The Field Foundation of Illinois

Name

The Field Foundation of Illinois

Legal name

The Field Foundation of Illinois

Website

https://fieldfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1960

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Grantmaking Services

NAICS

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

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ), Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

Keywords

• Community grantmaking
• Philanthropic foundation
• Arts and culture funding
• Local journalism grants
• Racial healing initiatives

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Grantmaking: The Field Foundation operates as a private, independent foundation that distributes grants to community organizations. Through its grantmaking, the foundation collaborates with funding partners to distribute more than $11 million annually to organizations and leaders working in geographic priority areas.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Field Foundation of Illinois is a private, independent foundation that distributes grants to community, civic, and cultural organizations in Chicago and across Illinois. Through programs including A Road Together (ART), Community Power Building, Journalism & Storytelling, Leaders for a New Chicago, and Healing Illinois, it provides unrestricted general operating funding to small arts nonprofits, grassroots leaders, local news outlets, and racial healing organizations, distributing more than $11 million annually.

Product overview

The Field Foundation is a private, independent foundation offering grantmaking programs and initiatives—not a traditional technology product. Its portfolio consists of seven distinct programs: (1) A Road Together (ART) - a multi-year arts funding partnership with MacArthur Foundation; (2) Community Power Building - grants for civic infrastructure and organizing; (3) Journalism & Storytelling - grants for local news and storytelling; (4) Leaders for a New Chicago Award - individual leader recognition with funding; (5) Healing Illinois - statewide racial healing initiative with IDHS; (6) Field Fellowship - professional development program; and (7) Impact House - physical co-working/philanthropy hub. These programs collectively support community power building in Chicago through strategic investments totaling over $11 million annually.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• A Road Together (ART): A 5-year, $15 million partnership with the MacArthur Foundation providing multi-year, unrestricted general operating funding to small and mid-sized arts and culture organizations with annual budgets up to $1 million.
• Leaders for a New Chicago
• Healing Illinois
• Field Fellowship

Products and services

• A Road Together (ART) A 5-year, $15 million partnership with the MacArthur Foundation providing multi-year, unrestricted general operating funding to small and mid-sized arts and culture organizations with annual operating budgets up to $1 million, focusing on Chicago's South and West Sides. Grant sizes range from $25,000 to $100,000 per year for three-year grants, or $10,000 to $50,000 for one-year grants.
• Community Power Building Grant program funding organizations that strengthen collective action and amplify community voices on Chicago's South and West Sides, balancing immediate impact with long-term transformation. Applications accepted on a rolling basis.
• Journalism & Storytelling Grant program investing in fact-based journalism and storytelling that gives voice to all Chicagoans, focusing on news outlets that center underrepresented communities on the South and West Sides. The 2024 Multi-Year Cohort awarded $75,000 grants renewable over two years to four Chicago news outlets.
• Leaders for a New Chicago Award Annual award recognizing eight community-based, grassroots leaders with $50,000 no-strings-attached funding plus $25,000 grants to their affiliated organizations, celebrating those redefining civic leadership and reimagining Chicago's future. 73 leaders have been recognized since 2019, with over $3.85 million committed.
• Healing Illinois Statewide racial healing initiative managed in partnership with the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), distributing grants to community organizations for activities advancing racial healing through community building, dialogue, and place-based initiatives. Over $17 million invested since 2021, with nearly 200 subgrantees receiving $4.3 million in 2026.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $11 million distributed annually
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Major strategic partnership supporting signature programs including A Road Together (ART) - a 5-year, $15 million initiative for arts and culture organizations, and Leaders for a New Chicago Award. The collaboration also supports broader Journalism & Storytelling grantmaking.
• Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partnership to manage Healing Illinois, a statewide racial and community healing initiative. Field Foundation serves as the philanthropic partner managing grants alongside IDHS. Since 2021, over $17 million has been invested through this initiative.
• Democracy FundsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership supporting the Journalism & Storytelling grantmaking program
• Press ForwardsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerInvests in broader efforts to rebuild local news across Chicago and the country. Field Foundation contributes to this groundbreaking initiative mobilizing significant philanthropic investment in local journalism.
• Impact House PartnerssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerImpact House was co-created with entrepreneur Israel Idonije. Partners include: A Better Chicago, Chicago Public Library Foundation, Children First Fund, Forefront, Pillars Fund, Woods Fund, and US Artists. Collectively committed to co-locating and working better together.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation: The MacArthur Foundation is a major Chicago-based private foundation and the most direct peer of Field Foundation, sharing geographic focus on Chicago, arts and culture grantmaking, journalism support, and civic leadership programs. It is also Field Foundation's largest strategic partner for the ART initiative and Leaders for a New Chicago Award, making it both a peer and a co-funder.
• The Chicago Community Trust: The Chicago Community Trust is the region's largest community foundation, serving the Chicago metropolitan area with grantmaking across arts, education, health, and community development. It is a direct peer because it shares Field Foundation's geographic and thematic focus on Chicago-area community investment, and President Daniel O. Ash previously served there as Associate VP.
• Polk Bros Foundation: Polk Bros Foundation is a Chicago-based private foundation focused on social, educational, and cultural services in the Chicago area. It is a direct peer because it shares Field Foundation's regional focus, similar grant size ranges, and emphasis on serving Chicago's underserved communities.
• Joyce Foundation: The Joyce Foundation is a Chicago-based private foundation that funds efforts to advance racial equity, economic vitality, and arts/culture in the Great Lakes region. It is a direct peer because it shares Field Foundation's geographic proximity, focus on racial equity, and grantmaking across arts, civic infrastructure, and community organizing.
• Robert R. McCormick Foundation: The McCormick Foundation is a Chicago-based foundation with strong programs in journalism, education, and veterans' issues. It is a direct peer because of overlapping journalism grantmaking in the Chicago market and similar commitment to local news ecosystems that Field Foundation targets through its Journalism & Storytelling portfolio.
• Richard H. Driehaus Foundation: The Driehaus Foundation is a Chicago-based private foundation supporting arts and culture, education, and community development. It is a direct peer because of overlapping focus on small-to-mid-sized arts organizations in Chicago and similar unrestricted general operating grants to arts nonprofits.
• Crown Family Philanthropies: Crown Family Philanthropies is a Chicago-based private foundation supporting Jewish life, education, and civic initiatives in Chicago. It is a direct peer because of overlapping Chicago-area grantmaking, similar scale, and shared focus on community building and civic infrastructure.
• Democracy Fund: Democracy Fund is a private foundation focused on journalism, press freedom, and democracy. It is a direct peer and explicit strategic partner of Field Foundation's Journalism & Storytelling portfolio, sharing overlap in local news grantmaking and community-centered journalism support.

Emerging players

• Press Forward: Press Forward is a coalition of major foundations mobilizing significant philanthropic investment in local journalism. It is an emerging peer in that Field Foundation both partners with and contributes to the coalition, but Press Forward operates as a funder aggregator rather than a direct grantmaker — making it a complementary rather than head-to-head comparable.

Others

• Illinois Department of Human Services: The Illinois Department of Human Services is a state government agency that partners with Field Foundation on the Healing Illinois initiative, where Field Foundation serves as fiscal intermediary and grant administrator. It is an adjacent institutional partner rather than a peer funder, but is included because the relationship is foundational to a $17M+ program.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/FieldFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-field-foundation-of-illinois
• Instagraminstagram.com/fieldfoundation
• Xx.com/FieldFoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Field Foundation of Illinois