Hamill Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Hamill Family Foundation’s environmental support involves local and regional Chicagoland organizations, as well as national and international outfits.
IP TAKE: The foundation lacks transparency. Networking will be key for getting on this Chicago family’s radar. This is largely an inaccessible funder that invests in the family’s evolving interests. Because the Hamill Family Foundation keeps such a low profile, an exact description of what the family looks for in its environmental grantees is hard to come by. The foundation’s largest grants tend to prioritize Chicago-area organizations.
As an aside, look to Openlands for further conservation and environment grants where the family established the Corwith Hamill Legacy Fund, which helps conservation and restoration projects in the Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge and its surrounding areas.
PROFILE: The Hamill Family Foundation is the philanthropic vehicle of Segall Bryant & Hamill co-founder Jonathan C. Hamill and his sisters, Elizabeth and Nancy. Their father, the late Corwith “Corky” Hamill, was once president of the Chicago Zoological Society, and their mother, Joan Smith Hamill, was an accomplished equestrian and a driving force in creating the Illinois Prairie Path. Jonathan, Elizabeth, and Nancy hold philanthropic interests that are similar to those of their parents. Jonathan Hamill sits on the board of Openlands and is a trustee emeritus of the Illinois chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Elizabeth is a founding board member at Barrington Area Conservation Trust, a land conservation and preservation organization in Barrington, Illinois. Nancy first became involved with The Nature Conservancy in the late 1980s and helped start the Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation, a “nonprofit charitable educational organization,” as well as the Equine Land Conservation Resource, which works with landowners to protect rural lands for horseback riding. According to tax filings, the Hamill Family Foundation gives primarily to environmental causes.
Grants for the Environment
The Hamill Family Foundation does not name specific goals for its environmental grantmaking, but appears to prioritize organizations in Illinois through broad grantmaking. Past environmental grantees include the Chicago Zoological Society, home to the Hamill Family Wild Encounters, and a substantial gift to Openlands to establish the Corwith Hamill Legacy Fund, which will help conservation and restoration projects in the Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge and its surrounding areas. Other big winners include the Environmental Law and Policy Center, the Conservation Foundation, the Nature Conservancy in Illinois, the Teton Regional Land Trust and Openlands, a Chicago organization that supports conservation, agricultural and recreational projects. The foundation has also supported environmental programming produced by PBS.
A portion of Hamill’s funding has also gone to international conservation organizations. Past grantees include the Environmental Defense Fund, the Sierra Club Foundation, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund and Conservacion Patagonica, which “works to create national parks in Patagonia that save and restore wildlands and wildlife, inspire care for the natural world, and generate healthy economic opportunities for local communities.”
Grants for Animals and Wildlife
The Hamill Family Foundation maintains a broad, undefined interest in wildlife conservation. Grants appear to favor iconic and endangered animals. Past grantees include the United States Equestrian Team Foundation, the International Crane Foundation, the International Snow Leopard Trust, the Equine Land Conservation Resource and the African Wildlife Foundation.
Important Grant Details:
According to tax filings, the Hamill Family Foundation gave away around $5.6 million in a recent year. Many of its individual grants are made in amounts under $25,000, but a few named projects have received grants of over $1 million. A majority of grants support environmental organizations working This funder prioritizes organizations involved in land conservation and wildlife preserve management in the state of Illinois. Internationally, it has made donations to several large, well-established conservation organizations.
This funder does not maintain a website and does not appear to accept unsolicited applications for funding. A mailing address and phone number are provided below.
PEOPLE:
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CONTACT:
Hamill Family Foundation
200 W. Madison St., Ste. 3400
Chicago, IL 60606
(312) 676-0300
