Lefkofsky Family Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Lefkofsky Family Foundation names education, human rights, medical research and arts and culture as its main areas of grantmaking interest. Recent grantmaking has also focused on violence prevention, women’s and girls’ causes and public health. Across all areas, the foundation prioritizes Chicago-based organizations, particularly those focused on the public school system. And while the bulk of its arts funding goes to art museums, the foundation also provides ongoing support to Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre. Recent human rights grants focus on preventing gun violence and LGBTQ rights around the world. In medicine, the foundation funds leading research hospitals, institutes and medical schools.
IP TAKE: The Lefkofsky Foundation is not an accessible funder, but it is approachable and responsive. It does not accept unsolicited proposals for funding, but provides contact information and links to its social media accounts on its contact page. New grantseekers will have to work for this one.
PROFILE: In 2006, Eric and his wife Liz formed the Lefkofsky Family Foundation, which aims to “advance high-impact initiatives that enhance the quality of human life.” Described by some as a “serial entrepreneur,” Detroit native Eric Lefkofsky began his career by selling carpets as a freshman at the University of Michigan. He went on to create, buy and sell several companies, including Groupon, which he co-founded in 2008. The foundation makes grants in several key areas, including arts and culture, education, healthcare, medical research and human rights. Grantmaking is national in scope, but the foundation’s hometown of Chicago receives a sizable portion of its funding.
Grants for Visual Arts
Arts and culture are the largest areas of Lefkofsky grantmaking in recent years. While the foundation does not share grantmaking strategies in this area, it appears to prioritize art museums and other large visual arts venues and events. Past grantees include the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, which both received ongoing support for their outreach and educational programs. Other visual arts grantees include the Aspen Art Museum, the Chicago Architecture Biennial, New York City’s Museum of Modern Art, the Venice Biennale and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Grants for Theater
The Lefkofsky Foundation does not name theater as an area of specific interest, but Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre is one of its largest recipients, having received several millions of dollars in recent years. Don’t expect to get theater funding here, however, given the foundation’s otherwise lack of investment in theater.
Grants for Higher Education
The Lefkofsky Foundation does not name specific goals for its higher education funding, permitting for broad grantmaking in this area. Eric Lefkofsky’s alma mater, the University of Michigan, has received ongoing support. Other grantees include Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins University, Dartmouth College and Auburn University.
Grants for K-12 Education
Lefkofsky’s K-12 funding prioritizes initiatives that aim to improve the quality of education in Chicago’s public schools. Two grantees, High School Bound and Success Bound, are online programs that serve students attending public middle schools in Chicago with academic, self-advocacy and time management support, as well as information about available public high school programs. Another Chicago grantee, the Academy for Urban School Leadership, runs residencies for public school teachers with the goal of “transforming educational outcomes for students in the lowest performing schools.” Other Chicago grantees include After School Matters, the Chicago Public Education Fund and the Children First Fund. National organizations that have received funding include City Year and Teach for America.
Grants for Human Rights, Women and Violence Prevention
The Lefkofsky Family Foundation’s human rights funding prioritizes women and underserved communities around the world. One recent grantee is the Culture Change Fund, a California-based organization that is focused on “advancing gender and reproductive justice though long-lasting culture change.” The foundation has also given to Rainbow Railroad, which helps LBGTQI people around the world “seek safe haven from state-enabled violence, murder or persecution.” Other human rights grantees include the research and advocacy NGO Human Rights Watch, Robert Fitzgerald Kennedy Human Rights and Medical Missions for Children, which seeks to provide healthcare to critically ill children in the developing world.
Grantmaking for women’s causes has gone mainly to organizations in Chicago, including the Chicago Foundation for Women, Chicago Women in Philanthropy and the Chicago Abortion Fund.
Lefkofsky grants for violence prevention stem from its human rights funding program and have focused mainly on preventing gun violence in the U.S. Past violence prevention grantees include the Fund for a Safer Future, which supports advocacy, policy development and research aimed at reducing gun injuries and deaths, and Everytown for Gun Safety, a national advocate for gun control. The foundation has also given to the Chicago-based Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities and Sandy Hook Promise, which was formed in response to the deadly school shooting in 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut.
Grants for Disease Research
The Lefkofsky Foundation names medical research as a main area of grantmaking interest. Hospitals, medical schools and research institutes involved in cancer research receive the most here. Disease research funding is national in scope and tends to fund well-established organizations engaged in cutting edge research and drug trails. Recent grantees include the American Brain Tumor Association, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research, the Mayo Clinic, New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital and the University of Pennsylvania. The foundation has also given to the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation.
Grants for Public Health
Some of Lefkofsky’s medical research grants support large hospitals and hospital systems that provide broad medical care services. These grantees are often associated with leading university hospital systems. Past grantees include Chicago’s Lurie Children’s Hospital, the Cleveland Clinic, Duke Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Stanford Medicine, the University of Michigan Health System and Weill Cornell Medicine.
Important Grant Details:
The Lefkofsky Family Foundation makes about $5 million in grants each year. Grants range from $5,000 to $3 million, but the foundation’s average grant size is about $25,000. Grantmaking prioritizes Chicago-based organizations and national organizations with strong reputations. For additional information about past grantees, see the foundation’s grants page or its recent tax filings.
The Lefkofsky Family Foundation accepts applications for funding on an invitation-only basis. The foundation can be reached via its contact page, email or by telephone at 312-906-7477. Links to its social media profiles are also available on the foundation’s contact page.
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