We invest in evidence-informed public policies and strategies to advance racial equity and economic mobility for the next generation in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin.
LEARN MORE ABOUT USInspiring creativity and cultural stewardship in the next generation and fostering culturally vibrant, equitable, and sustainable communities.
Building a more equitable democracy by striving for participation and representation by all people who call the Great Lakes home.
Closing income and race disparities in college and career success through equitable access to high-quality education and jobs.
Working to solve the long-term environmental challenges that threaten the next generation in the Great Lakes region.
Building safe and just communities in the Great Lakes Region.
Supporting high-quality journalism projects focused on public policy issues affecting the Great Lakes region.
In Illinois, the Joyce Foundation supports work to reduce domestic violence homicide in Cook County; to conduct research on justice system responses to gun offending; to strengthen Black cultural institutions; to promote youth civic engagement; to create pathways to college and career; and to promote community voice in water policy.
Example Grantees in Illinois
In Indiana, the Joyce Foundation supports work to raise the profile of the teaching profession; to strengthen the student-teacher experience; and to cover the Indiana Legislature with a focus on state elections and education.
Example Grantees in Indiana
In Ohio, the Joyce Foundation currently supports work to advance climate solutions; to advocate for inclusive higher ed state policies; to improve election administration, protect voting rights and lead redistricting reform; to reduce harmful college debt collection practices; and to address challenges faced by OH’s largest cities.
Example Grantees in Ohio
In Michigan, the Joyce Foundation supports work to engage community partners for input on redistricting maps; to provide Flint residents with trusted water safety information; to provide civic news coverage; and to promote community-driven alternatives to incarceration.
Example Grantees in Michigan
Learn more about our work in MichiganIn Minnesota, the Joyce Foundation currently supports work to promote voting and fair elections; to facilitate the implementation and evaluation of the “Lights On!” program; to develop recommendations on strengthening K-12, higher ed and workforce sector alignment; to advocate for a more racially equitable higher ed system; and to reduce global warming pollution from MN’s electric power sector.
Example Grantees in Minnesota
In Wisconsin, the Joyce Foundation currently supports work to protect voting rights; to prevent gun violence; to advocate for water policy reforms; to advocate to close racial and economic gaps in postsecondary education; and to support a community arts collaboration.
Example Grantees in Wisconsin
The Joyce Foundation established the Lend a Hand Fund in 2020 to provide support to BIPOC-led and BIPOC-serving community organizations working to help Chicago residents hardest hit by COVID and the impacts of systemic racism.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE FUND
Inspiring creativity, artistic excellence, and collaboration. The Joyce Awards is the only regional program dedicated to supporting new commissions by artists of color in major Great Lakes cities.
LEARN MOREMinnesota becomes the 22nd state nationwide to commit to 100 percent carbon-free electricity—a victory for Great Lakes region environmental and environmental justice organizations that, for many years, advocated for such policy.
$5B bill infrastructure bill designed to improve drinking water, sewers, parks and other essential measures considered the largest and most beneficial environmental investment in Michigan in decades.
Joyce grantees in Michigan and Ohio have played integral roles advancing policy for fairer implementation of legislative districts for all citizens in those states.
We the People of Detroit is a grantee partner of Joyce’s Environment Program. Learn more about the organization here.
The Joyce Foundation mourns the passing of former Wisconsin Governor Tony Earl, a committed environmental steward and proponent of democratic principles in Wisconsin and throughout the Great Lakes region.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) recently launched MiDVRS and MNDVRS presenting data collected by the NVDRS, the most comprehensive source of data on violent deaths.
This week, the Justice for All Commission (JFAC) released a comprehensive report on debt collection lawsuits across Michigan.
Environment Program Co-Director Elizabeth Cisar recently returned to the Foundation after serving an 18-month stint as a senior advisor in the Office of Water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chicago Sinfonietta, like so many organizations, was forced to reimagine itself, pivoting programming and performances to a fully virtual space.
Grantee
Chicago Sinfonietta
The Energy Equity Project (EEP) at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability recently released the first national framework to comprehensively measure and advance energy equity.
Report with recommendations to advance policy, practice and research by a group of experts convened by the Joyce Foundation beginning in 2019 under the banner “Toward a Fair and Just Response to Gun Violence.”
