Grants must be for charitable purposes and serve a public benefit through a charity recognized as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service, and may not be through a private foundation. Qualifying organizations must be located within Michigan and benefit its communities.

A qualifying organization must, in policy and in practice, not discriminate based on age, creed, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation.

The A.A. Van Elslander Foundation supports public charities in three key areas: Children, health and human services. While we remain flexible in our approach, the special focus areas within our mission include addiction, cognitive & developmental disabilities and eyesight.

While we acknowledge their importance in our communities, our foundation does not award grants to the following:

• Capital projects, unless initiated by the Foundation.
• Fundraising events or conferences.
• Individuals.
• K-12 schools, secondary schools or universities.
• Lobbying activities or political campaigns.
• Religious purposes. We recognize the role faith-based organizations play in addressing human service needs in our local communities and may consider such grants if initiated by the Foundation.
• Units of government or veterans organizations.