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
Five innovative new projects by pioneering artists of color spanning the visual, performing, and multidisciplinary arts that engage diverse communities in Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, and Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Read more about this year's winnersInspiring 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 MORE$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.
A landmark environmental project championed by Joyce Foundation grantees and many other partners to keep invasive carp out of the Great Lakes has received critical federal funds.
The Joyce Foundation received the 2022 Great Lakes Changemaker Award from the Council of the Great Lakes Region.
The Supreme Court ruling in West Virginia v. EPA is a step backward in protecting the environment and public health. It limits the federal government’s ability to use the Clean Air Act to drive reductions in global warming pollution.
The Supreme Court’s ruling today in the Bruen case will make communities across America less safe. A large and growing body of evidence demonstrates that the mere presence of a firearm increases the risk of injury and death.
Five innovative new projects by pioneering artists of color spanning the visual, performing, and multidisciplinary arts that engage diverse communities in Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, and Minneapolis-St. Paul will receive this year’s annual awards.
The Joyce Foundation applauds the bipartisan effort to pass the Safer Communities Act, which brings us closer to the safer America we all seek and deserve.
The latest research into “red flag laws” and other gun safety measures was highlighted at a recent webinar series for journalists produced by the Poynter Institute for Media Studies and its PolitiFact fact-checking arm.
The Joyce Foundation is pleased to welcome Whitney Smith who will join the Foundation in June as its new Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer.
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.”
