The Steelcase Foundation is a grantmaking arm of furniture manufacturer Steelcase. It provides grants towards nonprofit groups in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area primarily focused on funding social programs and welfare initiatives. ¹

The Steelcase Foundation’s Investment in Families Initiative launched in 2024 and consists of providing “resources and holistic support” to mothers living in Kent County, Michigan over a ten-year period.  ²

Background

Founded in 1951, the Steelcase Foundation is the grantmaking arm of Steelcase, formerly  Metal Office Furniture Company, a furniture-manufacturing company based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. ³

The Steelcase Foundation provides grants to local nonprofit initiatives for the purpose of proving social services while advocating for government-funded programs. ^{4 5}

Programs

Investment in Families Initiative

The Investment in Families Initiative is a Steelcase Foundation program that payments of roughly $1,000 per month over a ten-year period to 30 mothers in Kent County, Michigan as a form of guaranteed basic income. The program also created savings accounts for the children of the recipients and hosted quarterly meetings with the mothers to discuss mental health and their personal goals. ⁶

The Investment in Families Initiative partnered with DataWise Consulting to review feedback from the meetings with the recipients and to develop guaranteed basic income public policy ideas based on the outcome of the initiative. It advocates for taxpayer-funded socialized income, and Steelcase Foundation president Daniel Williams states that the initiative will be used as a model for similar government-run programs. ⁷

Grantmaking

The Steelcase Foundation provides grants to left-of-center nonprofit organizations in Grand Rapids, Michigan as well as Athens, Alabama. ^{8 9}

Between 2014 and 2024, the Steelcase Foundation provided roughly 453, grants totaling $43 million, that were received by 220 nonprofit organizations. ¹⁰

In 2022, the Steelcase Foundation announced a three-year $600,000 grant for Leading Educators, a critical-race-theory aligned nonprofit organization that offers professional development programs for schools in Kent County, Michigan. The announcement claimed  that the grant was used to create an Equity in Literacy Fellowship that instructs teachers to instruct students on concepts of identity, culture, and equity for “greater systematic change.” ¹¹

In 2022, the Steelcase Foundation announced a five-year $500,000 grant for STEM Greenhouse to provide science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)-based field trips, college visit opportunities, and education programs at Innovation Central High School. ¹²

Leadership

Daniel Williams is the president and chief executive officer of the Steelcase Foundation. He previously worked as president and CEO of the West Michigan Center for Arts and Technology and as principal of Grand Rapids University Preparatory Academy. ¹³

Financials

In 2022, the Steelcase Foundation reported $2 million in total revenue and $12.1 million in total expenses, including $9.9 million in disbursements. ¹⁴

1. Matthiessen, Connie. “With a New Initiative, This Foundation Is Putting Its Own Spin on Guaranteed Basic Income.” Inside Philanthropy, September 5, 2024. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/with-a-new-initiative-this-foundation-is-putting-its-own-spin-on-guaranteed-basic-income.
2. “Investment in Families Initiative.” Steelcase Foundation, September 11, 2024. https://www.steelcasefoundation.org/investment-in-families-initiative/.
3. Matthiessen, Connie. “With a New Initiative, This Foundation Is Putting Its Own Spin on Guaranteed Basic Income.” Inside Philanthropy, September 5, 2024. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/with-a-new-initiative-this-foundation-is-putting-its-own-spin-on-guaranteed-basic-income.
4. “Systemic Change + Movement Building.” Steelcase Foundation, September 6, 2024. https://www.steelcasefoundation.org/systemic-change-movement-building/.
5. Matthiessen, Connie. “With a New Initiative, This Foundation Is Putting Its Own Spin on Guaranteed Basic Income.” Inside Philanthropy, September 5, 2024. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/with-a-new-initiative-this-foundation-is-putting-its-own-spin-on-guaranteed-basic-income
6. Matthiessen, Connie. “With a New Initiative, This Foundation Is Putting Its Own Spin on Guaranteed Basic Income.” Inside Philanthropy, September 5, 2024. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/with-a-new-initiative-this-foundation-is-putting-its-own-spin-on-guaranteed-basic-income.
7. “Investment in Families Initiative.” Steelcase Foundation, September 11, 2024. https://www.steelcasefoundation.org/investment-in-families-initiative/.
8. “Grants.” Steelcase Foundation, September 10, 2024. https://www.steelcasefoundation.org/grants/.
9. “Our Approach.” Steelcase Foundation, September 10, 2024. https://www.steelcasefoundation.org/our-approach/.
10. “Home.” Steelcase Foundation, September 11, 2024. https://www.steelcasefoundation.org/.
11.  “Leading Educators – Equity in Literacy Fellowship.” Steelcase Foundation, October 10, 2023. https://www.steelcasefoundation.org/2022-annual-report/leading-educators-equity-in-literacy-fellowship/.
12.  “Stem Greenhouse.” Steelcase Foundation, October 10, 2023. https://www.steelcasefoundation.org/2022-annual-report/stem-greenhouse-accessible-stem-education-for-high-schoolers/.
13. “Daniel Williams.” LinkedIn. Accessed September 16, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-williams-edd-b8021b156/.
14. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). Steelcase Foundation. 2022. Part I, Lines 12-26.