The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a major
grant-making
private foundation based in
Chicago that has awarded more than US$4 billion since its inception in 1978. It is now one of the ten largest private
philanthropies in the
United States with an
endowment of approximately $5.2 billion (the value dropped by about $1.7 billion in 2008 due to the
economic crisis of 2008). The foundation awards approximately $260 million annually in grants and low-interest loans in the United States and nearly 60 other countries.
Its four major program areas are Global Security and Sustainability, Human and Community Development, General grant-making, and the
MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as "genius grants." Topics of interest to the Foundation include international
peace and security,
conservation and
sustainable development,
population control,
reproductive health,
human rights,
international migration,
community development,
affordable housing, and
educational,
juvenile justice, and
mental health reform,
public interest media, including
public radio and
independent documentary film. The Foundation also gives grants to arts and cultural institutions in the Chicago area.
History
William T. Kirby, John MacArthur's attorney, along with
Paul Doolen, MacArthur's CFO, suggested that the MacArthurs create a foundation to be endowed by their vast fortune. The legal document that created the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation was two pages long and written by Kirby in plain language.
The Foundation's founder,
John D. MacArthur (1897-1978), owned
Bankers Life and Casualty and other businesses, as well as considerable property in
Florida and
New York. His wife
Catherine T. MacArthur (1909-1981) held positions in many of these companies and served as a
director of the Foundation.
When John D. MacArthur died on January 6, 1978, he was worth in excess of $1 billion and was reportedly one of the three richest men in the United States. MacArthur left ninety-two percent of his estate to begin the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The composition of the Foundation’s first Board of Directors, per John D. MacArthur’s will, also included
Catherine T. MacArthur (his wife),
J. Roderick MacArthur (a son from
John D. MacArthur’s first marriage), two other officers of Bankers Life and Casualty, and Radio Commentator
Paul Harvey.
Doolen was the first president of the foundation, serving from 1978 to 1980. Dr. John Corbally was the second president of the foundation, who served from 1980 until 1989. Adele Simmons was the third president of the foundation, serving from 1989 to 1999. As of 2007, the Foundation's President is
Jonathan F. Fanton, formerly President of the
New School for Social Research. Beginning July 1, 2009,
Robert L. Gallucci, dean of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service will succeed Fanton. There are also overseas offices in
Mexico,
India,
Nigeria, and
Russia. Fanton plans to step down come September 2009 in accordance with the foundation's term limits. He will have reached the end of his two five-year terms as president and a board trustee in September 2009.
Over its history the Foundation has been in close collaboration with the
Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the
Carnegie Corporation and the
Rockefeller Foundation; one case in point being the joint establishment in 2000 of
The Partnership for Higher Education in Africa, to assist higher education institutions in 6 African countries. Another connection is that President Jonathan F. Fanton serves as an Advisory Trustee of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
MacArthur Fellowship
William T. Kirby, a founding member of the board of directors and Chairman of the Board until his death, suggested that the MacArthur Foundation create the Fellows Program. He credited his doctor, Dr. George Burch of
Tulane University, for bringing this idea to his attention. The philanthropist's son
J. Roderick MacArthur was the chief implementer of the details of the Fellows Program, and its strongest supporter.
The
MacArthur Fellowship is an award issued by the MacArthur Foundation each year, to typically 20 to 40 citizens or residents of the
USA, of any age and working in any field, who "show exceptional merit and promise for continued and enhanced creative work." According to the Foundation website, "the fellowship is not a reward for past accomplishment, but rather an investment in a person's originality, insight, and potential."
The Foundation does not accept applications or grant interviews. The foundation relies on anonymous nominators, who submit recommendations to a small selection committee of about a dozen people. The committee then reviews every applicant and passes along their recommendations to the President and the board of directors. The entire process is anonymous and confidential. The first time that a new MacArthur Fellow learns that he or she was even being considered is upon receiving a phone call telling him or her the news of the award.
See also
