Richard L Duchossois Memorial Foundation

The Richard L. Duchossois Foundation operates as a strictly invitation-only grantmaker — there is no open application portal, published RFP cycle, or letter of inquiry process available to the general public. This is the single most important fact shaping any engagement strategy: organizations cannot apply; they must be identified and cultivated.

The foundation's philosophy is anchored in three precisely defined program areas — Strong Families (financial stability and economic mobility pathways), Veterans (employment, housing, and healthcare reintegration barriers), and Entrepreneurs (equitable access to technical, relational, and financial capital for Chicagoland small business owners). Every proposal, introduction, or relationship-building touchpoint must map cleanly to one of these three tracks. The foundation does not fund general community development, multi-issue organizations, or programs that do not explicitly advance economic mobility within one of these three populations.

The giving philosophy is explicitly data-driven. CEO Paul Sznewajs, who came from data consultancy Parliament Collective Intelligence and previously led a $25 million fundraising campaign for Chicago arts education, has built a program team that includes a Director of Data Strategies and Insights — a structural hire signaling that grantees are expected to demonstrate impact through rigorous measurement. Organizations with strong evaluation frameworks, outcomes data, and a willingness to share what is not working are distinctly advantaged.

Grant relationships are designed to be multi-year partnerships. The 2023 cohort shows a pattern of two consecutive annual grants of $100,000 per organization — suggesting annual renewal for organizations that perform. The foundation has explicitly stated it does not make one-off grants.

For organizations seeking entry, the most productive path is relationship-building with the three program directors — Deanna Love (Veterans), Molly Baltman-Leonard (Strong Families), and Niharika Hanglem (Entrepreneurs) — through Chicago-area nonprofit convenings, co-funder introductions via organizations like Chicago Community Trust, LISC Chicago, or Polk Bros. Foundation, and shared field-building activity rather than cold outreach.

Understanding the foundation's grant history requires separating legacy giving from programmatic giving, as one anomalous gift distorts the headline numbers significantly.

In fiscal year 2023, total giving reached $10.6 million. However, $10.18 million of that — 96% — was a single gift to the Aiken Horse Park Foundation in South Carolina, reflecting founder Richard Duchossois's lifelong passion for equestrian sport and his family's ownership of Arlington International Racecourse. Stripping out this one-time legacy gift, core programmatic grantmaking in 2023 was approximately $1.4 million across 7 Chicago-area organizations.

The typical programmatic grant was $100,000 per year per organization, with each of the 7 inaugural grantees receiving two grants (one per year) totaling $200,000. This is the clearest benchmark available for expected grant size in the foundation's early programmatic phase. The foundation publicly announced a target of $10 million in programmatic giving by end of 2025, rising to a long-term goal of $35 million annually — which would place it among the top tier of Chicago-area private foundations.

By focus area, the 2023 cohort breaks down roughly as: Veterans (David R Metcalf Invisible Wounds Foundation, National WWII Museum — approximately 28% of programmatic dollars), Strong Families (Casa Lake County, Advocate Charitable Foundation, Chicago Children's Choir — approximately 43%), and Entrepreneurs/Economic Mobility (Junior Achievement Chicago, University of Texas Foundation — approximately 29%).

Geographically, 67% of programmatic grantees are Illinois-based organizations. The University of Texas Foundation and National WWII Museum (Louisiana) grants likely reflect personal connections from the Duchossois family rather than a broadening of the stated Chicago metro geographic focus.

Total assets grew from $103M (2021) to $127.9M (2023) to $161.4M (2024), fueled by $102.4 million in contributions received in 2021 — the initial endowment funded by the estate. Revenue in 2024 was $36.1 million, driven by $29 million in additional contributions, suggesting the asset base may continue growing toward the projected $500 million eventual target.

The peer foundations below are matched by asset size (~$160-162M) and NTEE classification (Philanthropy & Grantmaking), not program area. This comparison surfaces the RLD Foundation's unusual operational ambition relative to foundations of similar asset scale.

RLD Foundation stands apart from this asset-tier peer group in one critical way: it has invested in professional program staff (nine named employees including three program directors, a CFO, and a data director) and announced a formal growth roadmap to $35M/year — a level of operational infrastructure that most foundations of similar asset size do not build. The two other Illinois-based peers (Grohne, Schoonmaker) could represent potential co-funding opportunities in overlapping cause areas, particularly in workforce and family economic stability, but limited public information is available on their grantmaking. The Duchossois Family Foundation (a separate entity, thedff.org) is a closer programmatic peer, sharing family board participation and an economic mobility focus, but it operates independently with distinct staff and a different grantee portfolio.

The foundation's defining recent milestone is the formal operational launch in January 2024, when Paul Sznewajs assumed the Executive Director role after a national search conducted by Koya Partners. This marked the transition from a dormant endowment vehicle — established shortly before Richard Duchossois's death in January 2022 at age 100 — to an active, staffed grantmaking institution.

In August 2025, the foundation announced its inaugural formal grant round of $3 million to Crain's Chicago Business, explicitly framing its grantmaking as a response to the moment: CEO Sznewajs noted that federal funding cuts and Chicago's projected $1 billion municipal deficit were creating gaps in nonprofit support that the foundation was positioned to help fill.

September 2025 brought the public announcement of inaugural grantee partners alongside the official website launch — the foundation's first formal public-facing communication about specific grant recipients.

February 2026 saw the announcement of a second round of grantee partners, confirming a roughly semi-annual selection cadence and suggesting that the foundation is on track to meet its $10 million 2025 annual giving target.

Staffing expanded significantly through 2024-2025, with the addition of CFO Audris Wong, Grants Manager Kirsten Schmitz Phelps, program directors for all three focus areas, and Director of Data Strategies and Insights Rich Carder. Executive Director Sznewajs received compensation of $481,967 in fiscal year 2024, consistent with a professionally managed foundation of this asset scale. No board members receive compensation.

Because this is an invitation-only foundation, 'application tips' must begin with how to earn an invitation. There is no publicly documented LOI process, online portal, or grant cycle with published deadlines. The following guidance is specific to how this particular foundation identifies and cultivates prospective grantees.

Get onto program directors' radar through shared field activity. Deanna Love (Veterans), Molly Baltman-Leonard (Strong Families), and Niharika Hanglem (Entrepreneurs) are actively scanning the Chicago nonprofit landscape for organizations to recommend. Attend and present at Chicago-area convenings on workforce development, veterans reintegration, and small business capital access. Participate in funder-nonprofit learning tables where foundation staff are present.

Lead every interaction with outcomes data. CEO Sznewajs built his career on data-driven strategy. Any conversation, one-pager, or site visit should foreground specific, measurable outcomes: not 'we served 300 veterans' but 'within 12 months, 68% of participants obtained stable employment above $45,000.' Organizations that cannot articulate this will not progress.

Mirror the foundation's framing precisely. Use the language of 'economic mobility,' 'self-determined progress,' 'builders,' and 'overcoming obstacles.' The foundation's mission statement — 'empowering people to overcome obstacles so they can pursue the dream of life, liberty, and happiness in America' — is a template for how to frame your organization's theory of change.

Avoid known disqualifiers: capital campaigns, construction or renovation projects, one-time events, general operating support unconnected to the three program areas, and organizations operating primarily outside the Chicago metropolitan area.

Calibrate your ask to observed grant patterns. The 2023 cohort received $100,000/year per organization in two-year commitments. A first ask framed as a two-year, $200,000 partnership is aligned with what the foundation has actually awarded. Requesting significantly more without an established relationship is unlikely to succeed.

Pursue warm introductions from co-funders. The foundation has explicitly stated it values 'collaboration across funders.' Organizations already funded by Chicago Community Trust, Polk Bros. Foundation, LISC Chicago, or United Way of Metro Chicago are more credible candidates for RLD referral.