Dart Foundation Fka Solid Waste Management Foundation
ActiveEnvironmentFunds Individuals
Mason, MIWebsite
About Dart Foundation Fka Solid Waste Management Foundation
The Dart Foundation concentrates on place-based philanthropic investments in the greater Lansing/Mason, MI area while making selective national gifts tied to the founder’s interests (notably journalism). Grants skew toward capital and capacity building — endowments, facility construction/upgrade, and equipment — for cultural, educational and community-serving institutions. Recipients include science and discovery centers, public media, animal welfare/zoo infrastructure, and health/hospice services, indicating a preference for tangible, long‑term community assets.
Focus Areas
Regional science and children's museums (e.g., endowment and capital support for Impression 5 Science Center)Public media and arts infrastructure upgrades (e.g., Lansing Public Media Authority audio/technical improvements)Zoo and animal health facilities (e.g., new veterinary facility at Potter Park Zoo)Healthcare facility expansion and hospice care capacity (e.g., Hospice of Lansing expansion)Facility expansion for child and family services (e.g., Child and Family Charities capital projects)Journalism center support at national level (e.g., Dart Center for Journalism at Columbia University)
About Dart Foundation Fka Solid Waste Management Foundation
Dart Foundation fka Solid Waste Management Foundation gives at a scale that includes seven-figure support for museums, journalism, and community infrastructure. The largest recent award in the data is $1.5 million to Impression 5 Science Center for endowment support, and the foundation has also made repeated $900,000 grants to Columbia University for the Dart Center for Journalism. Those awards point to two durable threads in its portfolio: long-term institutional support and selective national funding tied to the founder’s interests. The foundation’s recent grants also show a strong preference for tangible, place-based assets in the Lansing area. It has funded facility expansion at Child and Family Charities, a new veterinary facility for Potter Park Zoological Society, and improvements for Lansing Public Media Authority. Other gifts support hospice, hospitals, schools, and nonprofit buildings, suggesting that the foundation often backs physical improvements, capital projects, and equipment rather than short-term program-only work. Across the portfolio, the pattern is consistent: support organizations that serve children, families, public media, health care, and community culture, with Michigan receiving the largest share of grants.
What Dart Foundation Fka Solid Waste Management Foundation Funds
In STEM and museum work, the foundation backed Impression 5 Science Center several times, including $300,000 for exhibit support, $200,000 for exhibit support, $185,000 for exhibit support, and $58,000 for COVID relief STEM kits for the HeadStart population. That mix shows support for both public programming and educational materials. In health and clinical infrastructure, it gave $250,000 to McLaren Greater Lansing Foundation for a new state-of-the-art hospital campus in Lansing and $300,000 to Hospice of Lansing for expansion of facilities. It also supported Mid-Michigan Recovery Services with $150,000 for facility expansion. Family and youth services appear as another thread. The foundation awarded $750,000 to Child and Family Charities for facility expansion and improvement, $130,000 to Big Brothers Big Sisters Michigan Capital Region Inc for a school-based mentorship program in the Lansing and Waverly school districts, and $125,000 to Lansing School District for a literacy program.
How Dart Foundation Fka Solid Waste Management Foundation Gives
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$2.3M
Total Assets
$46K
Total Revenue
$2.4M
Total Expenses
$2.4M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $14K and $50K, with a median of $25K.
25th Percentile
$14K
Median
$25K
75th Percentile
$50K
Geographic Reach
National15 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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