# Caerus Foundation

Caerus Foundation is an Endowment / Foundation based in Northbrook, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Endowment / Foundation
- **Headquarters:** Northbrook, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Northbrook, IL, United States
- **Founded:** 2003
- **Assets under management:** $100M - $250M (Altss estimate)
- **Website:** caerusfoundation.org
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/caerus-foundation-inc

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

Caerus Foundation was established in 2003 by J. Thomas Hurvis, the founder of Old World Industries, a Northbrook, Illinois-based automotive chemicals manufacturer best known for the Peak brand. The foundation operates as a 501(c)(3) private independent foundation, governed by Hurvis as President alongside family directors Sara H. Younkin and Christina M. Hurvis. Its grant-making centers on four program areas: the arts, education, the environment, and global health. The foundation runs a hybrid allocation model. It makes traditional grants to nonprofits — including participation in the Sustain Our Great Lakes public-private partnership alongside Crown Family Philanthropies — while also holding a venture capital portfolio and direct investments. IRS filings show it carries positions in venture funds and maintains a loan receivable to Funding University, Inc., a fintech-focused education lender. On the real-asset side, the foundation holds a position in Link Real Estate Investment Trust, a publicly traded Hong Kong property vehicle with a mixed-use portfolio across retail, office, and logistics assets in Hong Kong, mainland China, and Singapore. The foundation's most recent available filings peg its asset base at approximately $122 million (Altss estimate), placing it in the mid-sized private foundation tier. Governance rests with a tight family board — Hurvis as President, Younkin as Vice President and Director, and Christina Hurvis as Secretary and Director — without the multi-layered investment staff typical of larger institutional endowments. The foundation does not maintain offices beyond its Northbrook headquarters. Caerus sits at the intersection of two distinct institutional forms: it operates as a classic grant-making private foundation while holding a portfolio that includes venture capital fund commitments, a direct loan to a fintech operating company, and a publicly listed Asian REIT position. That unusual mix — traditional environmental and education grants alongside direct venture and cross-border real asset exposure — reflects the founder-operator flexibility of a single-family vehicle housed inside a 501(c)(3) structure.

## Sectors

- Venture Capital
- Education
- Environment
- Arts & Culture
- Global Health

## People

- J. Thomas Hurvis — Founder and President
- Sara H. Younkin — Vice President and Director
- Christina M. Hurvis — Secretary and Director

## Questions

### How is Caerus Foundation related to Old World Industries?

J. Thomas Hurvis founded Old World Industries, the Northbrook, Illinois-based automotive chemicals company behind the Peak antifreeze and motor oil brand. The foundation's endowment was capitalized with wealth generated from that business. The foundation operates independently as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

### Which environmental initiatives has Caerus backed?

Caerus Foundation is a partner in Sustain Our Great Lakes, a public-private collaborative that funds habitat restoration, water quality improvement, and invasive species management across the Great Lakes basin. Crown Family Philanthropies is also a named co-investor in that initiative.

### Is Caerus a single-family foundation or does it have broader governance?

Caerus operates as a family-governed private foundation. All three named directors — J. Thomas Hurvis, Sara H. Younkin, and Christina M. Hurvis — share family ties. The foundation does not appear to have independent trustees or outside investment committee members, distinguishing it from major institutional foundations with professionalized governance structures.

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- [Antioch University Endowment](https://altss.com/profile/antioch-university-endowment)
- [Retirement Plan For Employees Of Highland Hospital Of Rochester, NY](https://altss.com/profile/retirement-plan-for-employees-of-highland-hospital-of-rochester-ny)

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/caerus-foundation

Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology