Lloyd A. Fry Foundation Grant

The Lloyd A. Fry Foundation supports organizations with the strength and commitment to address persistent problems of urban Chicago resulting from poverty, violence, ignorance, and despair. The Foundation seeks to build the capacity of individuals and the systems that serve them. The Foundation's vision is a Chicago that offers education, prosperity, and hope for all.

The Foundation awards grants in four program areas: Arts Learning, Education, and Employment. Please refer to the Program Areas section for a description of funding priorities in each program area. Across all four program areas, the Foundation gives priority to:

• Programs with a demonstrated record of high-quality, effective services
• Efforts to improve the quality and effectiveness of programs and services (these might include program design, evaluation or staff development efforts, among others)
• The development of innovative approaches that will contribute valuable examples, information, and knowledge to others working in the field
• The Foundation also considers policy advocacy efforts that help ensure low-income communities and individuals in Chicago are treated fairly and have access to the services they need and deserve.

The Foundation is interested in investing in organizations and ideas that demonstrate exceptional potential for making a difference in one or more of the Foundation's four grantmaking areas. These projects show promise of developing new information or program innovations useful to other organizations, institutions, and policymakers. And these projects demonstrate potential to help advance the field of practice. In these cases, the Foundation will consider grants which represent larger or longer-term commitments than is otherwise typical.

In all reviews of applications, the Foundation looks for strong program designs with clear expected outcomes and specific procedures for assessing and evaluating progress.