History
The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation’s values are directly inspired by its founders.​
A Legacy of Conservation, Art, and History
Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley had a deep appreciation of nature, the arts, knowledge, and nurturing communities. These values are reflected in the Foundation they created and inform our work to this day.
Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley established the Foundation in 1952. For nearly 75 years, the Foundation has supported the regions they called home: Chicago and the Lowcountry of South Carolina.
At the core of all of our work is Gaylord and Dorothy’s belief in enriching the human experience—through experiencing nature, appreciating the arts, and the value of growing and preserving knowledge.
Connection to Our Regions and Program Areas
Avid outdoor enthusiasts and champions of the natural world, the Donnelleys played a vital role in the development of land conservation movements in Chicago and South Carolina. Their efforts have left lasting marks, including the 800-acre Donnelley-DePue Wildlife Area along the Illinois River and the 8,000-acre Donnelley Wildlife Management Area in South Carolina’s ACE Basin.
Their love for the arts was just as profound. The Donnelleys were generous patrons and loyal supporters of an array of arts organizations.
Gaylord continued the family legacy as a printer and chairman of R.R. Donnelley Company and had a lifelong affinity for books and archival collections, as well as a deep belief in the importance of knowledge and learning across a wide variety of fields and issue areas.
And most fundamentally, Gaylord and Dorothy believed in the importance of championing the greater good and community welfare through compassionate philanthropy and thoughtful partnership.
The Foundation Today
While the Foundation has changed and grown since those early days, those values are still the cornerstone of our work. Under the stewardship of Gaylord and Dorothy’s descendants, the Foundation has grown and developed into a professionalized organization that is a leader in philanthropic practice. The family and staff are committed to living the values that informed our founding more than 70 years ago.
Nearly 75 Years of Grantmaking
Over the past nearly 75 years, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation (GDDF) has supported over 1,000 nonprofits in the Chicago region and South Carolina’s Lowcountry. By focusing on small arts organizations, regional land conservation, and historical narrative collections, the Foundation enhances community vitality.
We offer an array of grants, including projects, capacity building and more. Nearly 70% of our recent grants are general operating grants: a type of flexible funding provided to support the overall activities of an organization.