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Michigan · Private foundation

The Wege Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$19M
Granted FY2023
110
Itemized grants FY2023
92
Organizations funded FY2023
17%
First-time grantees FY2023
Read the full brief
Itemized, FY2023
$7.2M
The rest is grants the schedule does not break out
Median grant, FY2023
$50,000
Largest grant, FY2023
$281,250
Organizations funded a year
58 to 217
FY2020 to FY2023
States reached, FY2023
12
Total assets, FY2023
$268M
Applications
Takes unsolicited applications
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2023, 17% of the organizations The Wege Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 8% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 92% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $589k went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23
Arts & CultureEducationHuman ServicesEnvironmentYouth DevelopmentCommunity ImprovementOther
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.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY202392$7.1M17%
FY202258$16M16%
FY2021200$23M39%
FY2020217$12Mn/a
98% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Arts & Culture$16MEducation$10MEnvironment$5.6MHealth$2.4MHuman Services$2.2MHousing & Shelter$2.0MCommunity Improvement$1.7MCivil Rights$1.7MOther$0

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2020 to FY2023, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

Show all 272 grantees
All grantees of The Wege Foundation by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Grand Rapids Art Museum$15,306,070484%
Guanacaste Dry Forest Conservation Fund$4,873,500451%
National Parks Conservation Association$1,775,00042%
Maharishi International University$1,295,49931%
Aquinas College$1,089,58331%
Grand Valley State University$1,086,0844n/a
Environmental Law and Policy Center of the Midwest$927,50043%
Al Jazari Institute$745,282320%
Michigan League of Conservation Voters Education Fund$712,500417%
We Oppose Violence Everywhere Now, Inc.$650,000179%
Disability Advocates of Kent County$628,00046%
Williams College$585,00030%
Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital$583,33140%
St Dominic Savio Academy Inc Dba Story Autism Center$560,000215%
West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation$526,167434%
Grand Rapids Ballet$460,000125%
Ferris Foundation$445,00034%
Grand Rapids Community College Foundation$375,19032%
Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative$375,00031%
Grand Valley Metro Council$360,7954n/a
Iccf Community Homes$350,00031%
Grand Rapids Urban League$320,00045%
Aya Youth Collective$300,00039%
Start Garden Inc$300,00046%
Special Olympics Michigan Inc$300,00022%
Dwelling Place of Grand Rapids Nonprofit$296,48533%
Vedanta Institute of Midwest$290,000349%
Family Outreach Center$282,97042%
The Pathfinder School Inc$278,71137%
Grand Rapids Children's Museum$266,667310%
US Green Building Council West Michigan Chapter$261,000317%
Friends of Grand Rapids Parks$256,000319%
For Love of Water$250,000212%
Grandville Avenue Arts and Humanities Inc$243,000316%
Healthy Homes Coalition of West Michigan Inc$240,000316%
Neighborhood House$240,00032%
Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities Inc$231,00035%
Ellen Macarthur Foundation USA Inc$225,000223%
Ottawa County Parks Foundation Inc$225,00028%
Michigan Black Expo Inc$220,000226%
Grand Rapids Public Museum Foundation$219,99843%
West Michigan Environmental Action Council Educational Foundation$218,750221%
Mel Trotter Ministries$200,00021%
Fair Food Network Inc$200,00021%
K-Connect$200,000219%
Syracuse University$200,00010%
West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum$197,038331%
Project Green$193,851341%
National Cares Mentoring Movement Inc$185,00022%
Community Circle Theatre$185,000328%
Habitat for Humanity of Kent County Inc$184,00013%
Health Intervention Services$175,76034%
Grand Rapids Youth Commonwealth Inc$175,00043%
Family Promise of Grand Rapids$171,51132%
Grand Rapids Nehemiah Project$165,00025%
Senior Neighbors Inc$160,75031%
Havern Center Inc$160,00014%
The Beaver Country Day School Inc$160,00030%
United Methodist Community House$158,00032%
Well House$155,800222%
Artists in Residence in Everglades Inc$155,000436%
Ferris State University$153,3801n/a
Hispanic Center of Western Michigan Inc$151,00025%
African-American Health Institute$150,50035%
Family Futures$150,25024%
Land Conservancy of West Michigan$150,00036%
Local First Educational Foundation$150,000136%
Maharishi Purusha Program$145,31433%
American Civil Liberties Union Fund of Michigan$141,33421%
Linc Up Nonprofit Housing Corporation$140,00015%
American Rivers Inc$132,00020%
West Michigan Horticultural Society Inc Dba Frederik Meijer Gardens$131,46620%
Hope Gardens$130,000236%
Heart of West Michigan United Way$125,00011%
Grand Rapids Pride Center$125,000219%
Girls Growing II Women$120,5003100%
United Church Outreach Ministry$120,00035%
Ecology Center$120,00021%
Health Net of West Michigan$115,00031%
Steepletown Neighborhood Services Inc$112,64225%
West Michigan Trails & Greenways Coalition$110,000411%
EARTH University Foundation Inc$109,65021%
The Refugee Education Center$107,50024%
Michigan State University$106,1401n/a
West Michigan Center for Arts & Technology$101,00033%
Literacy Center of West Michigan$100,30024%
Shelburne Farms$100,00021%
Circle of Blue Inc$100,000221%
Ecology Center$100,00012%
Interlochen Center for the Arts$100,00020%
Nova Southeastern University Inc$100,00020%
Children's Assessment Center$100,00017%
Success Academy$100,00015%
New City Kids Inc$100,00021%
Thinktechact Foundation$100,0001n/a
Disart$100,000218%
Grand Rapids Civic Theatre Inc$98,50014%
Waterrising Institute$98,0002n/a
Stanley British Primary School$95,00020%
Gilda's Club Grand Rapids$90,50032%
Grand Rapids Initiative for Leaders$85,000315%
Jorge M Perez Art Museum of Miami-Dade County Inc$85,00020%
Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association$84,000221%
Ayni Institute Inc$83,00025%
City of Grand Rapids$83,0003n/a
Sierra Club Foundation$81,25010%
The Diatribe Inc$80,50036%
Girls Choral Academy$80,200314%
Grand Rapids Chapter National Black Nurses Association$80,000236%
Ecocenter Inc$80,00012%
Catherines Health Center$80,00021%
New World Symphony Inc$75,00020%
Michigan Advocacy Program$75,00020%
Together West Michigan Education Fund$75,000223%
Educate Tomorrow Corp$74,60032%
Museum of Contemporary Art Inc$73,00032%
Institute For Promotion Of Vediceducation And Culture Inc$72,000346%
Better Wiser Stronger Inc$70,500231%
Moka Corporation$70,33240%
Regents of the University of Michigan$69,0003n/a
CASA of Kent County Inc$65,80042%
San Juan Diego Academy$62,7501n/a
Ecliptic At Rosa Parks Circle Conservancy$62,50017%
Environmental Grantmakers Association$62,00021%
Blandford Nature Center$61,00012%
Opera Grand Rapids$60,00026%
Grand Rapids Media Initiative and Film Incubator$60,000191%
Society of the Third Street Music School Settlement$57,50030%
Northstar Collaborative Institute$57,0001n/a
The Young Men's Christian Association of Greater Grand Rapids (3019)$56,38810%
Grand Rapids Public Library Fndn$56,03316%
St Cecilia Music Center$56,00014%
Grand City Sports Inc$55,5002n/a
Lucky Bikes$54,000111%
Nia Centre$53,200341%
Creston Neighborhood Association$53,031121%
New York Live Arts Inc$52,50020%
The Logan School For Creative Learning$51,54720%
African Resource Center of West Michigan$50,190145%
Baxter Community Center$50,00012%
Michigan Nonprofit Association$50,00011%
The Cleveland Clinic Foundation$50,00010%
Hope Network$50,0001n/a
Feeding America West Michigan$50,00010%
Alzheimer's Disease & Related Disorders Association Inc$50,00020%
Samaritas Foundation$49,412178%
Allied Media Projects Inc$48,00010%
Cherry Street Services Inc$46,50010%
The Latin School of Chicago$45,00020%
Samaritas$42,50010%
Maharishi Foundation USA Inc$41,75210%
Lowell Area Schools Education Foundation$40,0001n/a
Detroit Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church$40,0001n/a
Lowell Area Schools$40,0001n/a
HomeStart Inc$40,00020%
Direction For Youth$35,0001n/a
Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota Inc$35,00021%
Cambridge Montessori School Inc$35,00011%
Build Inc$35,00030%
The Great Lakes Childrens Museum$35,00024%
Tall Turf Ministries$35,00026%
Great Lakes and St Lawrence Cities Initiative$33,12534%
Big Sky Community Organization$33,00020%
Heartside Ministry Inc$33,0001n/a
Latina Network of West Michigan$31,000212%
Covenant House Michigan$30,25020%
STEM Greenhouse Inc$30,250214%
Access of West Michigan$30,00012%
The Grand Rapids Red Project$30,00011%
Alliance for Environmental Sustainability$30,0001n/a
A Glimpse of Africa$30,00016%
University of Colorado Foundation$30,00010%
Greater Boston Food Bank Inc$30,00010%
The Second Step Inc$30,00012%
Sisters Need A Place - SNAP$30,000134%
Women's Resource Center$30,00012%
Compassionate Awareness Autism Center$30,0001n/a
Michigan Association of Conservation Districts$30,000111%
Northwestern University$30,00030%
Council of Michigan Foundations$30,00020%
Noorthoek Academy$30,000110%
Clean Water Fund$30,00010%
Masa Center$30,0001n/a
Larlen Communications Inc$29,700126%
Comprenew$28,00011%
American Indian College Fund$27,00030%
Hoap Inc$25,8001n/a
Immigration Law & Justice Michigan$25,00013%
Artists Creating Together$25,00016%
Lake Michigan Junior Golf Association$25,00022%
United States Catholic Conference$25,0001n/a
International Print Center New York$25,00012%
Hope Link of West Michigan$25,000135%
Pratt Institute$25,00010%
Greater Grand Rapids Chamber Foundation$25,00012%
The Edison Institute Inc$25,00010%
Evans Scholars Foundation$20,83310%
West Michigan Asian American Association Inc$20,50026%
The Harley School$20,00010%
Ronald McDonald House Charities Western Michigan$20,00011%
Institute of Contemporary Art Miami Inc$20,00010%
Colgate University$20,00010%
Positive Coaching Alliance$20,00020%
Kingdom Minded Ministries$20,0002n/a
Minnesota Council of Churches$20,0001n/a
Chicago Rowing Foundation$20,00021%
Hand2hand$20,00020%
Roosevelt Park Ministries Inc$20,00027%
St Marks Episcopal Church$17,5001n/a
Ipm Institute of North America Inc$17,30011%
The Other Way Ministries$17,00011%
Team Impact Inc$16,00010%
Van Andel Education Institute$16,00020%
Maharishi University of Enlightenment$15,00013%
Pope Francis Center$15,00010%
The Center for Cultural Power$15,00010%
Youth & Family Circle Inc$15,000126%
Detroit Zoological Society$15,00010%
City Life Church$15,0001n/a
American Friends of Jamaica Inc$12,50020%
Trout Unlimited Inc$12,50010%
Bard College$12,00020%
Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator$12,00011%
Guiding Light Mission Inc$10,50020%
The Healing Place Inc$10,00010%
Al-Amal School$10,00010%
The Fab Foundation$10,00010%
Alliance for Justice$10,00010%
Pearls of Hope Community Center$10,000112%
Eden Prairie Islamic Center$10,0001n/a
Down Syndrome Association of West Michigan Foundation$10,00013%
Pro Publica Inc$10,00010%
Michigan Tech Fund$10,00010%
Grand Rapids Womens Chorus$10,000212%
Center for Black Innovation Inc$10,00011%
Sakan Community Resources Inc$9,00013%
National Forum for Black Public Administrators Inc$7,50010%
Glix for the Arts$6,7501n/a
Broward Education Foundation Inc$6,00010%
Festival of the Arts in Grand Rapid$5,00012%
Big Blue & You Inc$5,0001n/a
New York Foundation for the Arts Inc$5,00020%
Vocel Viewing our Children as Emerging Leaders$5,0001n/a
Guitars Over Guns Organization Inc$5,00010%
Creative Arts Repertoire Ensemble$5,00012%
Fractured Atlas Inc$5,00010%
Wave Farm Inc$3,65011%
Artists Space Inc$3,65010%
Locust Projects Inc$3,00020%
Busy Bee Educational Enrichment Inc$3,0001n/a
Grand Rapids Community Arts$3,0001n/a
Grand Rapids Black Business League$3,0001n/a
Transformations by Austin Angels$2,50010%
Breakthrough Miami Inc$2,50010%
Prizm Projects Inc$2,50011%
Immaculate Conception Church$1,7002n/a
Friends of Zara's Center$1,50012%
Maharishi Global Admin Through Natural Law$1,50010%
Colorado Fusion Soccer Club Inc$1,10010%
American Fisheries Society$1,0001n/a
Grand Valley Artists Inc$1,0001n/a
Denver Public Schools Foundation$1,00010%
Wings Foundation Inc$1,00010%
Sisters of the Order of St Dominic of Grand Rapids$1,0002n/a
Saint Mary's Foundation$75020%
Exodus Transitional Community Inc$50010%
Immaculate Conception Church$5001n/a
Franciscan Life Center Network Incorporated$50010%
Kids' Food Basket Inc$25010%
Meals on Wheels Western Michigan$25010%
Alliance for the Great Lakes$25010%
Migrant Legal Aid Inc$20010%

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 48 recipients with no EIN on record ($5.1M), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

The Wege Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 24 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 200 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetGrand Rapids Art Museum: $15,306,070 over 4y, 84% of budgetGuanacaste Dry Forest Conservation Fund: $4,873,500 over 4y, 51% of budgetNational Parks Conservation Association: $1,775,000 over 4y, 2.1% of budgetMaharishi International University: $1,295,499 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetAquinas College: $1,089,583 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetEnvironmental Law and Policy Center of the Midwest: $927,500 over 4y, 3.0% of budgetAl Jazari Institute: $745,282 over 3y, 20% of budgetMichigan League of Conservation Voters Education Fund: $712,500 over 4y, 17% of budgetWe Oppose Violence Everywhere Now, Inc.: $650,000 over 1y, 79% of budgetDisability Advocates of Kent County: $628,000 over 4y, 6.3% of budgetWilliams College: $585,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetMary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital: $583,331 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetSt Dominic Savio Academy Inc Dba Story Autism Center: $560,000 over 2y, 15% of budgetWest Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation: $526,167 over 4y, 34% of budgetGrand Rapids Ballet: $460,000 over 1y, 25% of budgetFerris Foundation: $445,000 over 3y, 3.8% of budgetGrand Rapids Community College Foundation: $375,190 over 3y, 1.7% of budgetEarly Learning Neighborhood Collaborative: $375,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetIccf Community Homes: $350,000 over 3y, 1.4% of budgetGrand Rapids Urban League: $320,000 over 4y, 5.3% of budgetAya Youth Collective: $300,000 over 3y, 9.0% of budgetStart Garden Inc: $300,000 over 4y, 5.8% of budgetSpecial Olympics Michigan Inc: $300,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetDwelling Place of Grand Rapids Nonprofit: $296,485 over 3y, 3.0% of budgetVedanta Institute of Midwest: $290,000 over 3y, 49% of budgetFamily Outreach Center: $282,970 over 4y, 1.6% of budgetThe Pathfinder School Inc: $278,711 over 3y, 7.2% of budgetGrand Rapids Children's Museum: $266,667 over 3y, 10% of budgetUS Green Building Council West Michigan Chapter: $261,000 over 3y, 17% of budgetFriends of Grand Rapids Parks: $256,000 over 3y, 19% of budgetFor Love of Water: $250,000 over 2y, 12% of budgetGrandville Avenue Arts and Humanities Inc: $243,000 over 3y, 16% of budgetHealthy Homes Coalition of West Michigan Inc: $240,000 over 3y, 16% of budgetNeighborhood House: $240,000 over 3y, 1.6% of budgetGroundwork Center for Resilient Communities Inc: $231,000 over 3y, 4.8% of budgetEllen Macarthur Foundation USA Inc: $225,000 over 2y, 23% of budgetOttawa County Parks Foundation Inc: $225,000 over 2y, 8.3% of budgetMichigan Black Expo Inc: $220,000 over 2y, 26% of budgetGrand Rapids Public Museum Foundation: $219,998 over 4y, 3.5% of budgetWest Michigan Environmental Action Council Educational Foundation: $218,750 over 2y, 21% of budgetMel Trotter Ministries: $200,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetFair Food Network Inc: $200,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetK-Connect: $200,000 over 2y, 19% of budgetSyracuse University: $200,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWest Michigan Sustainable Business Forum: $197,038 over 3y, 31% of budgetProject Green: $193,851 over 3y, 41% of budgetNational Cares Mentoring Movement Inc: $185,000 over 2y, 2.1% of budgetCommunity Circle Theatre: $185,000 over 3y, 28% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 200.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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 Community FoundationMI193× affinity118 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 · Heart of West Michigan United Way · Douglas & Maria Devos Foundation · Corewell Health Group Return · Steelcase Foundation · Peter C & Emajean Cook Foundation · The Meijer Foundation · Cdv5 Foundation · The Mercantile Bank Foundation · Krw Foundation · Dick and Betsy Devos Family Foundation

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.

Compare The Wege Foundation with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The Wege Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Wege 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.

About The Wege Foundation

How much does The Wege Foundation give?
The Wege Foundation reported 110 itemized grants totaling $7,151,370, out of $18,919,488 in total grant expense reported on the return in its FY2023 IRS filing. It funded between 58 and 217 organizations a year over FY2020 to FY2023.
What does The Wege Foundation fund?
By grant dollars over FY2020 to FY2023, its largest causes are Arts & Culture (9%), Education (6%), Environment (3%).
Who are The Wege Foundation's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2020 to FY2023: Grand Rapids Art Museum ($15M), Guanacaste Dry Forest Conservation Fund ($4.9M), National Parks Conservation Association ($1.8M).
Does The Wege Foundation fund new organizations?
In FY2023, 17% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does The Wege Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it accepts unsolicited grant applications.
Which funders back the same organizations as The Wege Foundation?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Grand Rapids Community Foundation, Frey Foundation, Heart of West Michigan United Way.
Where is The Wege Foundation based?
The Wege Foundation is based in MI.

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 326 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 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2024) is on record and reports $22M of grant expense with no grantee named in the published copy. A private foundation itemizes every grant it makes, so a return carrying none has filed its list as an attachment that the public copy does not include. The figures above are therefore from FY2023, the most recent year this funder’s grantee list reached the public record.

Source object · view filing

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