Based in the Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, Illinois, the Red Bird Foundation is a low-key funder with broad interests. John and Paula Lillard created this foundation in 1991 to channel their family philanthropy. Now retired, John Lillard was a real estate investment executive, while Paula Lillard used to work in education and co-founded a Montessori school.
Although this funder does not have a website to guide grantseekers, here’s what we know right now about the Red Bird Foundation and its Chicago-area giving.
Many different funding interests
Grantmaking interests of the Red Bird Foundation include education and youth, arts and culture, human services, health, the environment and religious causes. This funder appears to consider nearly any type of nonprofit cause it sees value in. Yet judging from past grantmaking, its most consistent interests are education and youth.
Some of the organizations the foundation supports are Lake Forest College, Ounce of Prevention, Teach for America and the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. Other local grantees are the Art Institute of Chicago, Bernie’s Book Bank, Chicago Cares and Children’s Home & Aid.
A preference for Chicago-area nonprofits
The Red Bird Foundation keeps the bulk of its funding in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. It gravitates toward the northern suburbs of the city, such as Glencoe, Lake Forest and Lake Bluff.
However, the foundation will occasionally support groups in other parts of the country as well, especially if those nonprofits work nationwide or have connections to the family. For instance, the foundation has awarded grants to organizations based in San Francisco, Washington D.C., New York City, Boston, Virginia and Minnesota.
Millions in annual giving
In recent years, the foundation’s giving has exceeded $2.6 million annually. The most recent tax records available reveal that it gave out $1,690,390 in a recent tax year. Most Red Bird Foundation grants are between $1,000 and $10,000; however, recent grants have been as low as $240 and as high as $943,000.
No unsolicited applications accepted
According to recent tax records, the Red Bird Foundation does not accept unsolicited grant requests and only funds preselected organizations. Family members run the Red Bird Foundation, with Paula Lillard as the president and John Lillard as the chairman. There are no paid employees.
Read more about this funder in IP’s full profile of the Red Bird Foundation in our Chicago and Great Lakes Funding Guide.
