Joyce Foundation

The Joyce Foundation is a charitable foundation based in Chicago, Illinois. It has assets of approximately $950 million and distributes about $45 million in grants each year.[2]

Joyce Foundation
Named after The Joyce family
Formation1948
FounderBeatrice Joyce Kean
TypeNon-profit organization
Legal status501(c)(3)
FocusEducation, environment, employment, culture, democracy, and reducing gun-related violence[1]
Location
Region
Great Lakes region
Key people
Ellen Alberding, president
Websitewww.joycefdn.org

The Foundation primarily funds organizations in the Great Lakes region. The Foundation is notable for its support of gun control measures. U.S. President Barack Obama served on the foundation's board of directors from 1994 through 2002.[3]

History

The Joyce Foundation was established in 1948 by Beatrice Joyce Kean of Chicago.[4] She was the sole heir of David Joyce, a lumber executive and industrialist from Clinton, Iowa. The family wealth came from the lumber industry, including family-owned timberlands, plywood and saw mills, and wholesale and retail building material distribution facilities located in the Midwest, Louisiana, and Texas. The Foundation was modestly endowed until Kean's death in 1972, when she bequeathed it nearly $100 million.[5][6]

Charles U. Daly, a former aide to President John F. Kennedy, served as president of the Foundation for eight years. He was succeeded by Craig Kennedy in 1986.[5] Deborah Leff, a trial lawyer for the civil rights division of the Department of Justice, served as president of the organization from 1992 to 1999, and was succeeded by Paula DiPerna, named president in 1999.[7] DiPerna was succeeded in 2002 by Ellen Alberding, the organization's seventh president.[8] Former U.S. President Barack Obama served on the foundation's board of directors from 1994 through 2002.[9]

As of 2015, the Joyce Foundation has awarded over $950 million in grants since its establishment.[10]

Mission

The Foundation describes its mission as "working to improve quality of life, promote community vitality, and achieve a fair society."[10]

Programs

The Joyce Foundation's primary focus is on the Great Lakes region, where its funding efforts are focused on "environmental preservation, diverse art, energy efficiency, teacher quality, gun violence prevention, early literacy, and workforce development."[2] Foundation programs invest in public education, economic opportunity, and the environment. Other programs promote voting rights and arts organizations.[11]

The Joyce Foundation is one of the few private foundations that considers gun-related research proposals.[12] Joyce distributes grants designed to prevent gun violence by reducing the easy accessibility of firearms.[13][14] Since 1993, the Joyce Foundation spent over $54 million on over 100 grants that favor gun control.[15]

References
  1. Andrea Highbie (December 9, 1997). "Faces: Cleaning up The Midwest". New York Times. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  2. "Joyce Foundation: Chicago Grants". Inside Philanthropy. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  3. Vogel, Kenneth (April 19, 2008). "Obama linked to gun control efforts". Politico. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  4. Hsin, Jady (May 2007). "Joyce Foundation". Philanthropy Magazine. Philanthropy Roundtable. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  5. Kathleen Teltsch (April 13, 1986). "Grant Assists in Schooling After Moves". New York Times. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  6. Jady Hsin (June 2007). "Joyce Foundation". Philanthropy Magazine. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  7. Jeff Borden (January 23, 1999). "People". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  8. "Joyce Foundation names new president". Chicago Tribune. January 10, 2002. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  9. Vogel, Kenneth (April 19, 2008). "Obama linked to gun control efforts". Politico. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  10. "What We Do". Joyce Foundation. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  11. "Voting Rights, Immigration, Women in the Global Workforce among Themes Reflected in 2017 Joyce Awards to Collaborations between Great Lakes Artists of Color and Cultural Organizations". Joyce Foundation. December 8, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  12. Frankel, Todd C. (January 14, 2015). "Why the CDC still isn't researching gun violence, despite the ban being lifted two years ago". Washington Post. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  13. Frankel, Todd C. (January 14, 2015). "Why the CDC still isn't researching gun violence, despite the ban being lifted two years ago". Washington Post. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  14. Merrion, Paul (January 22, 2011). "The Joyce Foundation: the anti-NRA". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  15. Merrion, Paul (January 22, 2011). "The Joyce Foundation: the anti-NRA". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
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