John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

Office of Grants Management
140 S. Dearborn Street
Chicago, IL 60603

Tel:  312-726-8000
Fax:  312-920-6258

Email: 4answers@macfound.org

Web: www.macfound.org

• Jonathan F. Fanton, President
• Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Chairman

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private, independent grant-making institution dedicated to helping groups and individuals foster lasting improvement in the human condition. The Foundation fosters the development of knowledge, nurtures individual creativity, helps strengthen institutions, helps improve public policy, and provides information to the public, primarily through support for public interest media.

MacArthur is an American institution with a global perspective, working in 65 countries in many cultures and traditions. It is independent and non-partisan, devoted to objective research that can inform public policy.

With assets of more than $5 billion, MacArthur is one of the nation’s largest foundations.  It makes grants in the United States and abroad totaling more than $200 million annually, with emphasis on community development, housing, public education, and system reform in mental health and juvenile justice domestically, and human rights and international justice, biodiversity conservation, population and reproductive health, and international peace and security internationally.  The Foundation also supports public radio and television and the making of independent documentaries, as well as support for exceptionally creative individuals through its Fellows program.

MacArthur has awarded more than $3 billion in grants since it began operations in 1978, and had assets, as of December 31, 2004, of approximately $5 billion. The Foundation believes its grant-making is most effective when focused upon a relatively few areas of work, combined with sufficient resources over a long enough period of time to make a measurable difference.

The Foundation makes grants through four programs and by making program-related investments:

The Program on Global Security and Sustainability focuses on international issues, including peace and security, conservation and sustainable development, population and reproductive health, and human rights. The program also supports initiatives in Russia and Nigeria, particularly concerning the improvement of higher education. International offices are located in Mexico, India, Nigeria, and Russia.

The Program on Human and Community Development operates primarily within the United States. Issues of interest to the program include community development; regional policy; affordable housing, with a particular emphasis on the preservation of rental housing; and system reform in education, juvenile justice, and mental health. In addition to grants, the program makes program-related investments, primarily for affordable housing and U.S.-based community development financial institutions.

The General Program supports public interest media, including public radio and the production of independent documentary film. Grants are made to arts and cultural institutions in the Chicago area and for special initiatives, currently including intellectual property rights in a digital environment.

The MacArthur Fellows Program awards five-year, unrestricted fellowships to individuals across all ages and fields who show exceptional merit and promise of continued creative work. It is limited to U.S. citizens and other residents of the United States.

John D. MacArthur (1897-1978) developed and owned Bankers Life and Casualty Company and other businesses, as well as considerable property in Florida and New York. His wife Catherine (1909-1981) held positions in many of these companies and served as a director of the Foundation.

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