Macarthur Foundation

Its founder, John, born in a Pennsylvania coal town, became the sole owner of Bankers Life and Casualty, an immensely successful insurance company and was one of the three wealthiest men in America at the time of his death in 1978. His wife, Catherine, born in Chicago to Irish immigrants, worked closely with John to build their investments. Catherine passed away three years after her husband.

John and Catherine established the MacArthur Foundation in 1970; however, the foundation didn’t actively begin grantmaking until 1978 following John’s death and bequest of $1 billion. John and Catherine primarily gave to their local Chicago and Palm Beach communities during their lifetimes. However, in establishing the foundation, John intentionally left the foundation’s priorities up to the first board of directors, which included Catherine and their son Kirby, among other friends and associates.

Today, the MacArthur Foundation invests in innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing social challenges through a refined strategy focusing on core issues in target geographies. Framed around the concept of investing in “Big Bets,” the foundation supports organizations focused on transformative change in areas of profound concern, including climate change and nuclear risk. In the U.S., the foundation focuses its funding on criminal justice reform. In Nigeria, it helps to increase financial capital to the social sector and supports the vital role of journalism in a responsive democracy. Along with its endowment, the foundation uses impact investments to provide catalytic capital to address social and environmental challenges worldwide.

Building on the concept of “Big Bets” and recognizing its inability to be expert in all areas, the MacArthur Foundation announced 100&Change in 2019, a competition for a $100 million grant to an organization that promises real and measurable progress in solving a critical problem of our time. The initiative runs multiple competitions a year on specific issues.

Among its most well-known projects is the MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and colloquially as the “Genius Grant,” an annual prize awarded to individuals in the U.S. working in any field who have shown “extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction.” The program provides recipients with the flexibility to pursue their own artistic, intellectual and professional activities in the absence of specific obligations or reporting requirements.

Through strategic grantmaking and investments, the MacArthur Foundation supports creative people, effective institutions and influential networks in an effort to fulfil its vision.

Contributor: Dion McDougal