andel Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The David and Carol Van Andel Family Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$8.4M
Granted FY2024still arriving
49
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$2.0M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Religion$4.4MEducation$4.0MHousing & Shelter$3.8MHealth$3.6MHuman Services$3.0MCommunity Improvement$3.0MAnimals$3.0MArts & Culture$1.9MOther$0
02FY2024 · 49 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k10 grants · $36k
  • $10k–50k12 grants · $269k
  • $50k–250k18 grants · $1.3M
  • $250k+9 grants · $6.8M
$50,500
Median grant
1
States reached
$112M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
PINE REST CHRISTIAN HOSPITAL$2,000,000
GRAND ACTION FOUNDATION$1,000,000
MEL TROTTER MINISTRIES$1,000,000
JOHN BALL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY$755,000
WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY$627,839
OPERA GRAND RAPIDS$408,000
GRAND RAPIDS NEHEMIAH PROJECT$350,000
MARY FREE BED REHABILITATION HOSPITAL FOUNDATION$333,333
BETHANY CHRISTIAN SERVICES$300,000
GIRL SCOUTS OF MICHIGAN SHORE TO SHORE$140,000
CHILDREN'S HEALING CENTER$125,000
GRAND RAPIDS CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS$100,000
CASCADE FELLOWSHIP CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH$90,000
SALVATION ARMY$85,000
AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS$85,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY20–24, $3.0M) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%GRAND RAPIDS NEHEMIAH PROJECT: $350k → 11%Grand Rapids Nehemiah Project: $200k → 11%Renew Therapeutic Riding Center: $150k → 10%OAKDALE NEIGHBORS: $25k → 11%RENEW THERAPEUTIC RIDING CENTER: $100k → 10%RENEW THERAPEUTIC RIDING CENTER: $30k → 10%STREAMS OF HOPE: $25k → 11%BAXTER COMMUNITY CENTER: $15k → 11%BAXTER COMMUNITY CENTER: $10k → 11%BAXTER COMMUNITY CENTER: $10k → 11%BAXTER COMMUNITY CENTER: $10k → 11%Baxter Community Center: $10k → 11%YMCA OF GREATER GRAND RAPIDS: $114k → 11%YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids: $101k → 11%YMCA OF GREATER GRAND RAPIDS: $60k → 11%YMCA OF GREATER GRAND RAPIDS: $60k → 11%YMCA OF GREATER GRAND RAPIDS: $55k → 11%YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids: $50k → 11%YMCA OF GREATER GRAND RAPIDS: $50k → 11%Wedgwood Christian Services: $1.0M → 11%AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS: $85k → 11%AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS: $85k → 11%WEDGWOOD CHRISTIAN SERVICES: $75k → 11%WEDGWOOD CHRISTIAN SERVICES: $60k → 11%AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS: $50k → 11%WEDGWOOD CHRISTIAN SERVICES: $50k → 11%AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS: $35k → 11%American National Red Cross: $50k → 11%AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS: $50k → 11%American National Red Cross: $10k → 11%RED GLASSES MOVEMENT: $1k → 11%RED GLASSES MOVEMENT: $1k → 11%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

91%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$27M · 65 repeat orgs$2.8M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +25% since the first grant, against +14% for those funded once.

65 repeat relationships: 44 still active in FY2024, 21 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

65
33

Total granted

$27M
$734k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+25%
+14%

Still filing today

82%
79%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 76% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $2.0M went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’20’21’22’23’24
EducationHuman ServicesHealthArts & CultureFood & NutritionHousing & ShelterOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • MT
    MEL TROTTER MINISTRIES
    5× · 2020–2024 · $3.1M · revenue +41%
  • JB
    JOHN BALL ZOO
    5× · 2020–2024 · $3.0M · revenue +150%
  • GA
    GRAND ACTION FOUNDATION 20
    2× · 2023–2024 · $2.0M · revenue ×16 · 33% of their budget

Funded once

  • UC
    US Chamber of Commerce Foundation
    one grant, 2021 · $250k · revenue -27%
  • FO
    FANS OF VALLEY FIELDgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $100k · revenue +433% · 45% of their budget
  • GR
    GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC MUSEUMgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $50k · revenue +89%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
The Northern Michigan University Foundation

The nmu foundation will establish and foster relationships to generate resources that benefit the strategic goals of northern michigan university.

Education
2
West Michigan Christian Foundation

None

Religion
3
Grand View University

Engages, equips and empowers learners to explore their vocations, fulfill their potential and serve the world.

Education
4
Business Leaders for Michigan Foundation

Business leaders for michigan is a nonprofit, nonpartisan statewide organization driven by ceos from the state's leading employers, all working toward a shared goal: making michigan a top 10 state for jobs, talent and a thriving economy.…

Community Improvement
5
Great Mn Schools

We believe that great schools are the cornerstone of a just and thriving community. ensuring that every child is able to attend a school that works is our moral and social imperative - our children deserve no less.

Education
6
Grand Rapids Area Community Foundation

Inspire individuals and organizations to invest in their community to improve the quality of life.

Community Improvement
7
Michigan Christian Home

The michigan christian home dba beacon hill at eastgate, a not-for-profit corporation, provides housing and health services in a christian environment for older adults, thus enabling them to meet their ongoing physical, social and…

—
8
Business Leaders for Michigan

Business leaders for michigan is a nonprofit, nonpartisan statewide organization driven by ceos from the state's leading employers, all working toward a shared goal: making michigan a top 10 state for jobs, talent and a thriving economy.…

—
9
Detroit Historical Society

The Detroit Historical Society tells Detroit's stories and why they matter through its exhibits, programs, outreach, and the preservation and dissemination of its artifacts and collections.

Arts & Culture
10
Grandville Calvin Christian Schools

Equipping students to serve and glorify God. GCCS offers a Christ-centered education that is grounded in faith, connected through relationships, committed to excellence and prepared for service.

Education
11
Michigan Chamber of Commerce

To promote conditions favorable to job creation and business success in michigan.

—
12
Trinity Health Grand Haven Hospital

We, trinity health grand haven hospital and trinity health, serve together in the spirit of the gospel as a compassionate and transforming healing presence within our communities.trinity health grand haven hospital is a member of trinity…

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Gilda's Club Grand Rapids; the most unlike its peers is Sams Fight for Sight. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

84 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 84 of the 103 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

4
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
18
Early backer (in before they grew)
82/84
Grantees still filing
59/84
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MEL TROTTER MINISTRIES: $3,125,000 · OtherMEL TROTTER MINISTRIESTHE WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY OF THE REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA: $2,256,839 · OtherTHE WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY OF THE REFORMED C…BETHANY CHRISTIAN SERVICES: $1,500,000 · OtherBETHANY CHRISTIAN SERVICESADA CHRISTIAN SCHOOL EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $1,045,000 · OtherADA CHRISTIAN SCHOOL EDUCATION FOUNDATIONGrand Action Foundation: $600,000 · OtherSPECIAL OLYMPICS MICHIGAN INC: $1,000,000 · OtherSPECIAL OLYMPICS MICHIGAN INCICCF COMMUNITY HOMES: $480,000 · Other+52 more: $3,292,231 · Other+52 moreHOPE COLLEGE: $1,075,000 · EducationHOPE COLLEGEGRAND RAPIDS COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $772,500 · EducationGRAND RAPIDS …GRAND RAPIDS CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS: $410,000 · EducationGRAND RAPIDS …Cornerstone University: $400,000 · EducationCornerstone U…BLANDFORD NATURE CENTER: $270,000 · EducationBLANDFORD NAT…US Chamber of Commerce Foundation: $250,000 · EducationUS Chamber of…The Potters House: $200,100 · EducationThe Potters H…+8 more: $141,500 · EducationPINE REST CHRISTIAN MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES: $2,000,000 · HealthPINE REST CH…MARY FREE BED REHABILITATION HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $666,666 · HealthMARY FREE BE…VAN ANDEL RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $278,680 · HealthVAN ANDEL RE…AFRICAN-AMERICAN HEALTH INSTITUTE: $142,500 · HealthCHILDREN'S HEALING CENTER: $128,500 · Health+4 more: $100,900 · HealthWEDGWOOD CHRISTIAN SERVICES: $1,185,000 · Human ServicesWEDGWOOD CH…GRAND RAPIDS NEHEMIAH PROJECT: $550,000 · Human ServicesGRAND RAPID…The Young Men's Christian Association of Greater Grand Rapids (3019): $489,769 · Human ServicesThe Young M…American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $365,000 · Human ServicesAmerican Na…RENEW THERAPEUTIC RIDING CENTER: $280,000 · Human ServicesRENEW THERA…+7 more: $192,750 · Human Services+7 moreJOHN BALL ZOO: $3,010,000 · AnimalsJOHN BALL Z…GRAND ACTION FOUNDATION 20: $2,000,000 · PhilanthropyOpera Grand Rapids: $1,378,000 · Arts & CultureGRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC MUSEUM FOUNDATION: $202,500 · Arts & Culture+4 more: $145,000 · Arts & Culture
Other$13,299,070Education$3,519,100Health$3,317,246Human Services$3,062,519Animals$3,010,000Philanthropy$2,000,000Arts & Culture$1,725,500

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetMEL TROTTER MINISTRIES: $3,125,000 over 5y, 5.3% of budgetJOHN BALL ZOO: $3,010,000 over 5y, 5.0% of budgetGRAND ACTION FOUNDATION 20: $2,000,000 over 2y, 33% of budgetPINE REST CHRISTIAN MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES: $2,000,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetOpera Grand Rapids: $1,378,000 over 5y, 39% of budgetWEDGWOOD CHRISTIAN SERVICES: $1,185,000 over 4y, 4.3% of budgetHOPE COLLEGE: $1,075,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetADA CHRISTIAN SCHOOL EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $1,045,000 over 4y, 86% of budgetSPECIAL OLYMPICS MICHIGAN INC: $1,000,000 over 3y, 4.0% of budgetGRAND RAPIDS COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $772,500 over 3y, 6.0% of budgetMARY FREE BED REHABILITATION HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $666,666 over 2y, 4.1% of budgetGRAND RAPIDS NEHEMIAH PROJECT: $550,000 over 2y, 6.9% of budgetThe Young Men's Christian Association of Greater Grand Rapids (3019): $489,769 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetICCF COMMUNITY HOMES: $480,000 over 4y, 1.6% of budgetGRAND RAPIDS CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS: $410,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetCornerstone University: $400,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $365,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetHAND2HAND: $315,000 over 2y, 9.2% of budgetRENEW THERAPEUTIC RIDING CENTER: $280,000 over 3y, 18% of budgetVAN ANDEL RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $278,680 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetBLANDFORD NATURE CENTER: $270,000 over 5y, 2.5% of budgetUS Chamber of Commerce Foundation: $250,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetKIDS' FOOD BASKET INC: $240,000 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetGRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC MUSEUM FOUNDATION: $202,500 over 5y, 3.5% of budgetThe Potters House: $200,100 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetActon Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty: $160,500 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetGIRL SCOUTS OF MICHIGAN SHORE TO SHORE: $160,000 over 2y, 3.9% of budgetAFRICAN-AMERICAN HEALTH INSTITUTE: $142,500 over 3y, 4.2% of budgetGILDA'S CLUB GRAND RAPIDS: $140,000 over 4y, 2.0% of budgetCHILDREN'S HEALING CENTER: $128,500 over 2y, 3.3% of budgetWomen's Resource Center: $125,000 over 5y, 4.1% of budgetGreater Grand Rapids Chamber Foundation: $108,000 over 3y, 6.2% of budgetAYA YOUTH COLLECTIVE: $104,000 over 2y, 2.3% of budgetFANS OF VALLEY FIELD: $100,000 over 1y, 45% of budgetWEST MICHIGAN SPORTS COMMISSION: $100,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetMAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF MICHIGAN: $80,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetNEW CITY NEIGHBORS: $73,000 over 3y, 4.3% of budgetHOME REPAIR SERVICES OF KENT COUNTY INC: $68,500 over 4y, 1.7% of budgetPINE REST FOUNDATION: $60,500 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetBAXTER COMMUNITY CENTER: $55,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetWEST MICHIGAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY INC DBA FREDERIK MEIJER GARDENS: $51,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetGRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC MUSEUM: $50,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetSENIOR NEIGHBORS INC: $50,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetKENT COUNTY PARKS FOUNDATION: $40,000 over 4y, 1.8% of budgetGrandville Avenue Arts and Humanities Inc: $40,000 over 3y, 1.7% of budgetCALVIN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY: $40,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetGUIDING LIGHT MISSION INC: $40,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetGRAND RAPIDS DOWNTOWN MARKET EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 4y, 1.4% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Grand Rapids Communit…Frey FoundationDouglas & Maria Devos…Peter C & Emajean Coo…Cdv5 FoundationDick and Betsy Devos …The Meijer FoundationSteve & Amy Van Andel…Daniel & Pamella Devo…The Wege FoundationHeart of West Michiga…The Community Foundat…
Grand Rapids Community FoundationMI103.7× affinity52 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Grand Rapids Community Foundation · Frey Foundation · Douglas & Maria Devos Foundation · Peter C & Emajean Cook Foundation · Cdv5 Foundation · Dick and Betsy Devos Family Foundation · The Meijer Foundation · Steve & Amy Van Andel Foundation · Daniel & Pamella Devos Foundation · The Wege Foundation · Heart of West Michigan United Way · The Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area Inc

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization The David and Carol Van Andel Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The David and Carol Van Andel Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%23%51%90%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    27report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
    typical government reliance, FY20–25
    How this is measured
    Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to The David and Carol Van Andel Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The David and Carol Van Andel Family Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

    Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 103 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

    How this is measured
    Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

    Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on David and Carol Van Andel Family’s filings →

    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
    grants reported with no recipient in the public record
    The regranting layer
    51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
    The DAF merry-go-round
    $9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
    The camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home