Whirlpool Foundation

About Whirlpool Foundation

A defining thread in Whirlpool Foundation’s recent grantmaking is its repeated support for Cornerstone Alliance, including a $2.95 million strategic grant in 2023 and additional economic development grants in 2024 and 2025. That pattern points to a funder that uses large, targeted awards to reinforce local institutions rather than spreading many small grants broadly. The foundation’s grants also show sustained backing for United Way of Southwest Michigan, Habitat for Humanity, and community organizations tied to Southwest Michigan’s civic and economic infrastructure. Whirlpool Foundation gives through a corporate civic lens: economic development, community services, affordable housing, neighborhood revitalization, and workforce support appear repeatedly in the recent-grants record and active programs. Several grants are concentrated around Benton Harbor and nearby communities, while some awards reach partners in Ohio and Tennessee. The foundation also supports community programming and place-based partnerships such as Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Southwest MI, Curious Kids’ Museum, and Berrien Community Foundation. Its grantmaking includes both operating support and project-specific awards, with repeated multiyear funding relationships visible across the recent record. The overall pattern is selective and partnership-driven, centered on organizations that can carry out regional development and community support work.

What Whirlpool Foundation Funds

Economic development is one of the clearest throughlines. Whirlpool Foundation gave $575,824 in 2025 to Cornerstone Public Asset Fund for an economic development grant, building on a $500,000 award in 2024. In Benton Harbor, it also supported Mosaic Christian Community Development Association with $204,790 in 2023, and later gave Mosaic Ccda $150,000 for a transformation center. Affordable housing and neighborhood improvement are another major theme. The foundation gave $1.25 million in 2025 to Habitat for Humanity International for BuildBetter with Whirlpool, after a $1 million grant in 2024 for the same purpose. It also supported Harbor Habitat for Humanity with $1 million in 2025. Community services and youth-facing support appear through grants such as $1,644,500 in 2024 to United Way of Southwest Michigan and $925,000 in 2025 to Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Southwest MI for sponsorship. Public programming shows up too, including a $673,070 traveling exhibit grant to Curious Kids' Museum.

How Whirlpool Foundation Gives