What’s New with Chicago’s Albert Pick Jr. Fund?

With over a million dollars in annual giving and a city-specific focus, the Albert Pick Jr. Fund is an important local funder to know in Chicago. Although the foundation has been operating since 1947, it has recently undergone some changes that grantseekers may be interested to learn about.

Here’s an update on how the Albert Pick Jr. Fund is approaching grantmaking these days and how to connect with this funder for your next grant in Chicago.

Three opportunities per year

Starting in 2022, the Albert Pick Jr. Fund begun having just three grantmaking meetings per year instead of four. The foundation team now only reviews new proposals during the months of June, September and December. After each meeting, the foundation mails written notifications to grant applicants within about three weeks.

A new executive director

The Pick Fund also has a new executive director in charge. Heather D. Parish replaced Iris Krieg as the foundation’s leader, following nine years with the Pierce Family Foundation and the Cuore e Mani Foundation. Parish has stated that one of her goals is “ensuring that the Pick Fund is an integral part of the racial and social justice ecosystem in the philanthropic field.”

Four main priorities

There are four primary areas of giving at the Albert Pick Jr. Fund: civic activism, culture, education, and health and human services. Civic activism grants aim to get youth and adults involved in the issues that affect their lives and neighborhoods. Culture grants go toward arts-related programing hosted by non-arts organizations, such as art programs at foster care homes or in settings that benefit veterans.

Education grants assist K-12 students and teachers and often involve STEM subjects, out-of-school activities and at-home learning. The foundation’s health and human services grantmaking supports ways to reduce violence affecting young people and to make health, dental and mental health services more available to youth. Aside from these funding areas, the foundation occasionally supports special projects identified by the directors.

Other things to know

The foundation only funds programs that operate within the city limits of Chicago. Most grants are for project support, but the Pick Fund may consider giving general operating grants to small and single-purpose organizations. Prospective grantees should have annual operating budgets of less than $2.5 million and ask for between $15,000 and $35,000.

You can learn more about additional funders that prioritize Chicago nonprofits in IP’s Chicago and Great Lakes Funding Guide.

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