The DeVos family is a very conservative family. It is well known for its firm Christian faith and values. Richard DeVos pioneered the family’s wealth and fortune by co-founding and dominating the consumer marketing company Amway which now operates profitably as Quixstar. Richard bequeathed his son, Dick Devos, with the leadership of the company. Dick flourished the family business and also flourished himself by wedding and inspiring Betsy DeVos to be the loyal, innovative and committed wife that she is to him. Betsy DeVos, who herself came from a privileged family, embraced her new family and has always partnered with her husband to work for their family businesses as well as the people of the United States and even more specifically, the people of Michigan.
Betsy went to the Calvin College to study for her BA in Grand Rapids. She and her husband have operated the Windquest Group since 1989. The firm develops energy via clean means that do not pollute the environment and even purifies local water as a way to give back. The two are members of the Republican Party and are very committed to pushing the conservative agenda. As esteemed members who believe in the party, they have been reported to award the party, and especially senior politicians running for elective office, with ostentatious donations. They are some of the biggest donors to the party and Betsy has even played administrative roles at the party. She was the Michigan State party chairwoman once and even served the party in the national senatorial committee.
About a third of the DeVos’ charitable giving goes to educational causes. The family also spends considerably a lot of their money on funding art programs because Betsy’s son is an art enthusiast who uses art to enshrine conservative virtues such as patience, modesty and hard work. Betsy and Dick DeVos both chair the Dick & Betsy DeVos Family Foundation which has given away about 44 million dollars in Michigan State alone.
Betsy is always involved in the allocation and distribution of the DeVos’ charitable giving that it makes via numerous foundations and trusts. She has been particularly supportive of school vouchers; a course of action that she vehemently believes can forever change the American education system for the better. She has continuously supported the concept of school vouchers and charter schools, verbally and through financial mitigation.
The voucher system is meant to fund students who cannot afford to raise fees for private institutions. The funds are supposed to be released by the State to private institutions and religious schools to keep students there. She also proposes that charter schools should be increased and expanded to allow conservative communities and other communities with deep-set beliefs and preferences for education to set government approved content that best suits the community, and teach. The Dick & Betsy DeVos Family Foundation invest heavily in such programs philanthropically. Some of the philanthropic deeds that DeVos has facilitated financially towards charter schools include;
- University of Maryland College Park Foundation was awarded 500,000 dollars
- The School of Missionary Aviation Technology (charter school) was awarded 250,000 dollars
- ArtPrize Grand Rapids was awarded 400,000 dollars
- Grand Rapids Christian School Association was awarded 350,000 dollars
- Ada Christian School Society was awarded 50,000 dollars
- John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was awarded 250,000 dollars
- Xprize Foundation was awarded 1.8 million dollars
- Boy Scouts of America was awarded 305,000 dollars
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