May 16, 2010 | Read Time: 1 minute
How much: $22.5-million pledge
Who got it: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Who gave it: Betsy and Dick DeVos, who founded the Windquest Group, a privately held investment-management firm, in Grand Rapids, Mich. Mr. DeVos is a retired president of Alticor, the umbrella company of the Amway Corporation, which was co-founded by his father, Richard DeVos.
Purpose: Of the total, $20-million will endow the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the Kennedy Center. The rest will support the institute’s operating costs.
How it happened: Mrs. DeVos, who just wrapped up a six-year term on the center’s Board of Trustees, and her husband wanted to ensure that the arts management-training programs the institute offers will continue to expand and reach more people throughout the country.
“We hope that thousands and thousands of arts managers will become highly effective managers of their organizations and that new ones that haven’t even thought about going into arts management will think about it,” said Mrs. DeVos.
To see details about other big gifts made in recent weeks, go to our database.
