About Christopher L & M Susan Gust Foundation
The Christopher L & M Susan GUST Foundation concentrates on supporting secondary and higher education institutions in the Midwest with a strong emphasis on ice hockey programs and facilities. Their giving is focused and mission-driven, backing both a local Chicago Jesuit high school and a major public university for athletics capital projects and program support.
Focus Areas
High school ice hockey program support (e.g., St. Ignatius College Prep hockey)Capital projects for university ice hockey facilities (e.g., arena building pledges)Support for Catholic secondary education in Chicago (Jesuit school funding)
Who They Fund
youth and community hockey participantspeople with disabilities/rehabilitation patientsteachers and educational staffchurch congregants/local community members receiving holiday assistanceresearch community working on infectious disease
About Christopher L & M Susan Gust Foundation
A defining thread in The Christopher L & M Susan Gust Foundation’s recent grantmaking is ice hockey: it gave repeated seven-figure support to St Ignatius College Prep in Chicago and to the University of Michigan for an ice hockey arena building pledge. That sports focus sits alongside a broader pattern of school partnership work, disability rehabilitation support, and selected faith-based and community grants. The foundation’s largest recent awards are clustered in education and athletics, including multiple $300,000 commitments to the University of Michigan and a $535,000 grant to St Ignatius College Prep. It also backs institutions connected to rehabilitation and concussion-related work, such as Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and the Concussion Legacy Foundation, showing that its portfolio extends beyond school and rink projects. Recent giving includes general purpose support as well as specific project and capital commitments, which suggests a mix of operating flexibility and named-purpose funding. Across the recent grant list, Chicago-area recipients appear frequently, but the foundation’s choices also reach other Midwest and East Coast organizations.
What Christopher L & M Susan Gust Foundation Funds
In education, the foundation gives through multi-year school partnerships that focus on inclusive transformation, professional development, and implementation planning. In athletics, it supported St Ignatius College Prep with $550,000 in 2025 for general purpose/hockey program work, and the University of Michigan with $300,000 grants tied to an ice hockey arena building pledge. Disability rehabilitation is another recurring theme: Shirley Ryan AbilityLab received $100,000 in 2024 for the Spark 2022 program and $80,000 in 2024 for the New Building Fund Phase II (SkyRise). The foundation also funded infectious disease research through a $50,000 grant to Lurie Children's Hospital in 2024.
How Christopher L & M Susan Gust Foundation Gives
The typical grant size is $5,000 at the 25th percentile, $10,000 at the median, and $42,500 at the 75th percentile, with a much larger upper tier for capital and program commitments. The recent grant list shows repeat support to the same organizations across multiple years, including school, university, rehabilitation, and community grantees, which points to recurring relationships rather than one-off awards. The foundation is a regular funder, not a donor-advised fund, and it does not fund individuals or make program-related investments. Its active school partnership programs are multi-year and partner-based, and they do not accept unsolicited applications.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$2.1M
Total Assets
$88M
Total Revenue
$27.6M
Total Expenses
$3.1M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $5K and $43K, with a median of $10K.
25th Percentile
$5K
Median
$10K
75th Percentile
$43K
Geographic Reach
Regional9 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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