Funding Area
Education
Education is a strong predictor of all positive life outcomes, including—but not limited to—economic mobility, health, family stability, and community engagement.
Schreiber Philanthropy strives to expand access to high-quality education and support services for under-resourced and under-represented students.
Grantee Spotlight
Arrupe College
Named after Pedro Arrupe, a Jesuit priest who worked to alleviate poverty and eradicate racial discrimination, Arrupe College was founded by Loyola University Chicago – a long-time partner of Schreiber Philanthropy – to provide debt-free higher education to students with limited financial means. Launched in 2015, Arrupe offers a 2-year associates degree program, alongside intensive wrap-around supports for its students, many of whom are first-generation college goers. Around 99% of Arrupe students identify as people of color, 100% receive scholarships and/or grants to support their educational journey, and 86% of Arrupe students graduate with zero debt. More than 72% of Arrupe graduates enroll in Bachelor’s degree programs, thanks in large part to Arrupe’s commitment to supporting their students. Schreiber Philanthropy believes deeply in Arrupe’s mission and model, and has supported current-use and endowed scholarships for nearly a decade. Schreiber Philanthropy is also supporting an effort called Come to Believe, led by Fr. Steve Katsouros, the Founding Dean of Arrupe College, to expand this model in partnership with other higher education institutions across the country.
Photo Courtesy of Lukas Keapproth, Loyola University Chicago
Grantee Spotlight
CLC Spanish Language Gateways Certification
Schreiber Philanthropy has supported the College of Lake County (CLC) since 2014. CLC is focused on helping students identify their passions, and setting them on a path to achieve success. The partnership between CLC and Schreiber Philanthropy ramped up significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, which exacerbated pre-existing challenges for CLC’s low-income, first-generation, and undocumented student populations. During that time, the Schreiber Philanthropy team worked to better understand CLC’s workforce pathways for early childhood educators. After meeting CLC’s team, and thinking about the fact that nearly 30% of Lake County residents aged 5 and older speak a language other than English in Lake County, we started dreaming up a Spanish-language early childhood education program. The program, which was launched in 2021, has exceeded all enrollment expectations, and continues to grow. In addition to providing a unique workforce pathway for early childhood educators, it also provides an opportunity for providers to earn additional accreditations, allowing them to achieve economic mobility. With more than 75 students across 3 cohorts since 2021, Schreiber Philanthropy and CLC are exploring opportunities to build this program in the future.
Grantee Spotlight
Start Early
Start Early, formerly known as The Ounce of Prevention Fund, has spent the last 40 years focused on enhancing access to high-quality early learning and care through direct service, advocacy, and policy efforts. Start Early also helped launch the Educare Learning Network, which encompasses some of the nation’s most diverse and effective early childhood schools serving under-resourced communities. The first Educare was introduced by Start Early in 2000 to serve families living in the Robert Taylor Homes (what was then one of the largest public housing developments in Chicago). Since then, a network of 25+ schools have opened across the country, serving children and families who may not otherwise be able to access early learning programming. Since Lake County is an early childhood education desert, Schreiber Philanthropy and Start Early started exploring the feasibility of bringing an Educare to Lake County. In 2023, the Schreiber family made an anchor investment to help launch the 27th Educare in the country, and only the 2nd that’s managed directly by Start Early, in Lake County. Educare will be a critical resource for Lake County, serving more than 170 children and families from communities like Zion, Waukegan, North Chicago, and Beach Park. Interim programming has already begun in Waukegan and Beach Park, and a permanent site is on track to open in Zion in 2025/2026. The investment also supports Start Early’s broader work in Illinois, as well as the National Educare Network, which is focused on learning what leads to strong student outcomes in order to inform federal and state policy changes.
Impact
Equitable access to high-quality education has been a key area of focus from the beginning, as John credits much of his success to good teachers and a strong commitment to his academics. After initially focusing on higher education, John and Kathy started moving “backwards,” investing in education at the K – 12 and, eventually, early childhood levels.
Since 2005
$135M in Grants
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