The Joyce Foundation is a non-operating private foundation based in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

. As of 2021, it had assets of approximately $1.1 billion and distributes $50 million in grants per year and primarily funds organizations in the Great Lakes region. Former U.S. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

served on the foundation's board of directors from 1994 through 2002. The Joyce Foundation is notable for its support of

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with onl ...

measures.

History

The Joyce Foundation was established in 1948 by Beatrice Joyce Kean of Chicago. She was the sole heir of David Joyce, a lumber executive and industrialist from Clinton,

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

. The family wealth came from the lumber industry, including family-owned timberlands, plywood and saw mills, and wholesale and retail building material distribution facilities located in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

, and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. The Foundation was modestly endowed until Kean's death in 1972, when she bequeathed it nearly $100 million. Charles U. Daly, a former aide to President John F. Kennedy, served as president of the Foundation for eight years. He was succeeded by Craig Kennedy in 1986. Deborah Leff, a trial lawyer for the civil rights division of the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

, served as president of the organization from 1992 to 1999, and was succeeded by

Paula DiPerna Paula DiPerna is a writer and frequent media and conference speaker on a variety of subjects. She has served as President of the Joyce Foundation, as well as Vice President for Recruitment and Public Policy at the Chicago Climate Exchange, whi ...

, named president in 1999. DiPerna was succeeded in 2002 by Ellen S. Alberding, the organization's seventh president. Former U.S. President

served on the foundation's board of directors from 1994 through 2002. As of 2015, the Joyce Foundation has awarded over $950 million in grants since its establishment.

Programs

The Joyce Foundation describes its mission as "working to improve

quality of life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...

, promote community vitality, and achieve a fair society". The Joyce Foundation's primary focus is on the

Great Lakes region The Great Lakes region of North America is a binational Canadian–American region that includes portions of the eight U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin along with the Canadian p ...

, where its funding efforts are focused on "environmental preservation, diverse art, energy efficiency, teacher quality, gun violence prevention, early literacy, and workforce development". Foundation programs invest in public education, economic opportunity, and the environment. Other programs promote voting rights and arts organizations. The Joyce Foundation is one of the few private foundations that considers gun-related research proposals. Joyce distributes grants designed to prevent gun violence by reducing the easy accessibility of firearms. Since 1993, the Joyce Foundation spent over $54 million on over 100 grants that favor gun control.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Organizations based in Chicago Foundations based in the United States