Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation

The Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation is a conservative foundation and grantmaking body formed in 1970. It is based in Grand Rapids, MI. It has assets worth over $96 million as of the end of 2011.

Richard DeVos is co-founder of Amway and served as the finance chair of the Republican National Committee. Helen DeVos is a Christian Republican activist who gives via the foundation and individually to heavy hitters in the Republican Party like George W. Bush and Rick Santorum. In 2011, Richard DeVos donated $250,000 to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's recall campaign. The foundation funds pro-education privatization, Christian, and politically conservative groups on anti-union and pro-school voucher issues. In 2011 alone, the foundation gave $3 million to Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group created and funded by the Koch Brothers, in addition to $2.5 million to DonorsTrust from 2009 to 2010.

Political Giving

 * Americans for Prosperity, a right-wing group backed by the Koch Brothers received $3 million in 2011 alone.
 * Heritage Foundation, a leader in the right wing movement, has received $6 million from 2009-2011
 * American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, has been given $515,000 from 2009-2011
 * DonorsTrust received $2.5 million from 2009-2010
 * Intercollegiate Studies Institute, a group seeking to inspire college students to embrace free market principles, received $4 million from 2009 to 2011.
 * Mount Vernon Ladies Association of the Union, a private non-profit in charge of preserving Mount Vernon, received $2.5 million from 2010 to 2011.
 * National Constitution Center, a history organization seeking to expand Constitutional learning, received $5.42 million from 2009 to 2011.
 * Media Research Center, a conservative content analysis organization, received $1.1 million from 2009 to 2011.
 * Young America's Foundation, a conservative youth organization, received $6 million from 2009 to 2011
 * FreedomWorks, a group closely connected with the Tea Party movement, has been given $600,000 from 2009 to 2011.

Heritage Foundation's "DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society"
In 2004, the Heritage Foundation, a right wing think tank, was given a grant from the foundation, and created the DeVos Center for Religion and Society. According to the Center's website:


 * "The Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society examines the role that religion, family, and community plan in society and public policy. America's Founders understood that family is part of the foundation of a free society, and that religious freedom is the first freedom and an important guarantor of a just society."

The website adds:
 * "We seek to convey the indispensable role of family and religion in our American order and in our conservative philosophy."

Ryan T. Anderson, the William E. Simon Fellow at the Center for Religion and Civil Society, wrote an opinion piece for the New York Daily News in May 2013 that claimed same-sex marriage, if accepted nationwide, would be "based on a lie." Anderson continued his piece by saying:


 * "Their victory would leave marriage with no essential features, no fixed core as a social reality. And if marriage has no form and serves no essential purpose, how would society protect the needs of children -- the prime victims of our nonmarital sexual culture -- without government growing more intrusive and more expensive."

The Center's research includes the impact of religion on social stability, cost of Medicaid, demographics of enlisted troops and officers in the U.S. military, the effects of labor unions, and family religious practice.

Religious Giving

 * Alliance for Children Everywhere, which does Christian charity work, has received around $1.2 million from 2009-2011
 * Prison Fellowship Ministries, founded by former Watergate criminal Chuck Colson, has received millions in recent years
 * Haggai Institute, a group dedicated to Christian missionary work, received $1.25 million between 2009 and 2011.
 * Holland Home, a Christian senior services home, received $1.7 million between 2009 and 2011.
 * LaGrave Avenue Christian Reformed Church, located in Grand Rapids, received $687,050 between 2009 and 2011.
 * Luis Palau Evangelistic Association, a Christian missionary group, received $1.5 million between 2009 and 2011.
 * Madison Square Christian Reformed Church received almost $1.4 million between 2009 and 2011
 * Partners Worldwide received just over $1.8 million from 2009 to 2011
 * Western Theological Seminary received just over $1.3 million from 2009 to 2011
 * Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian group that promotes repressive roles for women in addition to anti-abortion and anti-gay rights stances, has received $1.3 million between 2009-2011.

Educational Giving

 * The Scripps Research Institute (Florida)
 * The Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation was in part responsible for funding the creation of the Sport Business Management Program at the University of Central Florida, giving a grant of $225,000 in 2011.
 * Grand Rapids Christian School Association received $5.6 million from 2009 to 2011
 * Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary combine have received around $8.5 million from 2009 to 2011
 * Grand Valley State University has received $5 million from 2009-2011
 * Norwood University has received $6 million from 2009-2011
 * Michigan State University College of Human Medicine received $4.5 million between 2009 and 2011.
 * The Potter's House, a Christian school in Grand Rapids, received $1.1 million from 2009 to 2011
 * Rehoboth Christian School Association received just over $3.4 million from 2009 to 2011
 * Trinity Christian College received just over $3.7 million from 2010 to 2011.
 * Zuni Christian Mission School received just over $2.2 million from 2009 to 2011.

Other Organizations Funded

 * Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty
 * Alliance for Children Everywhere
 * Americans for Prosperity
 * American Enterprise Institute
 * Alliance Defense Fund
 * American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
 * Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies
 * Foundation for Traditional Values
 * FreedomWorks Foundation
 * Free Congress Foundation
 * Heritage Foundation
 * Mackinac Center for Public Policy
 * National Constitution Center


 * Spectrum Health Foundation
 * Prison Fellowship Ministries

External Resources

 * Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation
 * 2011 Form 990
 * 2010 Form 990
 * 2009 Form 990