About Carole Robertson Center for Learning
Educating, enriching, and empowering children and families through comprehensive child and family development programs.
Focus Areas
Early childhood education (birth to 5)Early Head Start / Head StartYouth development (out-of-school-time, summer programs)Family support servicesMental and behavioral health supportsCommunity learning centers / afterschool programmingWorkforce / professional development for educators
Who They Fund
studentsteachers and educatorseducational institutions
Funding Style
general education grantmaking
About Carole Robertson Center for Learning
The Carole Robertson Center for Learning’s largest recent grant was $4,980,731 to Metropolitan Family Services in Chicago. That scale, paired with repeated support for Chicago-based early learning and youth-serving organizations, shows a funder working through a concentrated local network rather than spreading awards widely. Across the recent grants list, the center supports child care providers, neighborhood family service agencies, and youth development programs, with awards that also reach smaller education organizations such as Erie Neighborhood House and House Of Kidds Childcare. The pattern fits its stated mission of educating, enriching, and empowering children and families through comprehensive child and family development programs. The center also maintains a named scholarship program, the Carole Robertson Memorial Scholarship, for high school juniors and seniors who participated in its Early Childhood or Youth Development programs. That scholarship links earlier program participation to college expenses and signals that the organization’s grantmaking is tied closely to its own service pipeline. Leadership is listed as Bela Mote, and the foundation’s giving is heavily rooted in Illinois, especially Chicago.
What Carole Robertson Center for Learning Funds
Early childhood education is central to the center’s grantmaking. In 2024 it awarded $387,875 to House Of Kidds Childcare in Chicago, and it also gave $125,465 to Channing's Day Care Center for educational work. Those grants sit alongside other child care and early learning awards, pointing to a steady emphasis on birth-to-five services. The center also funds youth development and afterschool support. Greater Rock Youth Development Center received $110,058 in 2024 for educational work, while Serving All Families Everywhere 2 received $172,350 the same year. The recent grants list also includes school-readiness and youth-serving organizations such as Angelica Scholars Academy and TJ's Heavenly Angels Academy. Family support appears in the grant pattern through organizations like Metropolitan Family Services and Erie Neighborhood House, both of which received sizable awards. That combination suggests a focus on services that connect children’s learning with broader household support.
How Carole Robertson Center for Learning Gives
Typical grants cluster around a median of $60,504, with the middle half running from $35,570 at the 25th percentile to $111,561 at the 75th percentile. The recent list also shows a few very large operating-style awards, including multi-million-dollar support to a Chicago family services organization. Recipients recur across years: Metropolitan Family Services, Erie Neighborhood House, House Of Kidds Childcare, Positive Attitudes Working Inc, Serving All Families Everywhere 2, Channing's Day Care Center, Scribbles Daycare, and Greater Rock Youth Development Center all appear more than once. The foundation is not an individual-giving vehicle and does not make program-related investments. Its active scholarship program accepts unsolicited applications.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$7.3M
Total Assets
$19.5M
Total Revenue
$38.8M
Total Expenses
$38.7M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $36K and $112K, with a median of $61K.
25th Percentile
$36K
Median
$61K
75th Percentile
$112K
Geographic Reach
Local2 states funded
About 96% of grants go to recipients in IL.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
Bela Mote
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