Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation

The Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation is a left-of-center private foundation that focuses its giving in the Chicago area. While its primary focus is on supporting education, the arts, and community services, it does support pro-Israel organizations and some left-of-center groups in areas such as criminal justice policy, nonprofit journalism, and support for abortion access. 1

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(3), Private Foundation
Ideological Alignment: Left of Center
Formation:

1969

President:

Janice Feinberg

Location: Chicago, IL View on map
Tax ID: 23-7028857
Most Recent Filing: 2024
Budget (2025): Assets: $14,920,327 Revenue: $825,922 Expenses: $2,853,331

Contents

    Background

    The Foundation was established in 1969 by brothers Louis, Samuel, Reuben and Bernard Feinberg, to honor the memory of their parents. 2 Its giving is largely limited to recipients in Chicago and the surrounding region.  1

    As of 2024, members of the Feinberg family continued to hold all the seats on the foundation’s board.  1 The board president at the time was Janice Feinberg, and her brother Joseph Feinberg and his wife Rhonda Feinberg were the other trustees. 3

    Grantmaking

    The Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation supports arts, health care, education, and social services institutions such as food banks and homeless shelters, largely in the Chicago area. 1 Since 2010, its charitable giving has generally ranged from roughly $2 million to $4 million per year.  1

    After founding board member Reuben Feinberg’s life was saved by doctors at Northwestern University Hospital, the foundation made a $75 million donation to Northwestern’s medical school to support its expansion and operations. 4

    In total, the Feinberg Foundation has given more than $120 million to the medical school, which was renamed the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in recognition of that support. 5

    Left-of-Center Causes

    In addition to its education, arts, and social services grants, the Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation has supported an array of nonprofit organizations promoting left-of-center policies and social causes. 1

    Left-of-center grant recipients have included Human Rights Watch, Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR), Better Government Association (BGA), Crossroads Fund, Injustice Watch, Planned Parenthood of Illinois, Roger Baldwin Foundation, and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). 1

    In 2024, the foundation made a $25,000 grant to the Historical Preservation Society of the Chicago Black Panther Party.  1

    Criminal Justice Policy

    The Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation actively supports a number of left-of-center criminal justice advocacy organizations, including the Restore Justice Foundation, Illinois Prison Project, Chicago Torture Justice Center (CTJC) and Chicago Torture Justice Memorials Foundation, Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Parole Illinois, and Uptown People’s Law Center.  1

    Support for Israel

    Joseph Feinberg is active in pro-Israel causes and is a board member of Friends of ELNET (the European Leadership Network), which promotes closer ties between Israel and Europe and has been characterized as “the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) of Europe.” 2  6  7  8

    The Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation has made significant donations to Friends of ELNET, giving $1,135,000 between 2019 and 2024. 1 A 2025 analysis by Akela Lacy of left-wing news website The Intercept identified the Feinberg Foundation as one of Friends of ELNET’s largest donors.  8

    Financial Statistics

    Total Assets

    Total Revenue

    Total Expenses

    YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
    2025 $14,920,327 $825,922 $2,853,331
    2024 $16,679,527 $1,860,954 $3,448,828 View
    2023 $18,435,194 $-1,173,822 $3,575,792 View
    2022 $20,708,363 $-2,414,997 $4,360,377 View
    2021 $28,987,035 $2,395,945 $4,151,850 View
    2020 $32,214,850 $3,103,492 $3,900,424 View

    Prior year filings: 2019, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

    Expenses Detail

    Grant Activity

    All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $91,238,560
    • Number of Grants: 1,101
    • Number of Recipients: 278

    Selection of highest value grants given from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $500,0002020 The National Public Housing MuseumGENERAL UNRESTRICTED, EXEMPT PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION
    $230,0002020 The Night MinistryGENERAL UNRESTRICTED, EXEMPT PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION
    $225,0002023 Northwestern University Feinberg School of MedicineGENERAL UNRESTRICTED, EXEMPT PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION
    $205,0002021 The National Public Housing MuseumGENERAL UNRESTRICTED, EXEMPT PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION
    $200,0002022 The National Public Housing MuseumGENERAL UNRESTRICTED, EXEMPT PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION
    $130,0002021 ALBANY PARK THEATER PROJECTGENERAL UNRESTRICTED, EXEMPT PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION
    $125,0002023 COVENANT HOUSE ILLINOIS INCGENERAL UNRESTRICTED, EXEMPT PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION
    $125,0002020 Northwestern Feinberg School of MedicineGENERAL UNRESTRICTED, EXEMPT PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION
    $110,0002023 Imagine Englewood If NFPGENERAL UNRESTRICTED, EXEMPT PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION
    $100,0002024 Better Government Association, Inc.GENERAL UNRESTRICTED, EXEMPT PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION
    $100,0002024 The Dovetail ProjectGENERAL UNRESTRICTED, EXEMPT PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION
    $100,0002024 YOUNG CHICAGO AUTHORSGENERAL UNRESTRICTED, EXEMPT PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION
    $100,0002023 Better Government Association, Inc.GENERAL UNRESTRICTED, EXEMPT PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION
    $100,0002023 Legal Action Chicago LLCGENERAL UNRESTRICTED, EXEMPT PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION
    $100,0002023 The Dovetail ProjectGENERAL UNRESTRICTED, EXEMPT PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION
    $100,0002022 Better Government Association, Inc.GENERAL UNRESTRICTED, EXEMPT PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION
    $100,0002022 Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan ChicagoGENERAL UNRESTRICTED, EXEMPT PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION
    $100,0002022 Reader Institute for Community Journalism IncGENERAL UNRESTRICTED, EXEMPT PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION
    $100,0002021 Reader Institute for Community Journalism IncGENERAL UNRESTRICTED, EXEMPT PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION
    $95,0002021 Imagine Englewood If NFPGENERAL UNRESTRICTED, EXEMPT PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION
    $85,0002022 Imagine Englewood If NFPGENERAL UNRESTRICTED, EXEMPT PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION
    $77,5002020 Imagine Englewood If NFPGENERAL UNRESTRICTED, EXEMPT PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION
    $75,0002024 Imagine Englewood If NFPGENERAL UNRESTRICTED, EXEMPT PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION
    $75,0002024 Lookingglass Theatre CompanyGENERAL UNRESTRICTED, EXEMPT PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION
    $75,0002023 Lookingglass Theatre CompanyGENERAL UNRESTRICTED, EXEMPT PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION

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    Financials, employee compensation, and grant information provided by Candid.

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    References

    1. “The Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation.” ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed February 13, 2026. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/237028857.
    2. “Joseph W Feinberg.” LinkedIn. Accessed February 13, 2026. https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-w-feinberg-11867112/.
    3. “Joseph Feinberg.” Feinberg Stein Financial Services. Accessed February 13, 2026. https://feinbergsteinfinancial.com/joseph-feinberg.html.
    4. “Philanthropy.” Feinberg Stein Financial Services. Accessed February 13, 2026. https://feinbergsteinfinancial.com/philanthropy.html.
    5. “Feinberg Foundation Helps Combat Cancer Disparities in Chicago.” Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, March 2022. https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/giving/stories/_stories/2022/feinberg-foundation.html.
    6. “United States.” ELNET UK. Accessed February 13, 2026. https://elnet.uk/friends-of-elnet.
    7. “Friends of Elnet.” ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed February 13, 2026. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/452212393.
    8. Lacy, Akela. “Meet the U.S. Donors Funding ELNET, the AIPAC of Europe.” The Intercept, December 15, 2025. https://theintercept.com/2025/12/15/elnet-aipac-israel-lobby-europe/.