OVERVIEW: The Irving Harris Foundation specializes in early childhood education grants. Performing arts, Jewish causes and reproductive health and justice also receive support from this Chicago-area funder.
IP TAKE: Social justice and equality are at the heart of all Harris grantmaking. This funder does not accept unsolicited proposals, but occasionally posts grant opportunities on its website.
PROFILE: Established in 1946, the Irving Harris Foundation is the foundation of businessman and philanthropist Irving B. Harris. Harris was the the owner of the Toni Home Permanent Company, which he sold to Gillette in 1948. In 1957, he became a partner at R.J. Levy & Company, where he worked until his his family assets became so large that he had to become a full-time manager of them. Today, the foundation aims to improve “the quality of life for children, families and communities by advancing human potential, social justice and equity, and creative experience and expression.” Grantmaking interest areas are Jewish charities, early childhood education, arts and culture and reproductive rights and justice.
Before the research was well-established, Harris believed that the best way to break intergenerational cycles of poverty was to intervene during children's first five years of life. Harris is the founder of one of Chicago's most popular early education programs, the Ounce of Prevention Fund, and the Harris Foundation has awarded grants to early education teaching training programs at the Erikson Institute, the Beethoven Project, the Early Childhood Study Center at Yale University, Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies at the University of Chicago and 500 Head Start programs across the country. In tandem with its early childhood work, the foundation supports high quality maternal and early infant care, maintaining an ethic of “respect and dignity” in mothers’ and families’ decision making about family planning, birth and neonatal care.
The foundation’s arts funding supports artists, groups and programs that are innovative and provide “social and political context” for audiences of all ages. Pas grantees in this space include the Music and Dance Theater of Chicago, the Chicago Symphony and Sky Art, an arts education program. Jewish funding aims to bring a “Jewish lens” to issues of social justice, combating antisemitism and building bridges in Chicago’s diverse communities. Past grantees include Chicago’s Jewish Children’s and Family Services and the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago.
The funder’s average grantmaking per year is in the $10 million to $15 million range. Individual grants range from $5,000 to $500,000. View a list of past grantees on the funder’s grantmaking page. With the exception of some Jewish giving, most Harris funding stays in Chicago.
The foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals in its early childhood, reproductive health and justice, or Jewish values giving areas. To inquire about Irving Harris's application process and deadlines, reach out to the funder by phone at 312-621-3814 or via online form.
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