Field Foundation of Illinois

Field Foundation of Illinois

Marshall Field III established the foundation in 1960, channeling wealth from the Field department-store fortune into a grantmaking institution focused on Chicago. Today the foundation is led by President Daniel O. Ash, with descendant Marshall Field V serving as Director for Life. The foundation targets its spending on Chicago's South and West Sides, prioritizing racial equity. The endowment deploys over $10 million each year across a mix of grantmaking and program-related investments. Asset-class exposure spans buyout, venture capital, early-stage, and secondaries strategies. The foundation collaborates with the MacArthur Foundation on initiatives such as Leaders for a New Chicago, and partners with the Ford Foundation on journalism and storytelling grants. Geographic focus remains tightly bound to Chicago, with an emphasis on civic infrastructure, local news outlets, and cultural-sector organizations. The foundation's investment committee is chaired by Board Director Lyle Logan, who is also Vice Chairman of Northern Trust. The operating team and board work alongside peer funders including the Chicago Community Trust. In May 2024, the foundation continued its long-running partnership with the MacArthur Foundation, distributing awards through the Leaders for a New Chicago program to organizers and artists. The foundation's structural differentiator is its dual posture as both an endowment investor and a hands-on civic funder that operates out of the Impact House in Chicago's Loop. Its blend of traditional grantmaking and impact-aligned investing, coupled with direct collaboration alongside larger peer foundations, distinguishes it from purely philanthropic family foundations.