What Illinois Data Reveals about Promising College and Career Pathways
For more than a decade, a deceptively simple question has shaped conversations about economic mobility: Is college still worth it? Skepticism about a…
Stories
Spotlights on community issues, the people, and the organizations who contribute to effective philanthropy as well as a stronger Chicago region and world.
Recent Stories
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Building Housing Stability in Chicago: What We’re Learning and Funding
A new report from Housing Action Illinois and the National Low Income Housing Coalition finds our region is short 225,000 affordable rental units…
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Trust Talks, The Podcast – Episode 25: Transforming College Transfer Pathways in Illinois
In Illinois, nearly 80 percent of community college students say they plan to transfer and earn a bachelor’s degree, yet only about 35…
All Stories
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After School Programs Give Teens a Step Up in Job Market
Chicago high school students have been spending their after-school hours with their hands in the dirt. From building garden beds to designing logos to crafting…
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The Eternal Challenge of Ensuring Your Wishes Live on After You Are Gone
Mortmain (the French word for “dead hand”) represents the danger of unintended consequences in a will or estate plan. A serious dilemma occurs for trustees…
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Maynard J. and Elinor S. Marks Led Support for the Elderly
Maynard J. and Elinor S. Marks were compassionate advocates and supporters for the elderly. Issues such as the shortage of nursing care led them to…
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The Trust Shifts its Focus to Healthcare
Dr. Lowell T. Coggeshall helped the Trust shift its focus to healthcare during the 1960s. Dr. Coggeshall served for three decades as the Trust’s medical…
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The Trust Receives a Saloon
Before he became its first executive director, Frank Loomis gave the Trust a unique gift: a saloon. Trust chair Clifford Barnes first met Loomis while…
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The Searles Are Making a Better Future
John G. Searle felt that personal success created an obligation to help others. Inherited from his father, Gideon Daniel Searle, while it was still a…
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Inspiration in Practice: Barbara Austin Foote
In 1978 Barbara Austin Foote became the first woman to lead the Trust’s Executive Committee. The eldest daughter of Edwin C. Austin, the former legal…
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The Quiet and Patient Leader: Frank Loomis
Relief was the goal of early 20th century philanthropy. An annual report at the time described the Trust’s involvement as “community-wide humanitarian work” for residents…
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How One Man Revolutionized Market Research and Philanthropy
Great success in marketing research enabled Arthur C. Nielsen to pursue his philanthropic interests. By rethinking the practices of audience monitoring and measurement more scientifically,…
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Trust's First Social Survey Reflected Turmoil in Chicago
In the 1920s, “Americanization” was the catch-all phrase used to describe efforts to assimilate immigrants into the American way of life, narrowly defined by the…
