The Joyce Foundation

05/29/2026

Deep thanks to all who participated in ’s town hall meeting on policing and public trust at in Pilsen this week. This interactive conversation and WTTW’s ongoing in-depth coverage of policing and police reform is a meaningful contribution toward understanding how we can create a safer and more just Chicago.

05/29/2026

Deep thanks to all who participated. WTTW - Chicago PBS' in-depth coverage of policing and police reform is a meaningful contribution toward understanding how we can create a safer and more just Chicago.

05/21/2026

The New Jersey Attorney General's Office Statewide Affirmative Fi****ms Enforcement (SAFE) Office offers one example of how state-level civil enforcement can be structured to address firearm industry practices that may affect public safety.

Created in 2022, SAFE is a dedicated unit within a state Attorney General’s office focused on civil enforcement involving the fi****ms industry. In its first three years, the office has pursued a number of civil enforcement actions related to firearm industry conduct. Its work illustrates how dedicated state enforcement capacity can support efforts to better understand, assess, and address public safety risks associated with firearm industry practices.

Read more about SAFE’s approach and considerations for other jurisdictions in this new case study.

This report reflects interviews conducted with staff members of the NJ Jersey Statewide Affirmative Fi****ms Enforcement (SAFE) Office and others on the…

05/20/2026

Rigorous coursework shouldn’t be reserved for a select group of students. In this new report, our grantee The Education Trust-Midwest outlines how Michigan can widen the path for more students to take engaging, high-quality courses that catalyze college and career success.

Learn more about what Michigan can do to support all students: https://bit.ly/ETMReadyforRigor

05/12/2026

The Joyce Foundation is saddened to announce the passing of Director Emeritus Carlton L. Guthrie. A Harvard-educated entrepreneur, Carlton passed away on May 9 at age 73 in Chicago. He was a Joyce board member for more than three decades until his retirement in 2022. Born in Atlanta and raised in Gary, Indiana, Carlton was the co-chairman of Detroit Chassis and SPECTRA, LLC, a group of automotive-related companies he founded with his brother, Mike. Carlton was also CEO of Magnys Innovative Solutions, an engineering firm, and co-owner and Board Chairman of HealthCURE. Carlton credited his community-oriented, “can-do” ethos to his parents, Willie and Mary. He was drawn to Joyce’s ambitious mission of improving lives in the Great Lakes region and its willingness to take the lead within philanthropy on supporting issues like gun violence prevention. Among his many affiliations and board memberships, Carlton proudly and notably created the Guthrie Family Scholarship for students in Gary, Indiana and South Haven, Michigan. In addition to the fiscal stewardship and experience he brought to the board, Carlton also brought an unwavering commitment to mentorship, leadership development, and creating equitable opportunities for youth, and especially young boys and men of color in the Great Lakes region. Carlton was an active board member of Concerned Christian Men, which includes as its mission serving as “fathers to the fatherless.” We extend our deepest condolences to Carlton’s wife, Dawn-Marie, his children, Carille and Adam, his grandchildren, and his entire extended family.

05/11/2026

We really enjoyed supporting ’s 2026 Making A Difference Luncheon! It was a great afternoon of connection and renewed commitment while recognizing transformative leadership and centering opportunities for women and girls across Chicago. We were inspired hearing from Renetta McCann, and congratulations to Making a Difference Award recipient Andrea Sáenz and legacy honoree National Louis University.

04/22/2026

A heartfelt Thank You to all of our administrative professionals at The Joyce Foundation. We literally couldn’t do it without you! 🎉

04/13/2026

Kudos to the Press Forward Chicago and Press Forward Springfield teams for hosting last week’s Illinois Local News Summit at the Union League Club of Chicago. Our team enjoyed participating in an inspiring day of dialogue with local, regional and national leaders all invested in strengthening and elevating local news in our communities.

04/09/2026

Strong local news is essential to civic life and democracy. It's why we invest in initiatives like Press Forward. On , we celebrate the journalists and media leaders nationwide ensuring that communities have trustworthy information. We support many innovative news organizations across the region, including: Block Club Chicago, Chicago Public Media, WTTW - Chicago PBS, Borderless Magazine, Sahan Journal, MinnPost, Outlier Media, Bridge Michigan, Capital B Gary, Wisconsin Watch, and Madison365. We commit to many others through the Institute for Nonprofit News' annual NewsMatch fundraising campaign. Their work is vital to thriving and informed communities.

Join us in supporting local news today and everyday!

04/08/2026

🗣️ 🗣️ 🗣️ The Chicago Police Department has released two landmark reports—the Community Policing Assessment and a comprehensive Workforce Allocation Study -- representing the most substantive operational blueprint for reform in a generation. The co-authors of this Crain's Chicago Business op-ed, including our Gun Violence Prevention and Justice Reform Program Director Soledad Adrianzén McGrath, represent organizations that helped fund these reports because we believe structural transformation at CPD is both necessary and achievable. ⬇️

Communities have made clear: they don’t want less police; they want better policing presence and response. But absent the mechanisms and structures to support that change, it’s merely hypothetical.