What Chicago Nonprofits Should Know About the Elizabeth Morse Genius Charitable Trust

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The Elizabeth Morse Genius Charitable Trust is one of two foundations created by Richard M. Genius, Jr. to honor his mother’s commitment to Chicago. His mother, Elizabeth Morse Genius, inherited wealth from her father’s business and was known for her generosity and artistic talent.

Today, the Elizabeth Morse Genius Charitable Trust is an active grantmaker that is accessible to local nonprofits and supports a variety of Chicago causes. Here are some things to know about this grantmaker.

All grantmaking benefits Chicago and Cook County

Elizabeth Morse Genius was born in Chicago and lived with her family in Kenwood on the city’s South Side. Even though she spent substantial time in Florida, New York and Vermont, her roots were in Chicago, and that’s where this foundation’s giving is still centered today. Only public charities that serve Chicago and Cook County receive grants from this foundation. The trust has been in operation since 1992.

Broad grantmaking interests

Although this funder’s geographic scope is narrow, its topics of interest are quite broad. It supports programs that promote self-sufficiency, relieve human suffering and help people live with self-esteem and dignity. Physical health, athletic activity, spiritual well-being and regional challenges in Chicago are some of its interests. Funding commonly goes to groups that address more than one of the foundation’s values at the same time. Also, the foundation does not support capital campaigns, individuals, endowments, political campaigns or fundraising events.

Letters of inquiry are welcome

The Elizabeth Morse Genius Charitable Trust has an accessible application process that starts with an initial letter of inquiry. There are specific guidelines that organizations must follow to submit grant inquiries, and then the foundation requests additional information from groups it may want to fund. Applicants can expect to receive a letter by mail either declining the inquiry or requesting a full proposal.

The application process can take a year or more

The trust usually reviews initial letters of inquiry within three months, but the overall process can take considerably longer than that. It is not uncommon for the entire process to take a year or more. Applicants can email letters of inquiry as a Word or PDF document to the foundation or mail a hard copy to the trust’s office.

Bank of America serves as co-trustee of the foundation and is the primary contact for getting in touch. James L. Alexander is the other co-trustee for both this funder and its sister trust, the Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust (no “Genius”). It is not typically permitted to submit a grant inquiry to both grantmakers at the same time or even at a later time.

Learn more about this funder in IP’s full profile of the Elizabeth Morse Genius Trust, which is part of our Chicago and Great Lakes funding guide.