About Dow Company Foundation
A small number of very large community-wellbeing grants define Dow Company Foundation’s recent giving. In 2025, its biggest award went to Charities Aid Foundation for $2,356,233, followed closely by Midland Center for the Arts at $2,250,000 and Greater Midland Community at $2,175,000. Those gifts point to a foundation that uses large, institutional grants to support local civic infrastructure, health, education, and culture rather than many small awards.
The pattern is especially visible in Midland-area institutions, where the foundation backed MyMichigan Health Foundation, Midland Area Community Foundation, United Way of Midland County, and Midland Business Alliance. Beyond Michigan, it also made major grants to national education and research institutions, including the California Institute of Technology and the Regents of the University of Michigan. The named recipients suggest a funder that favors established organizations with broad community reach and the capacity to move large projects forward. Its latest 990 year on file is 2025, and the foundation is classified as a private foundation.
What Dow Company Foundation Funds
Community wellbeing is the clearest throughline in Dow Company Foundation’s grantmaking, but the underlying cause areas are more specific. For arts and civic life, it gave $2,250,000 to Midland Center for the Arts in Midland, Michigan. For regional health system support, it awarded $1,340,000 to MyMichigan Health Foundation, also in Midland.
Education appears in both higher education and youth-focused partnerships. The foundation gave $2,000,000 to the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and $1,633,334 to the Regents of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. It also supported STEM learning through $500,000 to For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Community capacity is another recurring theme: $2,356,233 went to Charities Aid Foundation in Alexandria, Virginia, showing use of an intermediary platform alongside direct institutional support.
How Dow Company Foundation Gives
Dow Company Foundation’s recent grants show a high-dollar distribution: the 25th percentile is $110,000, the median is $200,000, and the 75th percentile is $600,000. That spread indicates a portfolio built around substantial institutional awards rather than small operating grants.
The foundation’s type is a private foundation, and it does not fund individuals. The recent list shows repeated support to Midland-area institutions, which suggests a place-based pattern centered on a defined set of community partners. Its active programs include both competitive grant programs and direct corporate-grant channels, and some programs accept unsolicited requests while others do not.