Land conservation and artistic vitality for communities in the Chicago region and the Lowcountry of South Carolina.

Our mission

Land conservation and artistic vitality for communities in the Chicago region and the Lowcountry of South Carolina

This mission honors the values and legacy of our founders by focusing on two of the conditions crucial to vital human communities: a healthy natural environment and artistic vitality. Natural land is scarce, threatened and, once lost, may be gone for all time; artistic expression is vulnerable to changing societal priorities as well as controversies about the value of art and the characteristics of excellence. We seek to sustain communities by supporting long-term partnerships that bring together people from diverse backgrounds who value and nurture the natural environment and artistic vitality. The foundation calls upon its history, community connections, and experience to act as an active participant and innovator on these issues.

1. The foundation supports work in our areas of interest by:

• making grants in response to applications from qualified organizations
• convening groups that have shared goals
• sponsoring studies that help define relevant issues and strategies to address them
• carrying out activities directly when an appropriate nonprofit organization cannot be identified
• deploying our assets in investments aligned with mission

2. We have special interest in projects that:

• build stronger and more effective organizations, able to develop diverse funding sources to accomplish their work
• support and enhance partnerships that involve the foundation as an active participant
• recognize the value of connecting and working collaboratively with diverse constituencies
• include historically disadvantaged groups in meaningful ways

3. We recognize that:

• some issues may be complex and multi-layered, and we are prepared to work with organizations tackling them
• support may be required over several years and may be needed for general operating costs
• projects based on solid research and community knowledge have a higher likelihood of success
• projects with clearly defined outcomes that can be evaluated are more useful

4. We do not accept unsolicited proposals for conferences, publications, films, websites or videos. Such activities may be supported as part of larger proposals that meet the foundation’s guidelines but not as stand-alone projects.

5. We do not accept unsolicited proposals for endowments, capital campaigns, the purchase of land, or debt reduction.

6. We do not support individuals, religious activities or political lobbying.

Read more about our areas of interest.