Jack Miller Family Foundation
OVERVIEW: The Jack Miller Family Foundation supports civic and democracy causes, Jewish causes, education, health and community in places where the Miller family members live.
IP TAKE: This is a right-leaning funder whose giving is not transparent or accessible. It does not accept unsolicited requests for funding, but it does provide a way for grantseekers to get in touch on its website. It gives largely to other Miller organizations and restricts its grantmaking geographically to the Chicago metropolitan area and Palm Beach County, Florida. New grantseekers will find it difficult to find support here.
PROFILE: Based in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, the Jack Miller Family Foundation (JMFF) is a private family foundation that is linked to another philanthropic fund called the Jack and Goldie Wolfe Miller Fund. Jack Miller is the founder and former president and CEO of Quill Corporation, which Staples acquired in 1998. JMFF’s mission is “to use our resources to support entities and initiatives that adhere to Jack Miller’s core beliefs, while binding the members of Jack Miller’s family together through a common charitable endeavor.” The foundation’s freedom initiatives support K-12 and university-level education, related to the Constitution, democracy and civic engagement. The funder’s Jewish initiatives are connected to a dedication to Israel, perpetuation of the Jewish peoplehood, social welfare and other issues that benefit the Jewish community. Aside from these two main focus areas, JMFF also provides educational, medical and community grants in places where members of Jack Miller’s family live.
In addition to the Jack Miller Family Foundation, the Miller family has also either created, co-created, or is otherwise closely affiliated with other nonprofits and organizations, including Jack Miller Center, Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy, Goldie B. Wolfe Miller Women Leaders In Real Estate, Boardified, and ACHI – American Civics And History Initiative. These typically receive the family foundation’s largest grants and most consistent annual support.
Grants for Jewish Causes
The foundation’s Jewish Initiative grantmaking area works “to protect and respond to the compelling needs of the Jewish State of Israel” and “to help protect and strengthen Jewish identity,” what the foundation calls “Perpetuation of the Jewish ‘Peoplehood.’”
The initiative’s Israel grantmaking funds organizations or programs that run projects in Israel, either directly or via regranting to other groups. It also supports efforts to unify Israel’s Jewish citizens and promote the country’s traditions and cultural interpretations of historical experience. It will also fund efforts to defeat the BDS movement in the U.S. According to the foundation’s website, “at least 35% of the Foundation’s Jewish Charitable Giving Budget will be allocated to Dedication to Israel.” Past grantees include Friends of Israel Defense Forces and Birthright Israel Foundation, among others.
Grantmaking that supports Jewish identity is rooted in efforts to encourage American Jews to “not be weak” and defend the Jewish people and Israel from antisemitism. It also seeks to promote a sense of Jewish identity and “peoplehood,” and to “preserve and encourage the celebration of Jewish traditions and faith.” Previous grantees here include Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago, Interfaith Family of Massachusetts, Foundation for Jewish Camp, Mishkan, and Moving Traditions, all of whom received over $100,000 in grants. Other grantees in this space who received modest support include Anshe Emet Synagogue, Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, Jewish Federation of Metro Chicago, Ramah Day Camp, and NCSY – Jewish Student Union.
Additional grants through this initiative may have a social welfare component that seeks “to support Jews domestically and internationally who are in need of help, with an emphasis, where possible, on helping Jews become more self-sufficient.”
Grants for K-12 and Higher Education
The bulk of Miller’s education grantmaking occurs under the banner of its Freedom Initiative, which believes “the battle for the soul of our country will be won or lost in the classroom.” The vast majority of funding here goes to the Jack Miller Center for Teaching America’s Founding Principles and History, which has received over $7 million since 2012 and works to train professors, scholars, and educators who adhere to the belief that “America should be and should remain what Reagan referred to as a ‘shining city on a hill’ – a guide for others if they choose to follow it.”
The foundation’s other education-related grantmaking is “focused on education and training programs that encourage people to become the best they are capable of being.” Past education grantees include Students For Liberty, U.S. English Foundation in Washington, DC, Children’s Scholarship Fund in Philadelphia, Crew Foundation, Students for Liberty, and Lower Merion Library Foundation, all of whom received grants of less than $50,000.
Grants for Public Health and Access and Medical Research
Miller’s medical grants are “focused on medical problems or issues experienced by members of the family of Jack Miller.” However, it may give grants outside of this narrow concern “to other medical initiatives as the Board deems important or relevant.” Successful health and medical research grantees must be ranked in the top 25% in their category according to U.S. News and World Report Hospital Rankings and Ratings. The Miller family’s other foundation, Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy, receives the largest grants from this program in the health category, with Miller giving over $2 million since 2012. Other grantees include Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, City of Hope, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago Foundation, and Ronald McDonald House, all of whom have received modest grants over the years.
Grants for Community Development
The Miller Family Foundation’s community development grants are “focused on organizations and institutions that foster and create culturally vibrant communities in those geographic regions where the members of the family of Jack Miller live.” Past grantees include Ayn Rand Institute the Center for the Advancement of Objectivism, PADS Lake County Homeless Shelters, Snow City Arts Foundation, Lake County Crisis Center for the Prevention & Treatment of Domestic Violence, and Integrative Touch for Kids.
Important Grantmaking Details:
Grants from the Miller Family Foundation range from just a few thousand up to over $1 million, although the largest grants typically go to other foundations created by the Miller family. The average grant amount is $5,000.
Miller prioritizes support for groups in the Chicago metropolitan area and Palm Beach County, Florida. Organizations outside these two geographic areas must have a “national impact” to receive funding. For further information about the how the foundation makes grants, read over the Grant Process and FAQ pages.
The foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals or requests for funding.
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