# Burridge D. Butler Memorial Trust of Chicago

Burridge D. Butler Memorial Trust of Chicago is an Endowment / Foundation based in Cary, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Endowment / Foundation
- **Headquarters:** Cary, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Cary, IL, United States
- **Founded:** 1951
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **LinkedIn:** https://linkedin.com/company/burridge-d-butler-memorial-tr-of-chicago

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The Burridge D. Butler Memorial Trust was established in 1951 from the estate of Burridge D. Butler, a media magnate who transformed agricultural journalism and radio in the American Midwest. Butler's holdings included the influential Prairie Farmer newspaper and WLS Radio in Chicago, together forming a publishing and broadcast empire that made him one of the region's most prominent early-20th-century businessmen. Upon his death, his assets seeded a perpetual trust designed to operate as the first supporting organization of The Chicago Community Trust, linking his fortune to a broader philanthropic infrastructure that persists today. The trust deploys capital across a notably broad mandate. Its strategy encompasses direct venture capital — spanning seed, early-stage, and expansion rounds — alongside buyout transactions, fund-of-funds commitments, and secondary-market acquisitions. Oversight falls to a small leadership team anchored by Chairman A. James Anderson and Executive Director Michael Trench. The trust's operational footprint remains concentrated in Cary, Illinois, reflecting its deep local roots despite a nationwide investment scope. Its enduring relationship with The Chicago Community Trust provides a unique structural backstop, embedding grantmaking and income-distribution guidelines directly into the trust's charter. Beneficiaries over the decades have included Blackburn College and Brightpoint, formerly the Children's Home and Aid Society of Illinois, signaling a durable commitment to youth welfare and education. The trust's most distinctive architectural feature is its role as the first supporting organization of The Chicago Community Trust. This arrangement predates the modern wave of foundation-linked investment vehicles by decades and creates a governance model in which investment returns must reconcile with predefined charitable distribution rules set by the parent community foundation. That dual-fiduciary structure makes the Butler Trust an unusual hybrid: a family-derived endowment that behaves, in practice, like an institutional allocator governed by a civic mission.

## Sectors

- Media & Entertainment
- Real Estate
- Venture (General)

## People

- A. James Anderson — Chairman of the Board of Directors
- Michael Trench — Executive Director

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at the Burridge D. Butler Memorial Trust?

Executive Director Michael Trench and Chairman A. James Anderson oversee the trust's investment activities. The trust operates with a lean governance structure and draws on its relationship with The Chicago Community Trust for administrative and fiduciary guidance. Specific investment committee composition is not publicly disclosed.

### How is the trust related to The Chicago Community Trust?

The Burridge D. Butler Memorial Trust is the first supporting organization of The Chicago Community Trust, established specifically to channel income from Butler's estate into charitable purposes. This structure means the trust maintains its own investment portfolio while operating under the broader philanthropic and regulatory umbrella of the community foundation. Income distribution follows general guidelines set in coordination with The Chicago Community Trust.

### What investment strategies does the trust pursue?

The trust maintains a diversified multi-strategy mandate that includes direct venture capital at the seed, early-stage, and expansion stages, as well as buyout investments, fund-of-funds commitments, and secondary-market transactions. Its portfolio is not restricted to a single asset class, and historical holdings suggest long-term exposure to real assets and land in addition to traditional private equity and venture strategies.

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Last updated: 2026-08-11T02:43:31.692Z

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