Hanley Foundation

Background

Hanley Foundation was founded in 1997 by George P. Hanley, a financier and real-estate mogul turned philanthropist. ¹ As of 2019, Hanley was the president of the organization. ²

In 2019, the Hanley Foundation changed its address from Winnetka, Illinois, to Miami Beach, Florida. ^{3 4}

Funding

Hanley Foundation was conceived to sponsor tuition for disadvantaged communities, beginning in Chicago. It has given over $20 million to scholarship programs and academic centers since its founding. It later expanded its funding operations to include environmentalist groups and other left-leaning policy organizations. Some of its major recipients include the Environmental Law & Policy Center, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Nature Conservancy, the Acumen Fund, Earth Rights International, Global Fund for Women, SHINE, and Vote Everywhere. ¹

Hanley gave the University of Dayton $925,400 in 2019 for “education services.” It accounted for almost all the $1,117,605 in grants Hanley gave that year. Other recipients included the environmentalist groups As You Sow, Climate Strike, Environmental Law and Policy Center, Greenfaith, Illinois Environmental Council, One Earth Film Festival, Open Lands, and Urban Growers Collective. ⁵

In 2019, Hanley gave a grant of $10,000 to the Crane Institute for Sustainability, a left-of-center organization involved in environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) activism. ⁶ Its flagship initiative, the Intentional Endowments Network (IEN), is a membership network made up of over 200 endowments, foundations, investment consultants and managers, and nonprofits involved in environmentalist initiatives, as well as racial justice and economic equality advocacy. ⁷

In 2019, Hanley Foundation reported a revenue of $4,564,129, expenses of $2,007,182, and net assets of $19,192,028. ⁸

Leadership

Marc Schwartz is the director of the Hanley Foundation. He is managing partner at Harrison & Held, LLP and has chaired the boards of Loyola University Medical Center and Gottlieb Memorial Hospital. He is a member of the advisory board of the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation, a member of the IIT Chicago Kent board of advisors, and has worked as Midwest regional director for the Birthright Israel Foundation. ¹

As of 2019, George Hanley was the president of the Hanley Foundation. ² Hanley is a graduate of the University of Dayton and sits on its board of trustees. He also sits on the Dean’s Committee of the University of Miami. ⁹

In 1985, Hanley founded trading company Hanley Group Capital (HGC), which he sold to StoneX in 2010. He co-founded electronic international trading company Blink Trading in 1999 and sold it to Getco in 2000. In 2001 he co-founded Infinitum Capital Management, served as chairman and grew the firm into a prominent electronic marking firm before stepping down in 2009 and selling his interest in 2012. Hanley served as CEO of INTL-Hanley group from 2010 to 2013. ⁹

In 2014, he became a principal at Chicago-based real estate firm R2 Companies. In 2019 he co-founded Left Bank Capital, which primarily invests in multi-family projects in Nashville, Tennessee and other locations. In 2021, he founded Normandy Island LLC to invest in multi-family real estate in Miami, Florida. ⁹