Skip to content

Michigan · Private foundation

Ws & Lois Vandalson Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$707k
Granted FY2025(still arriving)
28
Grants FY2025
28
Organizations funded FY2024
29%
First-time grantees FY2024
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2025
$20,000
Largest grant, FY2025
$150,000
Organizations funded a year
23 to 32
FY2020 to FY2024
States reached, FY2025
1
Total assets, FY2025
$12M
Applications
Preselected organizations only
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2024, 29% of the organizations Ws & Lois Vandalson Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 21% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 79% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $139k went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesHealthHousing & ShelterEducationYouth 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
FY2025still arriving26$652k15%
FY202428$669k29%
FY202332$633k25%
FY202224$690k13%
FY202125$710k44%
FY202023$480kn/a
99% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.

Human Services$1.1MEducation$773kFood & Nutrition$569kHealth$476kYouth Development$366kRecreation & Sports$155kCommunity Improvement$123kArts & Culture$91kOther$0

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2020 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

Show all 41 grantees
All grantees of Ws & Lois Vandalson Foundation by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Kalamazoo Loaves & Fishes Inc$324,25061%
Kalamazoo College$255,00040%
Family & Children Services Inc$240,00060%
Ministry With Community Inc$220,00062%
Communities in Schools of Kalamazoo$180,00061%
Cheff Therapeutic Riding Center$175,000510%
Kalamazoo Valley Community College Foundation$150,00012%
Boys & Girls Clubs of Kalamazoo Inc$141,25032%
Comstock Community Center Inc$110,00061%
The Disability Network$80,00041%
Kalamazoo Nonprofit Advocacy Coalition$67,50043%
Kalamazoo Literacy Council$55,00061%
Douglass Community Association$52,00043%
Hispanic American Council Inc$50,00041%
First Congregational Church of Kalamazoo$40,0002n/a
Disability Network Southwest Michigan$40,00021%
Gryphon Place$30,00010%
Pretty Lake Vacation Camp Inc$30,00061%
Ecumenical Senior Center Inc$30,00012%
Kairos Dwelling$30,00062%
American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches$28,75010%
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts$25,00010%
Kalamazoo Valley Habitat for Humanity Inc$25,00050%
Western Michigan University Foundation$23,00030%
Lift Foundation$15,00011%
Aacorn Farm Inc$12,50051%
Sherman Lake YMCA Outdoor Center$12,50030%
New Genesis Inc$10,00011%
Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo$10,00011%
First Day Shoe Fund$10,00011%
Prevention Works Inc$8,75020%
Michigan Advocacy Program$8,0001n/a
Allegan Homeless Solutions$7,50024%
Michigan Colleges Alliance$7,50020%
Open Doors Kalamazoo$5,00010%
Kalamazoo Youth Development Network$5,00011%
Public Media Network$5,00010%
Can-Do Kalamazoo$5,00012%
Hospital Hospitality House of Southwest Michigan Inc$5,00011%
Lending Hands of Michigan Inc$5,00014%
Grand Valley State University$3,0001n/a

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 16 recipients with no EIN on record ($1.3M), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

Each grantee by its size and the share of its budget Ws & Lois Vandalson Foundation supplied at peak.

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetKalamazoo Loaves & Fishes Inc: $324,250 over 6y, 0.9% of budgetKalamazoo College: $255,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetFamily & Children Services Inc: $240,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetMinistry With Community Inc: $220,000 over 6y, 2.3% of budgetCommunities in Schools of Kalamazoo: $180,000 over 6y, 0.9% of budgetCheff Therapeutic Riding Center: $175,000 over 5y, 9.7% of budgetKalamazoo Valley Community College Foundation: $150,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetBoys & Girls Clubs of Kalamazoo Inc: $141,250 over 3y, 2.1% of budgetComstock Community Center Inc: $110,000 over 6y, 1.2% of budgetThe Disability Network: $80,000 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetKalamazoo Nonprofit Advocacy Coalition: $67,500 over 4y, 3.5% of budgetKalamazoo Literacy Council: $55,000 over 6y, 1.3% of budgetDouglass Community Association: $52,000 over 4y, 3.0% of budgetHispanic American Council Inc: $50,000 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetDisability Network Southwest Michigan: $40,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetGryphon Place: $30,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetPretty Lake Vacation Camp Inc: $30,000 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetEcumenical Senior Center Inc: $30,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetKairos Dwelling: $30,000 over 6y, 1.7% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $28,750 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKalamazoo Institute of Arts: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetKalamazoo Valley Habitat for Humanity Inc: $25,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetWestern Michigan University Foundation: $23,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLift Foundation: $15,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetAacorn Farm Inc: $12,500 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetSherman Lake YMCA Outdoor Center: $12,500 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetNew Genesis Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetArts Council of Greater Kalamazoo: $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetFirst Day Shoe Fund: $10,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetPrevention Works Inc: $8,750 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetAllegan Homeless Solutions: $7,500 over 2y, 4.0% of budgetMichigan Colleges Alliance: $7,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetOpen Doors Kalamazoo: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetKalamazoo Youth Development Network: $5,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetPublic Media Network: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCan-Do Kalamazoo: $5,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetHospital Hospitality House of Southwest Michigan Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetLending Hands of Michigan Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 3.8% 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 38.

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.

Kalamazoo Community FoundationMI72.6× affinity33 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Kalamazoo Community Foundation · Harold and Grace Upjohn Foundation · Dorothy U Dalton Foundation Inc · Irving S Gilmore Foundation · Tyler-Little Family Foundation · United Way of South Central Michigan · Marvin and Rosalie Okun Foundation · The Ronda E Stryker and William D Johnston Foundation · The Burdick-Thorne Foundation · Suzanne Upjohn Delano Parish Foundation · WK Kellogg Foundation · John E Fetzer Institute 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.

Compare Ws & Lois Vandalson Foundation with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Ws & Lois Vandalson Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Ws & Lois Vandalson 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 Ws & Lois Vandalson Foundation

How much does Ws & Lois Vandalson Foundation give?
Ws & Lois Vandalson Foundation reported 28 grants totaling $707,000 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 23 and 32 organizations a year over FY2020 to FY2024.
What does Ws & Lois Vandalson Foundation fund?
By grant dollars over FY2020 to FY2025, its largest causes are Human Services (27%), Education (19%), Food & Nutrition (14%).
Who are Ws & Lois Vandalson Foundation's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2020 to FY2025: Kalamazoo Loaves & Fishes Inc ($324k), Kalamazoo College ($255k), Family & Children Services Inc ($240k).
Does Ws & Lois Vandalson Foundation fund new organizations?
In FY2024, 29% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does Ws & Lois Vandalson Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
Which funders back the same organizations as Ws & Lois Vandalson Foundation?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Kalamazoo Community Foundation, Harold and Grace Upjohn Foundation, Dorothy U Dalton Foundation Inc.
Where is Ws & Lois Vandalson Foundation based?
Ws & Lois Vandalson 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 59 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Ws & Lois Vandalson’s filings →

More from the funding graph