Crown Family Philanthropies

OVERVIEW: Crown Family Philanthropies mostly makes grants in Chicago, although it does have national and international interests as well. Grants fund education, environment, human services, Jewish, and global health initiatives.

IP TAKE: Crown’s international grantmaking process is not as accessible as its domestic programs. It remains tight lipped about who it likes to fund. This is the kind of funder for which you need to conduct excellent work to get noticed. However, you can network with previous grantees to learn more about how they were approached. This funder’s domestic grantmaking offers support and the potential for longer relationships. It’s grantmaking process is somewhat bureaucratic.

PROFILE: Crown Family Philanthropies was founded by Arie and Ida Crown, who, after emigrating from Eastern Europe to Chicago, established the Material Service Corporation. It seeks to “work together with […] communities, in the spirit of tikun olam, to catalyze and advance just and lasting social impact.” In 1947, the Crowns created the Arie and Ida Crown Memorial in 1947, which was renamed in 2009. Its rebranding occurred in order to represent a wider “array of family grantmaking practices.” Crown's grantmaking heavily prioritizes the greater Chicago area, but also supports Education, Environment, Human Services, Jewish Charity, and Global Health

Grants for Environmental Conservation
The philanthropies’ Environment program funds “organizations that restore preserve and protect natural systems to support a healthy future for all life.” Specific areas of interest include energy efficiency and conservation practices in the Chicago region, improving the ecological health of watersheds in the Great Lakes region, reducing wildfire impacts on water quality in the Western United States, restoring and protecting natural habitats and reducing food systems pressure on ecological systems. One past conservation grantee is the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, which received funding for its work restoring and preserving the waterways in the Chicago/Calumet region. 

Grants for Jewish Causes
Crown’s support for the Jewish community prioritizes grants for the Chicago-area, although it funds national programs as well. Its Jewish Charity program focuses on groups that work to connect families with young children to the larger Jewish community, and increase children’s enrollment in Jewish education programs. It seeks to connect young adults to Jewish life and “embrace the diversity of today’s Jews– particularly interfaith families.” The program also supports Holocaust education and organizations that combat Anti-Semitism. 

Crown makes grants to organizations that provide medical care, poverty alleviation, and higher education in Israel. It does not accept unsolicited applications from Israeli organizations. The foundation has supported Jewish New Teacher Project, which uses the best practices of the education world to help Jewish day schools recruit and retain teachers.

Grants for Global Health and Humanitarian Relief
While Crown heavily focuses its investments in the greater Chicago area, it also makes grants to global health projects around the world. Its Global Health program seeks to "increase access to quality comprehensive healthcare and support services as well as improve the health of the poor in developing countries." It is predominately interested in funding access to quality healthcare, prevention, supportive services, and health in developing countries. Its global health investments intend to "improve the health of the poor in developing countries through comprehensive, community-based healthcare delivery." Its focus areas include delivering psychosocial services in areas recovering from conflict; providing innovative training and delivery models that enable community health workers to provide decentralized preventative; and life-saving support to entire communities. In the past, CFP has supported organizations responding to the Ebola epidemic in Africa and a trauma-informed mental health program in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

Grants for Chicago
While all of Crown’s grantmaking programs include local funding, the Health and Human Services and Education programs only support the Chicago-area. Local grants have gone to homeless causes like Inspiration Corporation, music programs like the Merit School of Music and educational resources like Urban Prep Academies. The educational categories aim to boost early childhood education, college preparedness, leadership programs, and art education support. A Chicago-based environmental program will need to focus on Great Lakes preservation, climate change, or energy conservation. The Chicago health program addresses both access to care and prevention, and the human services program prioritizes about community safety, stable housing, and economic stability. Crown has honored Jewish community and education leaders with Covenant Awards in the past. Within the arts category, grant seekers should contact Crown for programs that increase access to arts education for Pre-K to grade 12 students. The civic affairs program focuses on youth engagement and service learning.

Important Grant Details:
Although CFP awards multi-million-dollar grants, most grant amounts fall in the $50,000 to $150,000 range. Crown does not accept unsolicited proposals and reviews applications by invitation only. 

CFP does not list its grantees on its website; however, grant seekers can learn more about the types of organizations the philanthropies support by exploring the Stories section on its website.

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