Pritzker Traubert Foundation

Our commitment to Chicago is deeply personal. Chicago is our home. We raised our family here, built community here, and engaged in the civic life of this extraordinary city. We founded the Foundation so we could continue to play an active role in strengthening Chicago. We are proud to be part of a network of Chicagoans dedicated to making our city more equitable and vibrant. The Foundation partners with visionary leaders in the public and private sectors who share our values and mission. In addition to financial resources, we contribute our passion, time and expertise to increase the impact of our investments. Since the Foundation’s inception, we have worked to improve public education, increase fitness and health opportunities, and invest in civic institutions throughout Chicago. We returned to Chicago in 2016: Penny from Washington DC after serving as US Secretary of Commerce in the Obama Administration, and Bryan from a Fellowship at Stanford University. Through our respective experiences, we gained a better understanding of the far-reaching impact and promise of philanthropy. We took the opportunity to re-assess the Foundation’s strategic approach and decided that, moving forward, we would focus on investing in economic mobility to address Chicago’s widening opportunity gap. Our goal is to improve economic prosperity for low-income families in Chicago by investing in promising solutions. The Foundation has more than tripled its financial commitment to Chicago over the last ten years. In the next decade, we will deepen that commitment and invest $100M to make economic opportunity possible for more individuals and communities. Investments will be made in Chicago in three areas: Investing in Chicago communities by sparking new enterprise and job creation that benefit current residents; preparing for the future of work by promoting employer-driven solutions; and building capacity in innovative leaders and institutions focused on increasing mobility from poverty.