Travis Foundation

The Travis Foundation (EIN 35-6890246) is a charitable trust honoring Dempsey J. Travis (1920–2009) — a Chicago real estate entrepreneur, civil rights advocate, jazz musician, and prolific author whose work documented African American civic and cultural life in Chicago. Citibank N.A. serves as the sole trustee, administering the fund from its Greenville, Delaware trust office. This institutional trust structure is the single most important thing to understand about this funder: it operates entirely through established partnerships with a small, fixed circle of Chicago higher-education institutions, and it makes no grants outside that network.

The foundation's philosophy is narrow by design. Rather than issuing open RFPs or reviewing competitive proposals, the trustee maintains long-standing relationships with six Chicago-area colleges and universities — distributing annual scholarship allocations to each according to a stable grant schedule set by the founding trust instrument. The trust prioritizes students demonstrating financial need (FAFSA documentation required), strong academic standing (typically 3.0+ GPA), and roots in Chicago Public Schools. Supporting African American students and diverse populations is a clear throughline across all partner institutions, consistent with Dempsey Travis's lifelong commitment to educational equity.

For institutions, this is an invitation-only, relationship-driven grantmaker. There is no public application process for new institutional partners, no grant portal, no LOI form, and no published RFP. Organizations seeking to establish a new partnership would need to contact Citibank N.A.'s private trust division in Greenville, DE — a process that is undocumented publicly and likely requires a compelling alignment with Travis's legacy values: educational equity, Chicago-community focus, and opportunity for students of color.

For students, the pathway to a Travis scholarship runs exclusively through enrolled partner institutions. Columbia College Chicago automatically screens eligible incoming students and issues invitations through their student portal. Roosevelt University — which names the Travis Foundation as its single largest recurring annual gift — channels funds to students meeting Chicago-residency and financial-need criteria. Chicago State University and City Colleges of Chicago Foundation each receive annual allocations administered through institutional financial aid offices.

First-time institutional applicants should not expect an open door. The foundation has granted to the same six Illinois institutions in every filing year for which public data exists, suggesting a grantee roster that is stable and unlikely to expand without direct trustee-level relationship cultivation. Organizations outside this existing circle should treat this foundation as a multi-year cultivation target, not a near-term funding prospect.

The Travis Foundation disburses scholarships through six institutional partnerships, all concentrated in Illinois (Chicago). Based on FY2022 IRS 990-PF data — the most granular grantee-level filing available — total grants paid reached $1,001,372 across six recipients, reflecting a tiered allocation structure that has remained stable over multiple years.

The two flagship partners, Columbia College Chicago and Roosevelt University, each received $406,500 in FY2022 — together accounting for 81% of total disbursements. Chicago State University received $100,000 (10.0%), City Colleges of Chicago Foundation received $77,000 (7.7%), United Negro College Fund received $10,000 (1.0%), and CPA Endowment Fund of Illinois received $1,372 (<1%). These proportions suggest a fixed allocation formula rather than competitive annual re-evaluation.

Grant size history shows consistent growth over a decade. Grants paid rose from $515,000 (2013) to $560,000 (2014–2015), $770,000 (2019), $873,000 (2020), $835,000 (2021), $1,001,372 (2022), and $881,564 (2023) — a compound annual growth rate of approximately 5% from 2013 to 2023. The DB-enriched typical grant size data shows a median of $85,000, an average of $145,500, and a range from $49,000 (minimum) to $302,000 (maximum) across recent cycles.

Total assets grew from $13,480,629 in 2019 to $17,031,245 in 2023, a 26% increase over four years. FY2023 saw exceptional investment performance ($4,483,928 net investment income), while FY2022 saw near-flat returns ($328,955) during a down market year. Citibank's trust management has smoothed disbursements against this market volatility — grantmaking held at $835K–$1M even through the FY2021–2022 drawdown period.

Annual total giving (including trustee fees) runs $150K–$200K higher than grants paid: $952,393 (2019), $1,051,312 (2020), $1,071,281 (2021), $1,193,380 (2022), $1,151,819 (2023). Citibank's trustee compensation accounts for the gap, ranging from $120,914 to $142,790 per year — a standard institutional trust management fee.

All giving is 100% concentrated in Illinois scholarship programs, with no geographic diversification observed since at least 2012.

The Travis Foundation's five closest asset-sized peers are all classified under NTEE code T22 (Philanthropy & Grantmaking). None maintain publicly listed websites, limiting direct comparison of giving strategies and program priorities. Peer annual giving estimates below are derived from a standard 5% private-foundation payout assumption applied to reported assets.

Among this asset-comparable peer group, the Travis Foundation stands out for its institutional trust structure (Citibank N.A. as sole trustee) and extreme programmatic concentration — 100% of disbursements fund scholarships at six Chicago institutions. Most private foundations of this asset size distribute across multiple program areas, geographies, and grantee types. The Travis Foundation's payout rate of 5.2% in FY2023 and 7.4% in FY2022 (grants paid as percentage of year-end assets) indicates active stewardship that consistently exceeds the IRS 5% minimum distribution requirement. The exclusive focus on a single city's higher-education scholarship ecosystem is atypical even among foundations honoring a single individual, and reflects the specificity of Dempsey Travis's stated legacy priorities.

No major leadership changes have been announced for the Travis Foundation (EIN 35-6890246). Citibank N.A. has served as the sole trustee continuously since the foundation's establishment around 2012 (when a $12.2M contribution was received, likely a bequest from Dempsey Travis's estate), with annual trustee compensation ranging from $120,914 to $142,790 across 2019–2023. The foundation maintains no public-facing communications channel, press office, or social media presence separate from its trustee.

The most recent verifiable grantmaking activity is the FY2023 IRS 990-PF filing showing $881,564 in grants paid to the established six-institution roster, and a separate report noting approximately $895K in FY2024 disbursements. Roosevelt University publicly recognizes the Travis Foundation as its largest recurring annual gift, with cumulative contributions exceeding $2.6 million over at least ten years supporting more than 100 students. Columbia College Chicago continues to administer the Mittie, Moselynne and Dempsey J. Travis Scholarship, awarding up to $15,000 per student annually.

No new program announcements, expanded geographic focus, or additional institutional partnerships were identified in research through July 2026. The foundation does not issue press releases, post grant announcements, or maintain a newsletter. Changes to grant allocations would surface through partner institutions' financial aid offices rather than direct foundation communications. The overall trajectory is one of steady, conservative stewardship: consistent six-institution disbursements, growing asset base ($13.5M in 2019 → $17.0M in 2023), and trustee continuity.

The single most critical fact about the Travis Foundation is that it operates as a closed institutional trust — direct applications from organizations or individuals are not accepted through any public channel. Grant decisions are made by Citibank N.A. as trustee under the terms of the founding trust instrument, not through a competitive review process. The following guidance is therefore split into two pathways: students seeking scholarships through partner institutions, and organizations seeking new institutional partnerships.

For students: Do not attempt to contact the Travis Foundation directly. Your access point is your enrolled institution's financial aid or scholarship office.

• At Columbia College Chicago, eligible students (Chicago Public School graduates, full-time enrollment, 3.0+ GPA, financial need via FAFSA) are automatically screened. Watch for an invitation through your Columbia Connect Status Page — no external application is submitted. Renewal requires maintaining full-time status, a 3.0 GPA, annual FAFSA completion, and participation in the Travis Scholars Program.
• At Roosevelt University, contact the financial aid office to confirm current Travis scholarship criteria. Chicago residency and financial need appear to be the primary selection factors based on publicly available data.
• At Chicago State University and City Colleges of Chicago, inquire directly with each institution's scholarship or financial aid office about Travis Foundation-designated awards.
• Through UNCF, apply via the standard uncf.org scholarship portal; Travis Foundation contributions flow through UNCF's general scholarship distribution infrastructure.

For institutions seeking a new partnership: No public process exists. Frame any outreach to Citibank N.A.'s private trust division around Dempsey Travis's legacy — educational equity, Chicago-community roots, and opportunity for African American students and students of color. A cold institutional proposal should document: mission alignment with Travis's published values; a Chicago-area geographic footprint serving Chicago Public School graduates; scholarship administration capacity and track record; and student demographic alignment. Avoid generic grant language; the trust instrument is specific, and the trustee will evaluate fit against it.

Common mistakes to avoid: Assuming this foundation accepts RFPs or unsolicited proposals; conflating it with the William B. Travis Foundation (a Houston, TX elementary school support organization) or other Travis-named funders; reaching out to nonexistent foundation staff (administration is handled entirely by Citibank); and submitting student scholarship applications to the foundation rather than to partner institutions.