Coleman Foundation

What Coleman Foundation does

The Coleman Foundation, Inc. is a private, independent grantmaking foundation established in 1951 by Dorothy W. and J.D. Stetson Coleman, the former owners of Fannie May Candies. Headquartered in Chicago's Civic Opera Building at 20 N. Wacker Drive, Suite 3410, the Foundation invests approximately $9 million annually across three interconnected program areas: Entrepreneurship, Health, and Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities (IDD). All grantmaking is geographically concentrated in the greater Chicago region, with emphasis on community-based organizations serving low- and moderate-income communities on Chicago's South and West Sides.

The Foundation's operating model is built around quarterly board-approved grant cycles administered through the Fluxx Grants Management portal, with program officers managing dedicated portfolios across the three program pillars. It does not sell products or services; rather, it functions as a trust-based philanthropic intermediary, convening more than 100 nonprofit grantee partners and co-funding initiatives alongside other major funders including the Chicago Community Trust, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, and Robert R. McCormick Foundation. Notable funded initiatives include the IDD Navigator platform (developed with Little City Foundation and serving over 300 Illinois service providers), the Supportive Oncology Collaborative (transferred to Equal Hope in 2022 for long-term stewardship), and the Coleman Fellows Program (an entrepreneurship faculty fellowship on 33 college campuses that has concluded).

The Foundation is in the midst of a leadership and strategic renewal cycle. Following the departures of long-tenured CFO Trevor Davies (2022) and Senior Program Officer Rosa Berardi (2022), Shelley Davis served as CEO before Peter Handler was appointed Interim CEO in December 2023. Nora Garcia was named Executive Director effective July 7, 2025, after a national search conducted by Russell Reynolds Associates. The Board of Directors has added new members (Pat Yuzawa-Rubin, Laura Lane Taylor, Walter Abrego), and a refreshed 2025-2027 strategic plan has been launched across all three program areas. Programmatic outcomes to date include an 11x leverage ratio on the Coleman Challenge Grant Program ($3.4M raised from $300K invested) and 28,000 users reached by IDD Navigator within its first six months of operation.

Name

Coleman Foundation

Legal name

The Coleman Foundation, Inc.

Website

https://colemanfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1951

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Coleman Foundation is a private Chicago-based grantmaking foundation established in 1951 that awards approximately $9 million annually across Entrepreneurship, Health, and Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities programs serving community-based organizations in the greater Chicago region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Foundation / Philanthropic Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

Keywords

• Grantmaking foundation
• Philanthropic funding
• Community development grants
• Health equity grants
• Nonprofit 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

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Coleman Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation that invests in community-based organizations and local institutions serving the greater Chicago region. It awards approximately $9 million annually across three program areas—Entrepreneurship, Health, and Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities—through competitive grant cycles, open calls, and strategic partnerships. The Foundation funds initiatives such as the IDD Navigator online resource platform, the Supportive Oncology Collaborative, and entrepreneurship education programs.

Product overview

The Coleman Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation that operates as a unified grantmaking organization with three core program areas: Entrepreneurship, Health, and Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities. The Foundation does not offer a technology product platform but instead funds external initiatives including IDD Navigator (a free online resource platform developed by Little City Foundation), the Supportive Oncology Collaborative, and the Coleman Fellows Program. The Foundation awards approximately $9 million annually through competitive grant programs to community-based organizations, educational institutions, and service providers in the greater Chicago region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Entrepreneurship Grantmaking Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 28,000 users and 75,000 viewers reached by IDD Navigator platform in first six months
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

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

• Little City FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLittle City Foundation developed the IDD Navigator platform with funding from Coleman Foundation. The platform is a free online tool connecting Illinois families to 300+ IDD service providers. Coleman first funded the Navigator build in 2023.
• Coalition for IDD System RedesigncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHistoric collaborative of organizations (The Arc of Illinois, Center for DD Advocacy, IARF, Institute on Public Policy, UIC Institute on DD and Human Development) dedicated to transforming Illinois' IDD system. Coleman Foundation funds the Coalition's person-centered system redesign efforts.
• Russell Reynolds AssociatesminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerExecutive search firm retained by the Foundation's Board of Directors to conduct the national search that resulted in Nora Garcia's appointment as Executive Director.
• Equal HopemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEqual Hope assumed stewardship of the Supportive Oncology Collaborative's resources developed by the Foundation, including training videos, provider tools, and patient/caregiver information. This transfer ensures sustainability of the Collaborative's work.
• Healthy Communities Foundation (HCF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNora Garcia served as Director of Programs at HCF before joining Coleman Foundation. The two foundations partnered on a Community Health Worker (CHW) initiative expanding CHW networks across western suburbs of Cook County.
• Center for Business Models in HealthcaremajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartnered with the Foundation to design process improvements for the Supportive Oncology Collaborative, creating a national model for supportive oncology care delivery.
• The Arc of IllinoiscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey advocacy partner for IDD issues. The Arc of Illinois runs the Going Home Coalition, focused on closing Illinois' state-operated developmental centers and increasing system-wide change for IDD support structures.
• Keystone AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA family of IDD nonprofits collaborating to build the Keystone Solutions Platform, addressing workforce challenges faced by IDD organizations including high staff turnover rates.
• University of Notre DamemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partner for the Experiential Classroom program - a three-day clinic for entrepreneurship educators and BSO staff. Professor Mike Morris leads this initiative.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Healthy Communities Foundation: Chicago-area foundation funding health equity and community health initiatives. Directly comparable to Coleman's Health portfolio, and Coleman's incoming ED (Nora Garcia) was previously HCF's Director of Programs, evidencing close operational overlap.
• Chicago Community Trust: Chicago's largest community foundation, focused on the same greater Chicago region. Directly comparable as a place-based grantmaking institution, and Coleman actively co-funds initiatives with CCT (e.g., Businesses of Color Partnerships Fund).
• Crown Family Philanthropies: Chicago-based family philanthropy supporting education, Jewish life, and community development. Comparable regional, multi-program-area private foundation with overlapping Chicago-area footprint.
• Michael Reese Health Trust: Chicago-based private health-focused foundation. Comparable as a regional health grantmaker and a natural peer within Coleman's Health program area on cancer care, supportive oncology, and health-equity topics.
• Lloyd A. Fry Foundation: Chicago-based family foundation focused on education, health, and economic opportunity. Highly comparable in size, regional focus, and overlapping program areas (especially health and education/entrepreneurship) with Coleman.
• Polk Bros Foundation: Chicago-based private family foundation funding education, health, housing, and economic development in the Chicago region. Highly comparable in scale, regional scope, and program-area structure to Coleman.
• The Joyce Foundation: Chicago- and Midwest-focused private foundation supporting education, economic development, environment, and gun-violence prevention. Comparable as a regional grantmaker with a defined programmatic portfolio similar in spirit to Coleman's three-area structure.
• Robert R. McCormick Foundation: Chicago-area private foundation supporting education, veterans, and civic community programs. Closely comparable in regional focus and is a current co-funder with Coleman on the Businesses of Color Partnerships Fund.

Broad incumbents

• Spencer Foundation: Chicago-based national foundation focused on education research. Comparable to Coleman's Education/Entrepreneurship grantmaking thrust but operates nationally and at a substantially larger scale.
• John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation: One of the largest U.S. private foundations, headquartered in Chicago, with a far broader and larger grantmaking program. Comparable as a major Chicago-based grantmaking incumbent whose scale and reach dwarf Coleman's $9M annual budget.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ColemanFdn
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-coleman-foundation/about

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Coleman Foundation