Comer Family Foundation

What Comer Family Foundation does

Comer Family Foundation is a private family foundation established in 2002 by Gary Comer, the founder of Lands' End, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois with a staff of 1-10 employees. The foundation operates a philanthropic grantmaking model across four focus areas — Education, Health Care, Environment, and Culture — distributing funds through direct grants to institutions and programs rather than generating commercial revenue. Its core programmatic offering is the Comer Abrupt Climate Change Fellowship, established in 2004, which supports a global network of climate scientists known as Comer Fellows and the affiliated Changelings research group across 31+ academic institutions including Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, University of Maine, Caltech, Princeton, Oregon State, and Oxford. Since 2003, this ecosystem has produced over 300 peer-reviewed scientific publications focused on glaciology, paleoclimatology, and abrupt climate change.

The foundation's education vertical is anchored by Gary Comer College Prep and the Medill Comer Scholars program at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, with additional support for youth-focused programs such as Teens Take on Climate. Its healthcare vertical centers on a Syringe Service Program supporting community-based harm reduction organizations. The cultural program includes support for the Museum of Contemporary Photography, the CITY 2000 project, and recent civic-architecture collaborations such as the 2026 Flyway City exhibition with Studio Gang and the Chicago Architecture Center. Annual convening occurs at the Comer Climate Conference, which brings together Fellows, Changelings, and Medill Comer Scholars. The foundation's go-to-market is relationship-driven grantmaking, with distribution through university research partnerships, direct program support to schools, and community health grants. Revenue is derived from the Comer family's endowment rather than fee-for-service activity, and the foundation does not publish financial statements in the available source material.

Name

Comer Family Foundation

Legal name

Comer Family Foundation

Website

https://comerfamilyfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Comer Family Foundation is a Chicago-based private family foundation funding climate research through the Comer Fellows network across 31+ global institutions, plus education, healthcare harm reduction, and cultural programs in its four focus areas.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Foundation / Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL), Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grants
• Climate research funding
• Fellowship programs
• Harm reduction grants
• Arts and culture grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Others

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Comer Family Foundation is a private family foundation that makes grants across four focus areas: Education, Health Care, Environment, and Culture. Its flagship offerings are the Comer Climate Research Grants Program and the Comer Abrupt Climate Change Fellowship (Comer Fellows Program), which fund scientists studying abrupt climate change, glaciology, and paleoclimatology at universities worldwide. The foundation also runs a Syringe Service Program for harm reduction and supports cultural and educational programs in Chicago.

Product overview

Comer Family Foundation is a philanthropic organization offering grant programs across four focus areas: Education, Health Care, Environment, and Culture. The foundation's primary technology-related offerings include the Climate Research Grants Program funding academic climate research, the Comer Fellows Fellowship supporting scientists in abrupt climate change research, the annual Comer Climate Conference, and a Syringe Service Program for harm reduction. The foundation does not offer a unified software product but rather operates as a grantmaking organization with multiple programmatic initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Comer Fellows: Scientists funded by the foundation for climate research
• The Changelings
• Comer Abrupt Climate Change Fellowship
• Comer Fellows Publications

Products and services

• Climate Research Grants Program Grant program that funds climate research at academic institutions, supporting projects focused on abrupt climate change, glaciology, and paleoclimatology.
• Comer Abrupt Climate Change Fellowship (Comer Fellows Program) Fellowship program supporting scientists conducting climate research, with a network of researchers known as the 'Changelings' dedicated to abrupt climate change research.
• Syringe Service Program

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMany Comer Fellows are based at or affiliated with Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, conducting joint research on climate change, glaciology, and paleoclimatology. The foundation supports researchers like Michael Kaplan, Peter deMenocal, and many others at this institution.
• University of Maine Climate Change InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore partnership with George Denton's team at the University of Maine Climate Change Institute. The foundation supports students, field research, and the Changelings group through this relationship. Notable researchers include George Denton, Brenda Hall, and Aaron Putnam.
• Gary Comer College PrepcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNamed school established through foundation support, providing college preparatory education with environmental science focus. Supports programs like Teens Take on Climate and student involvement in scientific research expeditions.
• Northwestern University Medill School of JournalismcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Medill Comer Scholars program trains journalism students in climate science communication. Students attend Comer Climate Conference and produce in-depth story packages about climate research.
• California Institute of TechnologymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple Comer Fellows affiliated with Caltech including Jess Adkins (Smits Family Professor) and Yonaton Goldsmith (Postdoctoral Scholar), conducting research on climate and geochemistry.
• The ChangelingscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA research group dedicated to abrupt climate change, started in 1999. Comer Family Foundation began hosting the group in 2004. Members include leading climate scientists from multiple institutions collaborating on climate research.
• University of OxfordmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple Comer Fellows based at Oxford including Stacy Carolin, Richard Katz, and others, supporting climate research collaboration across the Atlantic.
• Oregon State UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEd Brook (Distinguished Professor) and Christo Buizert are Comer Fellows at Oregon State University working on ice core research and climate studies.
• Princeton UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDaniel Sigman (Dusenbury Professor) and John Higgins are Comer Fellows at Princeton, researching ocean biogeochemistry and climate cycles.
• Teens Take on Climate (TTOC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit partnership focused on building intergenerational climate education and career pathways. The foundation supports field trips and mentorship connecting students with University of Maine researchers.
• Studio GangminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitecture firm co-curating the Flyway City exhibition at Chicago Architecture Center, focused on making cities safer for birds and wildlife.
• Chicago Architecture CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost venue for Flyway City exhibition showcasing architecture for flourishing urban ecosystems, a partnership supported by the foundation.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Bezos Earth Fund: Very large ($10B) climate-focused philanthropic fund. Operates in the same climate grantmaking space but at vastly greater scale and broader remit (mitigation, nature-based solutions); a broader incumbent competing for researcher attention and institutional partnerships.
• Packard Foundation: Large foundation with significant Climate and Land program funding conservation and climate research. Comparable climate grantmaking mandate but with broader portfolio and substantially larger scale than the Comer Foundation.
• Bloomberg Philanthropies: Very large philanthropic vehicle with a major climate initiative (Beyond Carbon) funding climate research and policy. Comparable as a grantmaking foundation funding climate work, but at vastly larger scale and broader geographic reach.
• Hewlett Foundation (Environment Program): Major foundation with a substantial Environment Program funding climate and conservation. Comparable grantmaking model targeting climate research, but with broader portfolio and substantially larger endowment than Comer.

Direct peers

• Kresge Foundation: Private foundation with Environment and Education programs alongside health and community development. Comparable as a multi-pillar foundation with climate/environment grantmaking and similar mid-sized foundation operating model.
• Barr Foundation: Family foundation focused heavily on climate and environment grantmaking in the U.S. Highly comparable as a private family foundation with climate as a primary pillar, similar operational scale and grantmaking focus.
• Doris Duke Charitable Foundation: Private family foundation funding environment, health, and arts/culture initiatives with multiple program areas. Closely comparable structure to Comer as a multi-pillar family foundation with environment, health, and culture grantmaking.
• Schmidt Sciences: Family-funded philanthropic vehicle (Schmidt Family Foundation successor) that supports climate and scientific research at top universities. Comparable as a high-profile family foundation funding climate science and fellowship programs akin to Comer Fellows.
• ClimateWorks Foundation: Climate-focused philanthropic foundation that funds climate research and policy globally. Directly comparable as a grantmaking foundation operating in the climate change space with similar mission alignment to the Comer Foundation's abrupt climate change research funding.
• Rockefeller Brothers Fund: Family-led foundation funding climate, education, and democratic governance. Comparable as a multi-pillar family foundation with significant climate programming and a similar philanthropic mission structure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

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• Instagraminstagram.com/comerfamilyfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Comer Family Foundation