Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation
At a glance
This funder does not accept unsolicited applications. The foundation chooses the organisations it funds itself.
Key takeaways
- Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation funds work in Chicago, with priority given to Garfield Park, Englewood and Bronzeville, across Safety, Wellness, Economic Opportunity and Cultural Vitality, so this is only a fit if your work sits within those places and themes.
- It does not accept unsolicited requests and funds by invitation only, so there is no open application route, and a direct approach is unlikely to succeed without an existing relationship.
- A realistic request is modest: about eight in ten grants to organisations fall between $5,000 and $200,000, and the median grant is $35,000, though the largest grant was $1,550,000.
- Giving is heavily relationship-led, as 77% of grant dollars went to organisations also funded in the two prior filings, so treat this as a competitive, relationship-based funder rather than one open to cold approaches.
- Organisations without 501(c)(3) status or a fiscal sponsor holding that status should not apply.
Overview
Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation is a US private foundation based in Chicago, IL.
What they fund
Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.
Priority Areas
The foundation’s strategy is organised around Safety, Wellness, Economic Opportunity and Cultural Vitality, with its work principally focused in Chicago and an aim to improve quality of life and life expectancy, especially in communities that are marginalised or have experienced historic disinvestment. It prioritises place-based investment in Garfield Park and Englewood, while continuing creative-economy work in Bronzeville. Its approach includes support for organisations whose information, analysis and services are widely used and relied upon by policymakers, grantees and philanthropic peers, alongside research and evaluation. It also backs efforts to change policies, practices, markets and narratives to improve systems affecting people’s lives. Its values include community-informed collaboration, community leadership and decision-making, innovation, creativity, risk-taking, sustainability and addressing systemic inequities; family-inspired giving sits within and beyond this framework. It provides both general operating support and programme funding.
Themes
- Safety
- Wellness
- Economic Opportunity
- Cultural Vitality
Geographic Focus
Priority: Chicago; Garfield Park; Englewood; Bronzeville.
What They Don't Fund
- Proposals from organisations that have neither non-profit 501(c)(3) status nor a fiscal sponsor with 501(c)(3) status
How to apply
The foundation states that it does not accept unsolicited requests.
Application success factors
- Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 77% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2022 or TY2023 filing.
- Grant size: Across its TY2022, TY2023 and TY2024 filings, half of its 305 grants to organisations were $35,000 or less.
What the foundation says:
- It values collaboration informed by community needs and partnerships.
- It supports community leadership and decision making.
- It values innovation, creativity and risk-taking.
- It values sustainability.
- It values progress on addressing systemic inequities.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.
Grant dollars by state
6 other states: 2%
- The largest single recipient received 13% of grant dollars to organisations.
- In tax year 2024, 77% of grant dollars went to organisations Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
- <1% of grant dollars went directly to organisations outside the US (Switzerland).
- 13% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.
Grants
How much do they typically give?
Share of 96 grants in tax year 2024 by size
Median $50,000 (tax year 2024)
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- Columbia University · General operating support$1,550,0002024 tax year
- Planned Parenthood of Illinois · General operating support$716,6672024 tax year
- University of Colorado Foundation · General operating support$600,0002024 tax year
- Chicago Community Trust · General operating support$550,0002024 tax year
- Chicago Children's Museum · General operating support$500,0002024 tax year
- Community Builders - New Hope Community · General operating support$500,0002024 tax year
- Northwestern University · General operating support$350,0002024 tax year
- Tectonic Theater Project · General operating support$265,0002024 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- Valerie Chang — Chief Executive Officer
- Joshua S Abern — Vice President & Secretary
- Marian Pritzker — Director
- Julie Wilen — Vice President
- Scott Stevens — Vice President
- Paula H McMenamin — Vice President
- Michael Pucker — Director, Treasurer & Vice President
- Gigi Pritzker Pucker — President & Director
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
3 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 tax year | $9,536,164 | $7,410,690 | $95,425,070 | Filing for 2022 tax year |
| 2023 tax year | $11,460,910 | $9,693,641 | $88,046,701 | Filing for 2023 tax year |
| 2024 tax year | $15,388,865 | $9,994,896 | $99,135,984 | Filing for 2024 tax year |
Figures from the foundation’s IRS Form 990-PF filings. Assets are at fair market value at year end. The document icon links to each year’s filing on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
Sources
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At a glance
Applying to Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation?
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Applying to Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required