Many philanthropic organizations disclose which entities receive financial support from them. Betsy DeVos shares this information on her family’s foundation website. During her vetting process for work inside the federal government, politicians scrutinized her choices.
The website shared the names of the organizations that received funding as well as the dollar amount. Many of the recipients were schools because it is one area Betsy has strong feelings for.
Her husband is Dick DeVos, and their foundation donated money to the university he graduated from. Another university in Michigan also received a sizable donation, but it was not nearly as much as Mr. DeVos’ alma mater received.
A favorite charity of Betsy DeVos is Potter’s House, and the school located in Wyoming received just over $300,000. The site also disclosed that a private school in New Mexico received a small donation.
A specialty college that focuses on the arts garnered $50,000. It is located in Grand Rapids, which is where Betsy DeVos resides.
There are some individuals and organizations that questioned her contributions. Politicians in the Democratic Party believed that her actions showed how one-sided she was, and they questioned if all of the institutions were philanthropic. In their eyes, some of them appeared to be for-profit operations.
Betsy DeVos answered the critics by stating that her family’s donations met the standards of charity. The schools and universities met the predetermined criteria to be labeled as nonprofits. Betsy went on to note that she supported groups that served children and people. Her goal was to get the money to the places where it could have the most impact.
Not all of the donations were financial either. In one instance, the foundation purchased an airplane for a charter school. Dick DeVos started this high school, and it teaches young people the art of flying as well as the technical and mechanical skills that go along with it.
To learn more, visit www.betsydevos.com.