Richard H. Driehaus Foundation

Richard H. Driehaus Foundation

Richard H. Driehaus established the foundation in 1983 after building his career in investment management. The organization continues his emphasis on Chicago through structured grant programs in architecture, arts, and government accountability reporting. Grantmaking covers three primary areas with allocations to classical architecture preservation, museum operations, and journalism initiatives. The foundation maintains a 1.1 percent allocation to private equity alongside direct ownership of properties and collections. Activity remains concentrated in the Midwest with limited exposure outside the United States. The foundation employs nine professionals and operates from Chicago headquarters. It maintains the Richard H. Driehaus Museum and related lending vehicles for art and automobiles. May 2025: Sponsored the Beyond the Byline awards for investigative journalism. The foundation integrates grantmaking with permanent ownership of historic assets and a separate art exhibition lending entity established in 2024. This structure ties capital deployment directly to physical preservation and public access rather than purely financial returns.