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

Our mission and how we work

Overview

Land Conservation

We foster the conservation and stewardship of land in a natural condition, providing current and future generations a link with their heritage. Land conservation is a critical priority because natural lands are vulnerable and finite.

We fund organizations and projects that:

1. preserve, restore and protect strategic lands that contribute to the health of the regional ecosystem. Many such efforts will expand, enhance or connect existing preserved areas; others may stand alone as important anchors because their scale is large or they are unique.
2. build and support constituencies that value and engage in land stewardship by:
   • sustaining environmentally appropriate land uses
   • limiting urban sprawl
   • preserving threatened, historically rural landscapes
   • including underrepresented groups in land use dialogues
   • fostering a regional approach to land use planning
3. engage young people ages 11 to 21, from all backgrounds, to develop lifelong appreciation and stewardship of the natural world through programs that:
   • use the local region as a focus and a base for field work
   • focus on making an impact on the young people involved
   • are intensive, building a systematic accumulation of knowledge over time

Learn more about our work with land conservation organizations and projects.
Learn more about our mission.

Artistic Vitality: Art and Collections

We support the creation of, participation in, and appreciation of the arts for this and future generations. Collections help preserve the artistic heritage and spirit of communities, and we support the care of and the improved access to artistic and cultural collections.

We fund organizations and projects that:

1. support and promote artistic vitality by:
   • creating excellent and innovative art
   • developing new artistic talent
   • nurturing professional arts
   • developing new audiences

   Note: In the Chicago region, grant applicants for the preceding category (#1) must have annual operating budgets under $1 million.

2. increase public access to significant collections that illuminate the region’s artistic, cultural and historic vitality for area audiences by:
•  preserving collections in sustainable and accessible condition
• mining, reinterpreting and creatively presenting collections
3. engage young people ages 11 to 21, from all backgrounds, to develop their talent in and lifelong appreciation of the arts and collections through programs that:
•  make extensive use of local arts and/or collections
•  focus on making an impact on the young people involved
•  are intensive, building a systematic accumulation of knowledge over time

Learn more about our work with artistic organizations.
Learn more about our mission.