The Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation concentrates its giving on major arts and cultural institutions—primarily in Chicago—providing large, general operating gifts to symphony/opera, museums, ballet and film presenters. It also supports higher education through targeted endowed faculty support, indicating an interest in sustained institutional capacity rather than small project grants. The foundation favors a small number of substantial grants to flagship organizations that shape the city’s cultural landscape.
Concentrated, high-dollar grants to a handful of flagship institutions—repeat multi-year support for cultural anchors and occasional single large gifts to higher-education endowments rather than many small or grassroots grants.
A $2 million chair in business at the University of Wisconsin Foundation is the largest recent grant on file for the Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation, and it points to a pattern that runs alongside the foundation’s Chicago arts giving: it also backs higher-education faculty support. In the cultural sector, the foundation has repeatedly made large general operating gifts to major Chicago institutions. Lyric Opera of Chicago received $1.1 million in 2025 and $500,000 in both 2023 and 2024, while the Art Institute of Chicago received $500,000 in 2023 and 2024, plus another $500,000 in 2025. That repeated support suggests a preference for sustained institutional capacity rather than one-time project funding. The foundation’s recent grants also reach across opera, ballet, film presentation, museums, and cultural festivals, with Chicago International Film Festival Inc Cinema-chicago, The Joffrey Ballet, and Grant Park Music Festival all appearing among its recipients. The mix of recurring cultural support and an endowed academic chair shows a funder that concentrates on established institutions and long-term infrastructure.
The foundation’s strongest theme is support for Chicago’s performing arts and cultural institutions. Lyric Opera of Chicago received a $1.1 million general fund grant in 2025, and The Joffrey Ballet received $200,000 in the same year. Chicago Opera Theater also appears in the grant list with $100,000 in 2024, showing attention to multiple opera and dance organizations. Visual arts and cultural preservation are another clear thread. The Art Institute of Chicago received $500,000 in 2025, and Newberry Library received $50,000 in 2025 after earlier grants in 2023 and 2024. The foundation also supported the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with $50,000 in 2024. Its higher-education giving includes a $2 million grant to the University of Wisconsin Foundation for the Robert M. Steiner Chair in Business Fund, linking philanthropy to faculty support and academic leadership.
Typical grants cluster at the high end: p25 is $50,000, median grant size is $100,000, and p75 is $150,000. The recent record also includes several much larger awards, including million-dollar and half-million-dollar grants. Recurrence is common in the recipient list. Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago International Film Festival Inc Cinema-chicago, Luminarts Cultural Foundation, Newberry Library, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum each appear across multiple years. The foundation is a regular funder, not a DAF, and it does not fund individuals or make program-related investments.
$2.3M
$317K
$2.4M
$2.4M
Most grants fall between $50K and $150K, with a median of $100K.
25th Percentile
$50K
Median
$100K
75th Percentile
$150K
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Notable grantees: Lyric Opera of Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, University of Wisconsin Foundation (Robert M. Steiner Chair), Chicago International Film Festival / Cinema/Chicago, The Joffrey Ballet
Grantmaking is overwhelmingly local. Illinois recipients account for 81% of grants, and every listed recipient is in the United States. Chicago dominates the recipient map, with multiple grants to organizations such as Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Art Institute of Chicago, The Joffrey Ballet, Grant Park Music Festival, and Newberry Library. Outside Chicago, named recipients include the University of Wisconsin Foundation in Madison, Posse Foundation Inc in New York, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC.
Its recent grants go mainly to arts and culture institutions in Chicago, including opera, ballet, museums, film presenting, festivals, and libraries. The foundation also supports higher education through an endowed chair at the University of Wisconsin Foundation and gives to business faculty support.
The typical grant size is $50,000 at the 25th percentile, $100,000 at the median, and $150,000 at the 75th percentile. The recent record also includes a $2 million grant and several $500,000 and $1.1 million gifts.
Yes. Illinois is the top state by grant count, and 81% of grants go to recipients in the foundation’s headquarters state. Chicago organizations make up most of the recent recipient list.
Yes. Several recipients appear in multiple years, including Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago International Film Festival Inc Cinema-chicago, Luminarts Cultural Foundation, Newberry Library, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
No. It is listed as not funding individuals and not making program-related investments.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO | CHICAGO, IL | $1,000,000 | 2026 | GENERAL FUND |
| ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO | CHICAGO, IL | $500,000 | 2026 | GENERAL FUND |
| CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL INC CINEMA-CHICAGO | CHICAGO, IL | $475,000 | 2026 | GENERAL FUND |
| THE JOFFREY BALLET | CHICAGO, IL | $200,000 | 2026 | GENERAL FUND |
| UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM | WASHINGTON, DC | $69,000 | 2026 | GENERAL FUND |
| GRANT PARK MUSIC FESTIVAL | CHICAGO, IL | $50,000 | 2026 | GENERAL FUND |
| NEWBERRY LIBRARY | CHICAGO, IL | $50,000 | 2026 | GENERAL FUND |
| LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO | CHICAGO, IL | $1,100,000 | 2025 | GENERAL FUND |
| ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO | CHICAGO, IL | $500,000 | 2025 | GENERAL FUND |
| CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL INC CINEMA-CHICAGO | CHICAGO, IL | $450,000 | 2025 | GENERAL FUND |
| THE JOFFREY BALLET | CHICAGO, IL | $200,000 | 2025 | GENERAL FUND |
| POSSE FOUNDATION INC | NEW YORK, NY | $100,000 | 2025 | GENERAL FUND |
| VIVERY COMMUNITY | CHICAGO, IL | $100,000 | 2025 | GENERAL FUND |
| UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM | WASHINGTON, DC | $69,000 | 2025 | GENERAL FUND |
| GRANT PARK MUSIC FESTIVAL | CHICAGO, IL | $50,000 | 2025 | GENERAL FUND |
| NEWBERRY LIBRARY | CHICAGO, IL | $50,000 | 2025 | GENERAL FUND |
| LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO | CHICAGO, IL | $500,000 | 2024 | GENERAL FUND |
| ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO | CHICAGO, IL | $500,000 | 2024 | GENERAL FUND |
| POSSE FOUNDATION INC | NEW YORK, NY | $100,000 | 2024 | GENERAL FUND |
| CHICAGO OPERA THEATER | CHICAGO, IL | $100,000 | 2024 | GENERAL FUND |
| UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM | WASHINGTON, DC | $69,000 | 2024 | GENERAL FUND |
| NEWBERRY LIBRARY | CHICAGO, IL | $50,000 | 2024 | GENERAL FUND |
| SCHOOL OF THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO | CHICAGO, IL | $50,000 | 2024 | GENERAL FUND |
| LUMINARTS CULTURAL FOUNDATION | CHICAGO, IL | $50,000 | 2024 | GENERAL FUND |
| CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL INC CINEMA-CHICAGO | CHICAGO, IL | $50,000 | 2024 | GENERAL FUND |
| GRANT PARK MUSIC FESTIVAL | CHICAGO, IL | $25,000 | 2024 | GENERAL FUND |
| DEFINITION THEATRE | CHICAGO, IL | $25,000 | 2024 | GENERAL FUND |
| CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER ON NAVY PIER | CHICAGO, IL | $25,000 | 2024 | GENERAL FUND |
| UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN FOUNDATION | MADISON, WI | $2,000,000 | 2023 | ROBERT M. STEINER CHAIR IN BUSINESS FUND |
| LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO | CHICAGO, IL | $500,000 | 2023 | GENERAL FUND |
| ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO | CHICAGO, IL | $500,000 | 2023 | GENERAL FUND |
| LUMINARTS CULTURAL FOUNDATION | CHICAGO, IL | $150,000 | 2023 | GENERAL FUND |
| POSSE FOUNDATION INC | NEW YORK, NY | $100,000 | 2023 | GENERAL FUND |
| PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF ILLINOIS | CHICAGO, IL | $100,000 | 2023 | GENERAL FUND |
| PATRICK G AND SHIRLEY W RYAN OPERA CENTER | CHICAGO, IL | $100,000 | 2023 | GENERAL FUND |
| CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL INC CINEMA-CHICAGO | CHICAGO, IL | $50,000 | 2023 | GENERAL FUND |
| NEWBERRY LIBRARY | CHICAGO, IL | $50,000 | 2023 | GENERAL FUND |
VIVERY COMMUNITY
$100,000GENERAL FUND
LUMINARTS CULTURAL FOUNDATION
$50,000GENERAL FUND
DEFINITION THEATRE
$25,000GENERAL FUND
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER ON NAVY PIER
$25,000GENERAL FUND
LUMINARTS CULTURAL FOUNDATION
$150,000GENERAL FUND