Daily Featured Foundation - 12/5/25

12/5/2025

Here is today’s featured foundation.

Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation

Website: https://gddf.org/

Mission & Purpose: To support land conservation, artistic vitality, and regional collections for the people of the Chicago region and the Lowcountry of South Carolina.

Broad Funding Guidelines: Grantmaking is geographically split between these two specific regions: Chicago, IL and the Lowcountry (Charleston area), SC. They are unique because they prioritize General Operating Support combined with technical assistance, rather than making you chase specific project dollars.

Featured Opportunity: The "Broadening Narratives" initiative is a specific funding stream for museums, libraries, and archives. It funds projects that tell new, often overlooked stories from history—specifically those of marginalized groups—using existing collections. If you have a dusty archive that tells a powerful, untold story, this is the grant for you.

Recommendation: A small-to-mid-sized museum, theatre, or land trust in Chicago or Charleston. They love organizations that are "gritty" and doing the work on the ground, and they will pay for the "boring" stuff (operating costs) to help you do it.