OVERVIEW: The Pritzker Traubert Foundation works mainly in Chicago to support economic opportunity through education, vocational training and community development.
IP TAKE: The Pritzker Traubert Foundation is a major Chicago funder focused on expanding economic opportunity across the city, especially through bold, collaborative work that strengthens communities and opens pathways for more Chicagoans to thrive. While most of its giving stays local, a small number of grants support national organizations or work outside Chicago.
This is a high-fit but low-access prospect. Pritzker Traubert has moved away from an open application process and now makes grants primarily to preselected organizations, with no unsolicited funding requests accepted. Still, smaller groups should not rule it out: the foundation has supported organizations of varying sizes and grant amounts.
The best path is not a cold pitch, but warm introductions through Chicago’s civic and community-development networks, including South and West Side coalitions, workforce partnerships, local journalism and civil-rights groups, Chicago Prize networks, community development corporations, civic intermediaries and current grantees.
PROFILE: The Chicago-based Pritzker Traubert Foundation (PTFF) was established in 2000 by husband and wife Bryan Traubert and Penny Pritzker. Pritzker is the daughter of Donald Pritzker, a co-founder of the Hyatt hotel chain, and the sister of Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker. She has worked extensively in her family’s real estate business and served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce from 2013 to 2017, during the Obama presidency. Penny Pritzker graduated with a bachelor’s in economics from Harvard University and a J.D. and M.B.A. from Stanford University. She is one of 11 billionaire heirs in the Pritzker clan and is the founder and chairman of PSP Partners, a private investment firm with ventures in real estate, hedge funds and startups. Her husband, Bryan Traubert, is a board-certified ophthalmologist and a nationally renowned medical expert.
The Pritzker Traubert Foundation aims to increase economic opportunity for Chicagoans through grantmaking: Community Development, Workforce and Strengthening Democracy. The foundation also runs the Chicago Prize and Chicago Talent Challenge awards.
Grants for Community Development
Pritzker Traubert Foundation’s Community Development program invests in the economic future of Chicago neighborhoods, with a focus on community-led growth in historically disinvested Black and Brown communities.
- Its flagship initiative, the Chicago Prize, backs local leaders and catalytic development projects designed to strengthen neighborhoods, expand opportunity and attract additional investment. Since 2019, the Chicago Prize has invested nearly $30 million across multiple South and West Side communities and helped leverage more than $100 million in additional capital.
- Key partnerships include Chicago TREND and the TREND Fund; the Obama Presidential Center and Obama Youth Jobs Corps; Pullman National Monument; and The Hatchery, including its Impact Culinary Training Program.
Grants for Workforce Development
Leveraged Workforce Solutions invests in leaders and systems that expand access to quality careers for BIPOC Chicagoans.
- The program provides flexible capital to workforce initiatives that help meet employer demand for diverse, job-ready talent while building pathways to wealth in high-growth sectors.
- The foundation prioritizes innovation, scale and long-term sustainability, with support for models spanning technology, advanced manufacturing, onshore IT delivery, employer-aligned training and job placement.
- Recent partners include P33; mHUB; Xchange Chicago; Skills for Chicago; and National Louis University’s Accelerate U.
- Penny Pritzker founded Skills for Chicagoland’s Future, which matches growing business with “qualified, unemployed and underemployed job seekers.” Pritzker also co-chairs P33, an organization that works to make Chicago a “global technology hub” by training Chicagoans for careers in the technology sector.
- An initiative, the Chicago Talent Challenge aims to help “Chicagoans build stable careers and helping employers fill essential jobs.” The first cycle of the challenge will address careers in health care and support. The winning program will receive a $5 million grant for program implementation. Application guidelines are linked to the program page.
Grants for Democracy, Civic Engagement and Journalism
The Strengthening Democracy program invests in a more inclusive and resilient civic life in Chicago. The program supports initiatives that strengthen democratic values, expand civic engagement, protect civil rights and liberties, and sustain local journalism.
- The foundation views an informed, engaged public as essential to both democracy and economic mobility. Recent grants have focused on local journalism, broadband access, COVID-19 response, civil liberties and cross-sector civic collaboration.
- Recent partners include Chicago Public Media/WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times; Civic Consulting Alliance; and the ACLU.
Grants for K-12 Education
Pritzker Traubert does not specifically name K-12 education as an area of focus, but observed giving shows support for K-12 schools and programs, especially in Chicago’s underserved communities.
- Charter schools emerge as a main priority for this grantmaking.
- Past grantees include the Noble Network of Charter Schools, the Academy for Global Citizenship Charter School, Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois and Teach for America.
Grants for Arts and Culture
The foundation does not name arts and culture as areas of interest but steadily supports Chicago-area arts organizations and venues. Past grants have supported:
- Historical Chicago grantees include the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, the Timeline Theatre Company and the Art Institute of Chicago.
- A few grants also support arts organization in other areas. Grantees include the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Important Grant Details:
The Pritzker Traubert Foundation 2024 Form 990-PF shows revenue of $141.7 million, expenses of $127.7 million, assets of $297.4 million and charitable disbursements of $122.2 million.
- This funder supports a broad range of Chicago-based organizations, including small, neighborhood-based initiatives for economic and employment opportunities.
- The foundation occasionally supports national organizations and nonprofits operating in other areas of the U.S.
- For additional information about past grantmaking, see the individual program pages linked here or the Impact Stories page.
- With the exception of the Chicago Talent Challenge, the Pritzker Traubert Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals.
- Contact the foundation via email at info@ptfound.org. Social media links are offered at the bottom of the website.
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