Over $1.76 Million Awarded to Chicago Arts Organizations By Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation

The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation awarded more than $1.76 million in grants to 66 of Chicago’s small arts organizations and arts advocacy organizations in 2025. Twenty-seven Chicago area arts organizations received multiyear grants of $30,000 or more.

Additionally, GDDF granted $725,000 to the Arts Work Fund for Organizational Development last year, joining together with other funders to provide emergency funding and other support in response to recent challenges faced by arts organizations.

“As part of our Chicago Artistic Vitality program, the foundation, along with our arts philanthropy partners, increased our contribution to the funder collaborative Arts Work Fund,” said Ellen Placey Wadey, senior program director for Chicago Arts & Collections at GDDF. “With an ability to deploy funds quickly and for immediate capacity needs, Arts Work Fund is a critical partnership in these difficult times for arts organizations.”

“This has been a challenging year for many of our grantee partners, including the loss of significant sources of funding,” said Arnold Randall, executive director of GDDF. “The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation remains steadfast in our commitment to our mission, values, and program areas, and in our support for the work of our grantees.”

The Chicago arts grantees are a portion of the $7,538,880 in grants that GDDF provided to 128 organizations in the Chicago region and the Lowcountry of South Carolina across the foundation’s three program areas in 2025: Artistic Vitality, Broadening Narratives, and Land Conservation. GDDF is currently funding more than 150 small arts organizations in the Chicago region through its multi-year general operating grants.

Among GDDF’s 2025 Chicago arts grantees are nonprofit advocacy and support organizations Arts Alliance Illinois ($75,000) and Enrich Chicago ($60,000). Additional Chicago Artistic Vitality grantees receiving $40,500 grants include American Indian Center of Chicago, Black Arts & Culture Alliance of Chicago, Raven Theatre Company, Red Clay Dance Company, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, Sisters in Cinema, South Chicago Dance Theatre, Theater Wit, and Trickster Cultural Center. Arts organizations receiving grants of $36,000 include Teatro Vista, The Chicago Poetry Center, and Visceral Dance Chicago.

“We also strive to offer support in ways grounded in trust and shared values,” Randall added. “Most of our grants are multiyear general operating support. Beyond funding, we create opportunities to convene and collaborate, and we connect grantees with training and other capacity-building resources. Now more than ever it is vital to champion the power of art, conserve and protect our land, and share the stories that tell us who we are.”

GDDF makes grants twice a year and prioritizes multiyear general operating support. In 2025, more than 68% of grants were for general operating support. GDDF also provides project, planning, technical assistance, and cash reserve funding. Program staff made more than 400 personal connections with grantees this year through calls, meetings, field visits, and attendance at performances.

2025 GDDF Funding by Region and Program

Chicago Region
$4,781,000 to 88 organizations
Artistic Vitality: $2,489,000
Broadening Narratives: $690,000
Land Conservation: $1,602,000 

Lowcountry of South Carolina
$2,757,880 to 40 organizations
Artistic Vitality: $707,880.00
Broadening Narratives: $550,000
Land Conservation: $1,500,000 

2025 Chicago Artistic Vitality Grantees

• Arts Work Fund for Organizational Development ($725,000)
• Arts Alliance Illinois ($75,0 00)
• Enrich Chicago ($60,000)
• American Indian Center of Chicago ($40,500)
• Black Arts & Culture Alliance of Chicago ($40,500)
• Raven Theatre Company ($40,500)
• Red Clay Dance Company ($40,500)
• Remy Bumppo Theatre Company ($40,500)
• Sisters in Cinema ($40,500)
• South Chicago Dance Theatre ($40,500)
• Theater Wit ($40,500)
• Trickster Cultural Center ($40,500)
• Teatro Vista ($36,000)
• The Chicago Poetry Center ($36,000)
• Visceral Dance Chicago ($36,000)
• Chicago Art Department ($30,000)
• eta Creative Arts Foundation, Inc. ($30,000)
• Free Street Theater ($30,000)
• Fulcrum Point New Music Project ($30,000)
• Griffin Theatre Company ($30,000)
• Joel Hall Dancers and Center ($30,000)
• Kalapriya ($30,000)
• Korean Performing Arts Institute of Chicago ($30,000)
• Latitude Chicago ($30,000)
• Praize Productions ($30,000)
• PRIDEARTS Center ($30,000)
• The Gift Theatre Company ($30,000)
• Theatre Y ($30,000)
• Lifeline Theatre ($27,000)
• Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre ($25,500)
• City Lit Theater Company ($25,500)
• Jackalope Theatre Company ($25,500)
• Oak Park Festival Theatre ($25,500)
• Sones de Mexico Ensemble ($25,500)
• Trap Door Theatre ($25,500)
• Haymarket Opera Company ($25,000)
• Oak Park Festival Theatre ($25,000)
• Roman Susan Art Foundation ($25,000)
• 6018North ($22,500)
• AAMPA African American Museum of Performing Arts ($22,500)
• Aguijon Theater Company ($22,500)
• Guild Complex ($22,500)
• Khecari ($22,500)
• Make-Believe Association ($22,500)
• MPAACT ($22,500)
• NAJWA Dance Corps ($22,500)
• Redtwist Theatre ($22,500)
• Rembrandt Chamber Musicians ($22,500)
• Riverside Arts Center ($22,500)
• Roman Susan Art Foundation ($22,500)
• Rough House Theater Company ($22,500)
• The Paper Machete ($22,500)
• Winifred Haun and Dancers ($22,500)
• La Caccina ($18,000)
• Mad Shak Dance Company ($18,000)
• Zephyr Dance Ensemble ($18,000)
• South Side Community Art Center ($15,000)
• Full Spectrum Features ($13,500)
• Third Coast Percussion ($13,500)
• Gender Fucked Productions ($12,000)
• Piven Theatre Workshop ($12,000)
• Red Theater Chicago ($12,000)
• Sixty Inches From Center ($10,000)
• DanceWorks Chicago ($8,500)
• Heaven Gallery ($8,500)
• Pegasus Theatre Chicago ($7,500)
• Symphony of Oak Park and River Forest ($7,500)