FundersMichigan

The Zondervan Foundation

Rockford, MI · EIN 38-2411884. Reported 60 grants totalling $1,228,621 to 34 organizations across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$10,000median grant
$1,228,621granted, 2021-2024
34organizations funded
47%of grantees funded again the next year
$6,417,967assets, latest filing

Does this foundation accept applications?

Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. The Zondervan Foundation did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.

This is the foundation's own statement to the IRS, not our judgement, and it says nothing about whether they have a form, a deadline, or an appetite for new grantees. Treat it as the reason this foundation is worth your research time, not as an invitation. Many small foundations of this kind have no website and no application process -- a letter of inquiry is the normal first step.

How big are its grants?

The median grant is $10,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $8,000 and $17,000; the smallest was $3,000 and the largest $140,313. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

$1,000 - $5,000
3 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
14 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
33 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
6 grants
$100,000 and Up
4 grants

Every organization it funded

This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which the organization received money -- more than one means a real relationship rather than a one-off.

OrganizationLocationTotal receivedGrantsYears fundedLast
Calvin Theological Seminary Calvin Theological SeminaryGrand Rapids, MI$543,626442024
Hatian Americans Friendship Fnd Hatian Americans Friendship FndN Fort Meyers, FL$55,000332024
Potters House Potters HouseGrand Rapids, MI$51,423332023
Exalta Health Exalta HealthGrand Rapids, MI$51,000332024
Jubilee Centers International Jubilee Centers InternationalGrand Rapids, MI$45,222322023
Davids House Davids HouseGrand Rapids, MI$42,000222023
Daffodil Ministries Daffodil MinistriesWyoming, MI$34,150222024
Living Stones Academy Living Stones AcademyGrand Rapids, MI$32,700332024
Oasis of Hope Oasis of HopeGrand Rapids, MI$28,000442024
Words of Hope Words of HopeGrand Rapids, MI$27,000222024
International Christian Comm Devel International Christian Comm DevelMcbain, MI$25,500332024
Graces Table Graces TableGrand Rapids, MI$25,000112022
Safe Haven Ministries Safe Haven MinistriesGrand Rapids, MI$25,000112021
Servants Center Servants CenterGrand Rapids, MI$22,500222024
Acts Honduras Acts HondurasNorwich, VT$21,000222024
Family Promise Family PromiseGrand Rapids, MI$20,000112021
Hope Unexpected Hope UnexpectedByron Center, MI$20,000222024
Reach the Forgotten Jail Ministry Reach the Forgotten Jail MinistryGrand Rapids, MI$20,000222023
Guiding Light Mission Guiding Light MissionGrand Rapids, MI$15,200112024
Lakeshore Lifeworks Lakeshore LifeworksHolland, MI$12,000112021
Good Neighbor Health Clinic Good Neighbor Health ClinicWhite River Junction, VT$10,000112021
Haiti Medical Mission of Wisconsin Haiti Medical Mission of WisconsinMadison, WI$10,000112024
Kalamazoo Valley Gleaners Kalamazoo Valley GleanersKalamazoo, MI$10,000112023
The Christian & Missionary Alliance the Christian & Missionary AllianceColorado Springs, CO$10,000112021
Georgetown Harmony Homes Georgetown Harmony HomesJenison, MI$9,900112022
Every Generation Ministries Every Generation MinstriesTemecula, CA$8,000112024
Hockey Ministries International Hockey Ministries InternationalChicago, IL$8,000112023
Leelanau Christian Neighbors Leelanau Christian NeighborsLake Leelanau, MI$8,000222024
Sanctuary Claremont Sanctuary ClaremontClaremont, CA$7,900112022
Every Generation Ministry Every Generation MinistryTemecula, CA$7,500112021
Arocha USA Inc Arocha USA IncWheaton, IL$6,000112021
Cultural Capital Haiti Cultural Capital HaitiPortland, OR$6,000112023
Love in Action Love in ActionGrand Haven, MI$6,000112023
Newcomers Access Center Newcomers Access CenterClaremont, CA$5,000112022

16 of 34 (47%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold.

Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 47%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. A high number means its list is close to settled and a newcomer has to displace someone; a low one means it is still moving money around, which is where an opening is.

What the money was for

Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.

What kind of organizations it funds

By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 29 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.

Education
10 grants
Human Services
5 grants
International Affairs
4 grants
Health Care
4 grants
Housing & Shelter
2 grants
Arts & Culture
2 grants
Religion
2 grants

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202115$314,535$10,222
202214$286,945$10,397
202316$296,278$10,000
202415$330,863$12,000

Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.

Where its money goes

Foundations concentrate geographically far more than their mission statements suggest. 87% of this one's giving went to organizations in Michigan. If you are outside its footprint, that matters more than how well your programme fits.

Michigan
$1.1M
Florida
$55K
Vermont
$31K
California
$28K
Illinois
$14K
Wisconsin
$10K
Colorado
$10K
Oregon
$6K

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Funders that support the same organizations

These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are the strongest available signal that two funders have overlapping priorities, and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.

Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund11 shared recipientsNatl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc10 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc9 shared recipientsPeter C & Emajean Cook Foundation7 shared recipientsGrand Rapids Community Foundation6 shared recipientsAmerican Endowment Foundation6 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $10,000. Asking for ten times that is the most common way small organizations waste a submission.
  2. Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Michigan.
  3. Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
  4. Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.

Related guides

Foundations funding education in MichiganEvery funder in this group, ranked

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from The Zondervan Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Nothing here is scraped, inferred, or estimated.

Address of record on the latest return: 7140 Camino Del Rey Dr Ne, Rockford, MI, 49341. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.

EIN 38-2411884 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this

This is history, not an open call. Foundation returns are published about a year after the tax year ends. Nothing on this page is a deadline. It is a record of who this foundation has actually funded, which is the best available predictor of who it will fund next -- and a much better basis for deciding whether to write to them than a mission statement.

Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email [email protected] and we will correct it.