Education Program Fellow; RMF

The Robert R. McCormick Foundation is dedicated to fostering communities of educated, informed, and engaged citizens. Through philanthropic grant-making and Cantigny Park, the Foundation works to make life better in Chicagoland. The McCormick Foundation, among the nation's largest foundations with more than $1.5 billion in assets, was established in 1955 upon the death of Col. Robert R. McCormick, the longtime editor and publisher of the

Chicago Tribune. The Foundation awards about $55 million a year across five grantmaking program areas.

Cantigny Park, part of the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, is the 500-acre Wheaton estate of Robert R. McCormick. It is home to the McCormick House, First Division Museum, formal gardens, picnic grounds, walking trails and a Visitors Center with banquet and dining facilities.

Integrity and Humility

Trust and respect are essential in relationships. We aspire to the highest standards of professional behavior and ethics.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

We seek communities in which all individuals have equitable access to the resources, opportunities, and power they need to flourish, and where race and ethnicity are not predictive of life outcomes.

Individual Rights and Responsibilities

We promote an understanding of both our Constitutional rights, as well as our obligations to others as members of our community.

Commitment to Service and Effective Stewardship

We support people and communities through our service to them. To sustain our mission for years to come, we respect the resources entrusted to us and the intent of our benefactor, Robert R. McCormick.

Greater Impact and Collaboration

We work with communities to help solve their most pressing challenges. We look to maximize our impact through partnerships and teamwork.

Innovation and a Commitment to Learning

Continuous learning will improve our performance and each person’s ability to contribute.

The Robert R. McCormick Foundation and Cantigny Park provide equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, individuals with disabilities, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital and housing status.

The McCormick Foundation has a decades-long commitment to supporting the education and healthy development of young children in Illinois, ages birth to eight, through investments in early education. A good portion of our nearly $6 million annual investment goes toward leveraging systemic change in the state’s early education system to improve the effectiveness and quality of care children receive. The Education Program focuses its work around two North Star goals: ensuring all Illinois children arrive at kindergarten ready to thrive and enter 3 rd grade on track for long-term success.

The Education Program focuses on systemic ways of cultivating outstanding leaders, teachers and childcare providers, and supporting parents to fully optimize their young child’s learning and development  team works to support our grantees to fully realize the impact of their work, while also using our knowledge and unique position to raise awareness and public understanding of these efforts and critical issues in early education.

The Education Program of the McCormick Foundation lends many years of experience at national, state and local levels around policy, advocacy, communications and grantmaking. Our core team consists of the program director, program officer, and administrative officer along with help from a grants manager. Because our philanthropic approach is to strategically leverage our annual giving to help improve the state’s and city’s early education systems, we get directly involved – around policy tables, on site visits, in coordinating convenings and demonstrating leadership in multiple ways.

We believe expertise and creativity make us more than just funders, but thought partners and catalyzers.

Interested in learning about how to interrupt inter-generational poverty by improving Illinois’ system of early childhood education? This one-year fellowship…