The Vivo Foundation is a left-of-center family foundation formed in 2021 by Medline Industries president Andy Mills and his wife Nancy. The foundation was funded with a $200 million bequest from Andy and Nancy Mills and focuses on funding “education equity” issues mostly in the Chicago area, making grants to dozens of schools, student programs, left-of-center advocacy groups, and universities.

The foundation also makes large grants to area hospitals, among the nation’s largest medical-supplies distributors. Other organizations funded by the foundation include the left-of-center groups Planned Parenthood of Illinois, the Chicago Foundation for Women, and the Waterkeeper Alliance. ^{1 2 3}

Background

The Vivo Foundation was founded in 2021 and described as a “new family foundation focused on education equity in Chicago and Lake County, IL.” The group’s website states that its work covers early childhood education, college preparation, workforce development, and violence prevention. Tax documents for the organization show that the foundation was founded by Medline Industries president Andy Mills and his wife, Nancy Mills. The Mills donated $200 million to start the foundation in 2020 and are the sole board members. ⁴

Andy Mills is the president of Medline Industries, a Northfield, Illinois-based company that makes medical masks, biohazard bags, hand sanitizer, surgical gowns, and drapes. The company supplies hundreds of hospitals and medical facilities across the United States. The company was founded by members of the Mills family in the 1960s and is still wholly owned by the family, which was valued at $3 billion by Forbes and in 2020 was profiled by Forbes as “The Billionaire Medical Family Supplying the Coronavirus Front Line.” Medline employs more than 15,000 people in offices worldwide and does $9 billion in annual sales. ^{5 6}

Andy Mills became president of Medline in 1997 after managing a product division and the marketing department for the company. He previously worked for Procter and Gamble. Andy Mills is a board member of the Leadership Advisory Council for the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare, NorthShore University HealthSystem in Chicago, North Suburban Healthcare Foundation, and the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. ⁷

In 2022, the foundation hired Mara Botman as executive director. She previously worked for the Circle of Service Foundation and has sat on the boards of Braven and Kids First Chicago. She earned $182,000 in compensation in 2022. ⁸

Grantmaking Activity

The Vivo Foundation reported $4.6 million of charitable disbursements in 2021 and $8.6 million in 2022 while maintaining approximately $200 million in assets. While the foundation’s stated focus is education, it has also given heavily to hospitals and left-of-center advocacy groups. ⁹

Organizations funded by the group include the Equal Justice Initiative, Advance Illinois, All Chicago, the American Heart Association, the Chicago Foundation for Women, College Bound Opportunities, Planned Parenthood Illinois, the University of Chicago, the Chicago State University, the Children First Fund, Illinois Action for Children, the Network for College Success, One Million Degrees, North Shore University Health System, Kids First Chicago, and the Latino Policy Forum. ^{10 11}

The two largest contributions from the foundation in 2021 and 2022 were $650,000 to the University of Chicago Education Lab and $600,000 to Illinois Action for Children. ¹²

1. Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). Vivo Foundation. 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/876329967/202333189349102408/full
2. “Vivo Foundation.” Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed March 28, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/876329967
3. Stoller, Kristin. “Meet the Billionaire Medical Family Supplying the Coronavirus Front Line.” Forbes. March 20, 2020. Accessed March 28, 2024. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristinstoller/2020/03/20/meet-the-billionaire-medical-family-supplying-the-coronavirus-front-line/?sh=3eff02871fe9
4. “Home.” Vivo Foundation. Accessed March 28, 2024. https://www.vivofdn.org/
5. Stoller, Kristin. “Meet The Billionaire Medical Family Supplying The Coronavirus Front Line.” Forbes. March 20, 2020. Accessed March 28, 2024. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristinstoller/2020/03/20/meet-the-billionaire-medical-family-supplying-the-coronavirus-front-line/?sh=3eff02871fe9
6. Zaleski, Andrew. “The Inclusive Executive.” Kellogg Magazine. Accessed March 28, 2024. https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/kwo/spr17/brave-thinkers/andy-mills.htm
7. “Andy Mills.” Medline Industries. Accessed March 28, 2024. https://www.medline.com/media/media-kit/greensmart/Andy-Mills-President-Biography.pdf
8. “Mara Botman.” The Chicago Public Education Fund. Accessed March 28, 2024. https://thefundchicago.org/who-we-are/leadership/mara-botman/
9. Vivo Foundation. Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). Vivo Foundation. 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/876329967/202333189349102408/full
10. Vivo Foundation. Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). Vivo Foundation. 2021. Part XIV Line 3. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/876329967/202201399349100230/full
11. Vivo Foundation. Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). Vivo Foundation. 2022. Part XIV Line 3. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/876329967/202333189349102408/full
12. Vivo Foundation. Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). Vivo Foundation. 2022. Part XIV Line 3. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/876329967/202333189349102408/full.