Category: Philanthropy

Dick DeVos has an excellent sense of history.

 

He looked toward Detroit and saw the damage done to the great city’s center when such ambitious public space projects as the Palace of Auburn Hills and the Pontiac Silverdome got pulled to the suburbs.

 

He was determined to see that the same thing didn’t happen in his beloved Grand Rapids. When a new convention and sports facility was slated for real estate development outside of the city’s downtown, he saw the possibility of Detroit happening all over again. So he got on the phone.

 

He was a top business leader and would be the eventual CEO of his family’s Amway Corporation, so it was a certainty that his calls to his powerful peers would be returned.

 

He spearheaded the group of local business and civic leaders into Grand Action. The new group exerted their collective muscle to get the complex built downtown, and that was just the start.

 

Grand Action got a lot done in short order. It took collective action that led to the construction of such ambitious downtown projects as DeVos Place Convention Center, Andel Arena, Grand Rapids City Market, and Michigan State University – College of Human Medicine, among many others that raised the city’s profile, boosted its national reputation and granted it a new sense of dynamism.

 

This is only one facet of the commitment Dick and Betsy DeVos have shown for their entire working lives. For instance, Betsy DeVos became such a symbol of educational excellence for all children that it resulted in her appointment as the current Secretary of Education.

 

That reputation was built, in part, on the DeVos’s founding of the tuition-free West Michigan Aviation Academy. The innovative charter school reflects Dick Devos’s passion for flying and Betsy DeVos’s commitment to the delivery of a quality education for all.

 

The couple is also well known for their advocacy of arts and culture, healthcare and other charitable and civic causes of critical importance to the region and its people.

They don’t just lead the charge for positive change; they also fund it. Well beyond their founding of the innovative school, the couple also established their family foundation from which, to date, they’ve donated around $140 million to a variety of worthwhile causes.

 

One example, also in the area of quality education, is their start-up of the Education Freedom Fund. Today, it finances private school tuition for thousands of underprivileged students.

 

Dick DeVos’s push was instrumental in getting millions of dollars worth of improvements made to the city’s Gerald R. Ford International Airport and luring Southwest Airlines to expand air routes from Grand Rapids.

 

In recognition of his interest and accomplishments in commercial air travel, Dick DeVos has been appointed to the Management Advisory Council. This civic commission works to help set the strategic direction for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

 

In this era of financial challenges to cities, it’s easy to see Grand Rapids Michigan and the surrounding region in an entirely different light if not for the dedication, civic leadership and financial generosity of Dick and Betsy DeVos.

 

To learn more, visit http://www.dbdvfoundation.org/.

Dick DeVos is an American national best known for his role in helping reform the education sector of the United States. Above all, Dick is renowned for being a wealthy businessman, who has a vested interest in matters philanthropy concentrating mainly on leadership, politics, art, and culture. As the devoted husband to Betsy DeVos, the power couple have gone ahead to have four lovely children of which they adore. When Dick puts his mind on something, he goes full throttle. Although Dick DeVos was born from a wealthy family, he has always had the passion for working hard just like any other ordinary person.

 

 

At the moment, Dick DeVos actively performs as the President of The Windquest Group, a corporation he joined in 2002. Other institutions that Dick currently works for include the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Spectrum Health System, RDV Corporation, Willow Creek Association, Grand Action Committee, and the West Michigan Aviation Academy that Dick founded in 2010. Before attending to any of the above corporations, Mr. DeVos was once an active member of the duty roster of companies like the Amway (family owned business), the Health Care Foundation, Regional Air Alliance of West Michigan, The Thunderbird School of International Management, Orlando Magic, and Amway International.

 

 

In 2006, Dick DeVos tried his luck in being the Governor of Michigan, but unfortunately, life had other plans for the billionaire. At one point in time, Dick was also a member of the Michigan State Board of Education, the Grand Valley State University Board of Control, the Education Freedom Fund, and the “Kids First! Yes!” campaign committee. As an active philanthropist, Dick DeVos in partnership with his wife Betsy has created what is now known as the Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation where Mr. Dick headlines as President. Taking hold of different roles and responsibilities, Dick DeVos has been passionate about delivering quality and value in all the positions that he has so graciously held over the years.

 

 

Even at 62 years of age, Dick DeVos is as energetic and resilient as ever. In his role as President of The Windquest Group, Dick has helped the company venture forth into manufacturing and technology. As President, Dick DeVos has significantly advocated for the use alternative energy since it one of the simplest ways of realizing a sustainable environment. By exploiting alternative energy and all its parameters, Dick DeVos has been able to make The Windquest Group more profitable due to a reduction in manufacturing expenses.

 

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I am a highly successful businessman and philanthropist based in Michigan. Betsy DeVos, the eleventh US Secretary of Education, is my wife. I have had the pleasure of holding numerous executive positions in highly successful companies. I am the president of the Windquest Group, an investment services company established in 1989 in Michigan with interests in biotechnology, hospitality, manufacturing, and hospitality among others.

 

 

I have also served as the CEO and President of the famous basketball franchise, Orlando Magic. I am the founding Chairman of the West Michigan Aviation Academy, the first public charter flying school. I also work as the vice chairman of Willow Creek Association, a Christian ministry dedicated to the development of world-class leadership globally. I have served as the President of Amway Corporation, a consumer goods retailer and e-commerce firm based in Michigan.

 

 

My support for needy causes far outweighs my political donations. This is why I decided to be transparent and disclose my funding activities towards worthy charities. I hope this encourages others to join us to improve the lives of the needy and foster stronger leadership and education. Through our family foundation, the Dick and Betsy DeVos Family Foundation, we spent more than $11 million in 2015 alone.

 

 

Over $3 million went to support educational causes. My family is dedicated to improving the quality of education American children receive. Let me point out that our donations help people directly as opposed to advancing political ideologies. I also support the arts community worldwide. I spent over $22 million to establish the DeVos Institute of Arts Management. Additionally, I donated more than $2 million to arts and culture causes in 2015.

 

 

For a long time, I have supported Christian charities serving the underprivileged and promoting responsible leadership. In 2013, I helped the Willow Creek global leadership summit with $1 million. In the same year, our total contributions crossed the $90 million mark. This number rose to over $94 million in 2014.

 

 

Other causes that enjoy our support include civic causes, leadership, and development, public policy, health, and churches. I have a strong focus on development projects in Michigan. Some of the organizations I continue to support Grand Valley State University, Hope College, and Spectrum Hospital Health Foundation.

 

 

Besides financial donations, I also spend time on the boards of numerous charitable organizations and facilitate consultations on much more. I am an active civic leader and published author. My book, “Rediscovering American Values,” was released in 1998 and went on to become a bestseller. I am also committed to mobilizing other like-minded individuals who share our values and our desire to develop the great state of Michigan. This multiplier strategy is extraordinarily resourceful in establishing a framework that ensures sustainable giving.