Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation to end after 54 years

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation is ending its work after 54 years.

The foundation said it supported more than 1,000 nonprofit organizations in the arts, economic development, education, faith and health care.

“From the beginning of their lives together, Mom and Dad were motivated to give by their Christian faith, and that faith was always the foundation of their giving,” daughter Cheri DeVos said in a news release. “They also had an overwhelming belief in the potential of all people, and their desire to partner with others has left a lasting positive impact, especially in their hometown.”

Rich and Helen DeVos are credited with $1.1 billion in financial philanthropic support over their lifetimes, with much of it given in Grand Rapids and West Michigan.

“They wanted people in their home community to have all they might need right here,” son Dick DeVos said in a news release. “That was a key driver of their health care giving, the desire for those who needed care to not have to travel elsewhere. They knew people would do better closer to family and home.”

In an interview with News 8, he highlighted his parents’ “intangible” impact, which he described as “the example they set for the community and the way that they encouraged and sometimes challenged others to step up and be generous, too.”

“That has made an enormous difference here in West Michigan,” he said.

The foundation said its work will be carried on by many others, including the foundations created by Helen and Rich DeVos’ children.

“It really was my parents’ desire. They wanted to wrap things up but not to stop things,” Dick DeVos said. “What they wanted to do is pass it to the next generation.”

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