Our History

Our commitment to Chicago is deeply personal. Chicago is our home. We raised our family here, built community here, and engaged in the civic life of this extraordinary city. We founded Pritzker Traubert Foundation so we could continue to play an active role in strengthening Chicago. We are proud to be part of a network of Chicagoans dedicated to making our city more equitable and vibrant.

Pritzker Traubert Foundation partners with visionary leaders in the public and private sectors who share our values and mission. In addition to financial resources, we contribute our passion, time and expertise to increase the impact of our investments. Since the foundation’s inception in 2000, we have worked to improve public education, increase fitness and health opportunities, and invest in civic institutions throughout Chicago.

We returned to Chicago in 2016: Penny from Washington DC after serving as U.S. Secretary of Commerce in the Obama Administration, and Bryan from a Fellowship at Stanford University. Through our respective experiences, we gained a better understanding of the far-reaching impact and promise of philanthropy. We took the opportunity to reassess Pritzker Traubert Foundation’s strategic approach and decided that, moving forward, we would focus on investing in economic mobility to address Chicago’s widening opportunity gap. Our goal is to improve economic prosperity for low-income families in Chicago by investing in promising solutions.

Pritzker Traubert Foundation has more than tripled its financial commitment to Chicago since 2007. In 2017, we pledged to deepen that commitment and invest $100 million dollars over ten years to make economic opportunity possible for more individuals and communities. Investments will be made in Chicago in three key areas:

  • Investing in the Economic Future of Chicago Communities

  • Providing visionary leaders with the flexible capital to pursue scale and sustainability

  • Investing in a stronger, more inclusive democracy

In the months and years ahead, our expanded network will include new partners while continuing to work with many of our legacy grantees. We invite you to learn more about our plans by reading about our strategy and partnerships.

With hope and gratitude,

– PENNY & BRYAN

Pritzker Traubert Foundation has been investing in people and programs that enrich the lives of Chicagoans since 2000. In 2017, we expanded our focus to investing in economic mobility to address Chicago’s widening opportunity gap and the changing needs of communities across the City. Our goal is to improve economic prosperity for low-income families in Chicago by investing in promising solutions.

  • 2008

    Chicago Run

    Bryan founded Chicago Run to ensure that more Chicago Public School students have access to health and wellness programs. Chicago Run offers a cost effective sports based youth development program for kids in low-income communities. Started in 2008 at 12 elementary schools serving 2300 students, the program has grown over the last decade and serves over 18,000 children at 60 schools in 36 diverse neighborhoods.

  • 2009

    Bryan joins the board of Noble Network of Charter Schools

    Noble began in 1999 with one high school and a founding class of 100 students. Noble now includes seventeen open-enrollment, public high schools serving more than 12,000 Chicago students. Pritzker Traubert Foundation supported the launch of three schools: Pritzker (2002), Johnson (2009), and Hansberry (2012). Bryan served on the Noble Network of Charter School Board from 2009-2018.

  • 2009

    Penny appointed to President Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board

  • 2010

    Take the Field

    Bryan founded and led Take the Field, a $13 million public-private partnership to build public athletic fields throughout the city of Chicago to address the growing problem of childhood obesity and to promote healthy activities. The outcome was the creation of 14 state-of-the-art artificial turf fields in neighborhoods throughout Chicago. The Chicago Park District was an important Take the Field partner; Bryan served on the Park District's board from 2010–2015.

  • 2011

    Penny serves on President Obama's Council on Jobs & Competitiveness and is appointed to the Chicago Board of Education

  • 2012

    Skills for Chicagoland’s Future

    Skills creates demand-driven solutions for employers to get the under/unemployed back to work. Since its launch in 2012, it has placed over 4,500 individuals into jobs with 60 businesses across multiple industries. Besides providing operating support, the Pritzker Traubert Foundation recently gave seed funding to help Skills launch Beyond the Diploma, an initiative that aims to address Chicago’s youth unemployment. Penny served as the founding Board Chair of Skills and continues to be a champion of Skills’ mission.

  • 2013

    President Obama appoints Penny to his cabinet as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce

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    Penny joins the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

  • 2015

    Pritzker Access Scholarships

    In 2014, Penny and Bryan, in partnership with the Pritzker Foundation, created the Pritzker Access Scholarship (PAS) to alleviate the financial barriers that Noble Network of Charter Schools’ undocumented students face when accessing college. Because of this scholarship, over the next six years more than 400 college-ready DREAMers were offered the opportunity to attend a four-year postsecondary institution. The college access rate for Pritzker Access Scholars has increased from 28% to 87%. Read more here.

  • 2016

    Erie Family Health Centers

    The Erie Family Health Centers needed to renovate and expand two of its health care locations since they had unmet demand at both the Teen Center at 2418 W. Division St. and its West Town pediatric center. Each center serves low-income communities. Pritzker Traubert Foundation supported these expansions so that more low-income youth have access to quality health and mental health services. The newly renovated facilities opened in 2017.

  • 2016

    Bryan is a Fellow at Stanford’s Distinguished Career Institute

  • 2017

    The Obama Presidential Center

    Penny joins Obama Foundation Board

    The Obama Presidential Center is a campus on the southside of Chicago that aims to shape what it means to be a good citizen in the 21st century. Pritzker Traubert Foundation is supporting this effort with a capital grant.

  • 2017

    Bryan becomes the Vice Chair of WBEZ Board and is appointed to the Board of the Chicago Community Trust