Benson & Edith Ford Fund
The Benson & Edith Ford Fund is a private foundation based in Detroit, Michigan. Its 2024 grants supported organizations in areas represented by its recipients, including education and scholarships, arts and culture, health, youth safety, and community services.
Benson & Edith Ford Fund at a glance
In short: Benson & Edith Ford Fund gave $1.3M across 24 grants in 2024 (avg $56K), mostly in Michigan. 4% of 2024 grantees were new. Source: 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2024)
- $1,333,000
- -17.3% vs 2023
- Grants made (2024)
- 24
- -11.1% vs 2023
- Average grant
- $55,542
- -6.9% vs 2023
- Median grant
- $7,750
- Total assets
- $16,412,281
- +0.1% vs 2023
- New grantees (estimate)
- 4% first-time grantees (1 of 24, 2024; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Michigan (99% of itemized 2024 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2024 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2024; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Benson & Edith Ford Fund
- How to Apply
-
The filing names David P. Larsen as the contact and requests a brief letter, a financial statement, and a copy of the IRS letter determining tax status, unless the organization is already listed in the cumulative list. Awards are generally limited to charitable organizations already favorably known to, and of interest to, the fund’s substantial contributors. The fund makes no grants to individuals.
- Contact
Application contact: David P Larsen
Mailing address: 1901 St Antoine Street 6Th Floor, Detroit, MI 48226
Phone: (313) 259-7777
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Benson & Edith Ford Fund funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2024
The largest 2024 recipient was College for Creative Studies ($700K). Together the top 10 received $1.3M.
Grant Size Distribution
163 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 137 grants of 163 (84%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2024, 99% of grant dollars went to recipients in Michigan and 1% to recipients in Florida. Detroit organizations among the recipients included the College for Creative Studies, Teen Street Skills, and the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2024 grant dollars across all 24 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Benson & Edith Ford Fund open to new grantees?
4%
first-time grantees, 2024
In 2024, 1 of 24 grantees (4%) were first-time recipients. With only 24 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 4 points. First grants averaged $3K; repeat grants $58K. How we count
Medians: $3K first-time, $8K repeat.
- 88% of 2024 grantees were also funded in 2023. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2021 to 2024 (−17%). Method
- In 2024 it paid out 121% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2020–2024). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2024, annual grant giving ranged from $1.3M (2024) to $1.8M (2020). In 2024 it made 24 grants totaling $1.3M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| College for Creative Studies Detroit, MI | Benson & Edith Ford Scholarship | $700,000 |
| Teen Street Skills Detroit, MI | Program Services | $300,000 |
| Detroit Institute of Arts Detroit, MI | Open Forever | $100,000 |
| Henry Ford Health System Detroit, MI | Program S | $75,000 |
| Alzheimer's Association Southfield, MI | Jubilee Donation | $25,000 |
| The Henry Ford Estate - Fairlane Dearborn, MI | Program Services | $20,000 |
| Baptist Health South Florida Foundation Tavernier, FL | Mariners Hospital Wellness Center | $15,000 |
| Capuchin Soup Kitchen Detroit, MI | Program Services | $15,000 |
| Michigan Humane Bingham Farms, MI | Program Services | $15,000 |
| Racing for Kids Grosse Pointe Farms, MI | Program Services | $10,000 |
Ready to take the next step with Benson & Edith Ford Fund?
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $16,412,281 | $1,450,414 | $1,440,163 | $1,333,000 | 24 | $1,360,271 | $1,331,458 | $1,124,567 |
| 2023 | $16,402,030 | $1,066,841 | $1,694,492 | $1,611,105 | 27 | $1,636,235 | $969,070 | $1,051,125 |
| 2022 | $17,049,661 | $4,197,759 | $1,612,611 | $1,449,089 | 33 | $1,474,129 | $4,112,726 | $1,050,053 |
| 2021 | $14,456,033 | $1,827,069 | $1,798,699 | $1,614,876 | 41 | $1,633,646 | $1,698,995 | $1,206,216 |
| 2020 | $14,403,606 | $1,205,879 | $1,908,212 | $1,769,892 | 38 | — | $1,143,470 | $1,765,842 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Benson & Edith Ford Fund reported a distributable amount of $1.1M for 2024 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No mission statement for the fund is provided. Its 2024 grants include support for educational, arts, health, youth-safety, and community-service organizations. For example, the College for Creative Studies says it educates visual artists and designers and fosters students’ pursuit of excellence; Teen Street Skills says it educates teen drivers in street safety; and the Detroit Institute of Arts says it creates experiences that help visitors find personal meaning in art and with one another.
Other 2024 recipients describe their work as improving lives through health care and healing (Henry Ford Health), using motorsports to draw attention and funding to children’s health needs (Racing for Kids), and engaging people through educational, artistic, and cultural programs (Interlochen Center for the Arts). The Empowerment Plan says it employs and empowers unhoused individuals by producing sleeping-bag coats.
Grantmaking
In 2024, the fund reported 24 grants totaling $1,333,000. Grants ranged from $2,000 to $700,000, with a median of $7,750. The largest awards included $700,000 to the College for Creative Studies for the Benson & Edith Ford Scholarship, $300,000 to Teen Street Skills for program services, $100,000 to the Detroit Institute of Arts for “Open Forever,” and $75,000 to Henry Ford Health System for “Program S.” Other awards included $25,000 to the Alzheimer’s Association for a “Jubilee Donation” and $20,000 to the Henry Ford Estate – Fairlane for program services.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2024 filing lists Lynn F. Alandt as president and director, Benson Ford Jr. as vice-president and director, David P. Larsen as secretary, and David M. Hempstead as director.
Benson & Edith Ford Fund is led by Lynn F. Alandt, President & Director on every filing since 2020; none of the 4 officers listed in 2024 report compensation.
Officers on the 2024 filing
Lynn F. Alandt
President & Director
On filings since 2020
0.3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Benson Ford Jr.
Vice President & Director
On filings since 2020
0.3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
David M. Hempstead
Director
On filings since 2020
0.3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
David P. Larsen
Secretary
On filings since 2020
0.3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (4)
- Former: Daniel Faett (2022) — Treasurer
- Former: Michael Montgomery (2021) — Treasurer
- Former: Ryan L. Darichuk (2020) — Part-Year Treasurer
- Former: Thomas J. Motschall (2020) — Part-Year Treasurer
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2024. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Frequently asked questions about Benson & Edith Ford Fund
How much does Benson & Edith Ford Fund give each year?
Benson & Edith Ford Fund gave $1.3M across 24 grants in 2024, according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2023 it gave $1.6M across 27 grants.
What is Benson & Edith Ford Fund's typical grant size?
Benson & Edith Ford Fund's median grant in 2024 was $7,750, and its average grant was $55,542, across 24 grants on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Benson & Edith Ford Fund that year got $3K on average.
Where does Benson & Edith Ford Fund give grants?
Benson & Edith Ford Fund gives mostly in Michigan: 99% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Detroit, MI (13 grants), Grosse Pointe Farms, MI (3 grants) and Dearborn, MI (2 grants).
Does Benson & Edith Ford Fund give general operating support?
Occasionally: 4% of Benson & Edith Ford Fund's 2024 grants with a stated purpose (1 of 24) were for general or operating support, per its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Recurring purposes include "Program Services" (16 grants).
Who are Benson & Edith Ford Fund's largest grantees?
Benson & Edith Ford Fund's largest 2024 grantees include College for Creative Studies ($700,000), Teen Street Skills ($300,000) and Detroit Institute of Arts ($100,000), according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 83% of its itemized 2024 grant dollars.
How large is Benson & Edith Ford Fund?
Benson & Edith Ford Fund reported $16.4M in total assets on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $1.4M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $1.1M (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Benson & Edith Ford Fund fund?
No mission statement for the fund is provided. Its 2024 grants include support for educational, arts, health, youth-safety, and community-service organizations. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Benson & Edith Ford Fund?
The filing names David P. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Benson & Edith Ford Fund's EIN?
Benson & Edith Ford Fund's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 38-6066333. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2024.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated October 2026.
Data update history
(6)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS November 11, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS November 4, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS November 13, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS November 11, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS November 15, 2025)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Benson & Edith Ford Fund's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Benson & Edith Ford Fund funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/benson-and-edith-ford-fund-morg_bcdab57b30a04abba80f9173f2fe2d3b
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_386066333_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Benson \& Edith Ford Fund funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/benson-and-edith-ford-fund-morg_bcdab57b30a04abba80f9173f2fe2d3b},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-14. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from Benson & Edith Ford Fund's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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