Donald M Ephraim Family Foundation

About Donald M Ephraim Family Foundation

The Donald M Ephraim Family Foundation’s largest recent grants have gone to the University of Chicago Law School for the Donald M Ephraim Professorship in Law and Economics, including $765,000 in 2023 and $644,000 in 2024. That pattern points to a foundation centered on named academic endowments rather than broad discretionary grantmaking. The foundation’s stated focus areas align with that profile: endowed professorships in law and economics, support for legal scholarship, and faculty recruitment and retention in higher education. Within the broader recent record, the foundation also funded Jewish cultural and civic institutions, including general support for the American Jewish Committee and Birthright Israel Foundation. In Chicago, it appears as a recurring supporter of local organizations such as WTTW, Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago, and The Ark. Smaller awards also went to scholarship and community organizations, showing a mix of high-dollar institutional commitments and lower-dollar operating support. Its recent giving is narrowly targeted and institutionally oriented, with repeated support for the same law school professorship across multiple years. The grant list also shows a consistent presence in Jewish community, education, and cultural programming, especially in Chicago and Palm Beach County.

What Donald M Ephraim Family Foundation Funds

Higher education is the clearest thread in the foundation’s giving. It awarded $644,000 in 2024 to the University of Chicago Law School for the Donald M Ephraim Professorship in Law and Economics, matching a $765,000 grant in 2023 for the same named position. Jewish civic and advocacy organizations also appear in the record. The foundation gave $70,000 in 2024 to the American Jewish Committee for general support, after a $30,000 grant in 2023, and it supported Birthright Israel Foundation with $25,000 in both 2023 and 2024. Cultural programming is another area of support. In 2024, Morselife Foundation received $77,500 for the Donald M Ephraim Sun & Stars International Film Festival, and Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County received $76,680 in 2023 that included $50,000 for the Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival and $10,000 for JCC Burn the Mortgage. The foundation also made smaller grants for Jewish heritage programming and scholarships, including support for WTTW and Natas Chicago Foundation.

How Donald M Ephraim Family Foundation Gives