ZEELAND — Tier 1 Automotive Supplier Gentex has created a non-profit charitable foundation for charitable causes and a new scholarship program for women pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics.
Company executives today announced the Gentex Foundation, which distributes grants to U.S. organizations that support “various areas,” including economic development, children’s services, housing assistance and diversity initiatives.
Gentex President and CEO Steve Downing
courtesy photo
The board will oversee grant applications and focus on “the communities where Gentex employees live and work, reflecting the foundation’s values of integrity, compassion, innovation and diversity,” according to the announcement. .
Gentex President and CEO Steve Downing said in a statement: “As we continue to grow, serve new markets, and engage new communities, the Gentex Foundation will develop a charitable giving program to better support the needs of the communities in which we operate. It allows us to strengthen.”
Gentex (Nasdaq: GNTX), a global supplier of digital visual and dimming glass technology to the automotive, aerospace and fire protection industries, also announced the Amanda Clark Scholarship program. Named after a former employee, the scholarship will help a female high school senior earn her STEM degree at her four-year college in Western Michigan. Scholarships up to $5,000 are renewable for up to three years.
Gentex, the largest employer in Ottawa County, has embarked on a $300 million expansion adding more than 600,000 square feet of manufacturing and distribution space to its Zeeland and Zeeland Township facility. The board of directors of the Michigan State Strategic Fund said he backed the project in July with about $11.2 million in grants and incentives.